Where Eagles Dare

"Where Eagles Dare" was produced by folks who decided that Alistair Macleam deserved to be produced on film by someone who followed the author's exciting ideas. The result is a major improvement of the Us-er qualities of the character played by Clint Eastwood, the potent casting of Richard Burton, who is very very good (for once) in an adventure-level lead as the infinitely-resourceful leader of a WWII team of destructive agents, and an intelligent if action-level work of cinematic artistry. Others have written very well on this film; what I want to add to their basic core of arguments is some notes about the acting and ideas. From the group's boss, Michael Hordern to the ladies, Mary Ure and zoftik Ingrid Pitt, to enigmatic Robert Beatty, everyone involved is more than adequate in his/her part to very good. The three enemies, Ferdy Mayne, Derrin Nesbitt and Anton Diffring excel in whatever scenes they are given; and Peter Barkworth, Donald Houston, Patrick Wymark, et al as traitors have never been seen to greater advantage. Director Brian Hutton faced the all-but-impossible task of bringing a vaguely-implausible raid staged in snow country on an isolated castle to life. With stirring music, lovely art direction and edge-of-impossible special effects involving explosives, running machine-gun duels in a bus, falling telephone poles, a battle on a cable car, wrecking at an airport and a parachute drop betrayed from the start, he manages to bring the entire tale off very nicely by my standards. The other chief asset of the film lies in its unusually intelligent dialogue, plot turns and constant surprise. I counted at least seven major surprises, every one of which as in a good Hitchcockian thriller leads to a memorable scene; these are therefore not just script gimmicks, but rather they qualify as ingenious use of the adventure genre to keep the audience on the edge of their seats. This film perhaps is what James Bond films always should have been, but only in the case of "Doctor No" and "Goldfinger" ever were. One could wish that "The Secret Ways", "Ice Station Zebra" and several others of McLean's thrillers had been treated with as much respect, and near genius, as this memorable piece of screen excitement was (for once) afforded.

A highly entertaining world war II action film with two of the greatest actors of their time at a high point of their career - Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood. The first hour or so is the setting to the action that will follow: a group of American and British soldiers is sent to a castle where the Natzis are holding an important American General. The plot of course is not that simple and has a lot of spins and surprises that accompanied by a fascinating action scenes (Very impressing for a 1968). With a beautiful filming location at the freezing landscapes of Germany and Austria this movie is truly an amazing to watch. Notable sequences are the cable car sequence and the final escaping sequence. Richard Burton gives his usual strong performance and Clint Eastwood is good as his executor. All in all a well crafted action classic that is highly recommended. 10/10

Where Eagles Dare

Crisp and very, very clever adventure based on a Alistar MacLean novel (and scripted by the author himself) where a commando unit consisting of mostly Brits and one American who are sent to the Alps to rescue an American general who is held captive in a castle that's swarming with Germans. The movie is loaded with surprises most of which keep the viewer constantly guessing and the fireworks don't go over the top. Burton and Eastwood are both fun to watch here and like the two leads, the camera work is outstanding, and the direction by Brian Hutton doesn't over play his hand. Another thing, MacLean's script is so good in handling the details, characters, and so forth that Stephen King himself should be taking notes.

During WWII, an Allied force infiltrates a German castle in the Bavarian alps. The plot is contrived and the action is mindless. It is so utterly implausible that it makes James Bond films seem realistic. It is laughable how easily the Allied force infiltrates the German stronghold - not even their accents give them away, although this issue is circumvented by having all characters speak English in their own accents. The good guys kill hundreds of Nazis and blow up buildings and bridges with their unlimited supply of explosives. The Nazis, on the other hand, are so inept that they don't get a scratch on Burton's gang, and it takes them 15 minutes to break down a locked door.

A highly entertaining world war II action film with two of the greatest actors of their time at a high point of their career - Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood. The first hour or so is the setting to the action that will follow: a group of American and British soldiers is sent to a castle where the Natzis are holding an important American General. The plot of course is not that simple and has a lot of spins and surprises that accompanied by a fascinating action scenes (Very impressing for a 1968). With a beautiful filming location at the freezing landscapes of Germany and Austria this movie is truly an amazing to watch. Notable sequences are the cable car sequence and the final escaping sequence. Richard Burton gives his usual strong performance and Clint Eastwood is good as his executor. All in all a well crafted action classic that is highly recommended. 10/10