Escape to Athena (1979): Cast, Plot & Where to Watch
Escape to Athena is a 1979 adventure comedy directed by George P. Cosmatos, starring William Holden as POW (uncredited), Roger Moore and Anthony Valentine. It runs 2 hours 5 minutes. Stream it on Amazon MX Player and Amazon Prime Video, or rent or buy it on Amazon Video and MovieMe.
- Released
- Runtime
- 2h 5m (125 min)
- Director
- George P. Cosmatos
- Original language
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English - Studio
- ITC Entertainment
- After the credits
- No No extra scene
What Is Escape to Athena About?
The premise of Escape to Athena without spoilers. The whole story is in the plot summary further down.
During World II, a diverse group of prisoners—a patriotic fighter, a learned professor, a comic entertainer and a nightclub stripper—plan a daring escape from a German camp on a Greek island. Beyond freedom they pursue a legendary treasure concealed in a monastery perched atop the island’s mountain.
Escape to Athena Themes & Keywords
· 50 tags- 1940s
- world war two
- reference to athena the greek deity
- tough guy
- battle
- shootout
- gunfight
- street shootout
- opening action scene
- combat
- hand to hand combat
- martial arts
+38 more Show fewer
- foot chase
- stand up comedian
- murder
- tough girl
- prostitute
- year 1944
- nazi occupied greece
- europe
- removing nylon stocking
- scene during opening credits
- nazi soldier
- directed by co writer
- underground resistance
- stalag
- island of rhodes
- man in a shower
- war violence
- looting
- brothel
- coalition forces
- commandant
- jewish man
- attempted blackmail
- austrian man
- implied casual sex
- reference to stalag 17
- army major
- rocket base
- race against time
- uso show
- striptease
- buning oil depot
- frogman
- interrupted execution
- using child as shield
- donkey cart
- limpet mine
- communications center
Where to Watch Escape to Athena
Stream it on Amazon MX Player and Amazon Prime Video, or rent or buy it from Amazon Video and MovieMe. US availability and prices from JustWatch.
Stream 14
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Amazon MX Player With ads
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Amazon Prime Video
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Amazon Prime Video Free with Ads With ads
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Amazon Prime Video with Ads
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Fawesome Free
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Plex With ads
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Plex Channel With ads
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Pluto TV With ads
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Shout! Factory Amazon Channel
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Shout! Factory TV With ads
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The Roku Channel With ads
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Tubi TV With ads
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Xumo Play With ads
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YouTube Free With ads
Rent or buy 2
Streaming availability in the US, powered by 
Escape to Athena Cast & Characters
William Holden leads the cast as POW (uncredited), with Roger Moore as Otto Hecht and Anthony Valentine as Volkmann. Directed by George P. Cosmatos; 26 actors are credited in all.
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Director George P. Cosmatos
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William Holden as POW (uncredited) -
Roger Moore as Otto Hecht - Anthony Valentine as Volkmann
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Telly Savalas as Zeno
Also Starring in Escape to Athena
· 22 more- Elena Secota
- Elliott Gould Charlie
- Stefanie Powers Dottie Del Mar
- Richard Roundtree Nat Judson
- Sonny Bono Bruno Rotelli
- David Niven Professor Blake
- Claudia Cardinale Eleana
- Siegfried Rauch Braun
- Paul Picerni Zeno's Man
- Michael Sheard Sergeant Mann
- Philip Locke Vogel
- Paul Stassino Zeno's Man
- Steve Ubels Lantz
- Richard Wren Reistoffer
- Lykourgos Kallergis
- Mimi Denissi
Show all 26 cast members Show fewer cast members
Escape to Athena Plot Summary
What happens in Escape to Athena from start to finish, spoilers included, with a timeline of 12 key events. The opening is below; the full summary is a 3-minute read.
Spoilers ahead
In 1944, Allied prisoners in a POW camp on an unnamed Greek island are pressed into excavating ancient artifacts. The camp Commandant, Major Otto Hecht William Holden, a former Austrian antiques dealer, begins sending some of the valuable pieces to his sister living in Switzerland. Yet the prisoners have learned that once the finds run out, they’ll be shipped to other camps, so they scheme to keep “discovering” the same pieces and extend the ruse.
Full summary
The whole story of Escape to Athena, scene by scene
Escape to Athena Trailers & Videos
The trailer of Escape to Athena.
How Well Do You Know Escape to Athena?
10 questions about the story, each with a hint if you get stuck. Pick an answer to see whether you were right.
Question 1 of 10
- Question 1: not answered
- Question 2: not answered
- Question 3: not answered
- Question 4: not answered
- Question 5: not answered
- Question 6: not answered
- Question 7: not answered
- Question 8: not answered
- Question 9: not answered
- Question 10: not answered
Which actor portrays the camp commandant Major Otto Hecht?
Cars in Escape to Athena
21 cars on screen, including the Dnepr MT-9 and the Phänomen Granit 25 H.
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Dnepr MT-9 Important role -
Phänomen Granit 25 H Important role -
1940 Stoewer Typ 40 Important role -
unknown Important role
Escape to Athena Also Known As
23 alternative titles, including “Műgyűjtők és kalandorok előnyben” and “Útěk do Atén”.
- Also known as
-
- Műgyűjtők és kalandorok előnyben
- Útěk do Atén
- Útěk na Athénu
- Flukten til Athena
- Amici e nemici
- Bons baisers d'Athènes
- Flucht nach Athena
- Szökjünk Athénba
- Evasión en Atenea
- Athénin poklad
- Απόδραση στην Αθήνα
- 아테네 탈출
+11 more Show fewer
- Ucieczka na Atenę
- Flugten til Athena
- Бегство к Афине
- 逃往雅典娜
- オフサイド7
- Pääkalloprikaati
- Бягство в Атина
- Fuga para Athena
- Flykten till Athena
- บุกป้อมมฤตยูเอเธน่า
- Evasió a Atenea
Seen Escape to Athena?
Movies Like Escape to Athena
Films with a similar story, tone or audience, including Escape, Ill Met by Moonlight and The Island of the Brave.
-
Escape 1940 -
Ill Met by Moonlight 1957 -
The Island of the Brave 1960 -
The Great Escape 1963 -
Escape to Victory 1981 -
I Escaped from the Gestapo 1943 -
Where Eagles Dare 1969 -
Escape in the Desert 1945 -
Desperate Journey 1942 -
The Escape 1987 -
The Angry Hills 1959 -
How I Unleashed World War II, Part I: The Escape 1970
Escape to Athena FAQ: Where to Watch, Cast & Runtime
Runtime, release date, director, cast, where to watch and post-credit scenes of Escape to Athena, each answered in a sentence.
How long is Escape to Athena?
Escape to Athena runs 2 hours 5 minutes (125 minutes).
When was Escape to Athena released?
Escape to Athena was released on May 21, 1979.
Who directed Escape to Athena?
Escape to Athena was directed by George P. Cosmatos.
More films by George P. Cosmatos Who is in the cast of Escape to Athena?
Escape to Athena stars William Holden as POW (uncredited), Roger Moore as Otto Hecht and Anthony Valentine as Volkmann, among 26 credited actors.
Where can I watch Escape to Athena?
In the US, Escape to Athena is streaming on Amazon MX Player, Amazon Prime Video and Fawesome and available to rent or buy on Amazon Video and MovieMe (availability from JustWatch).
Does Escape to Athena have a post-credit scene?
No. Escape to Athena has no extra scene during or after the credits.
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