SummaryAllied agents stage a daring raid on a castle where the Nazis are holding an American General prisoner... but that's not all that's really going on.
SummaryAllied agents stage a daring raid on a castle where the Nazis are holding an American General prisoner... but that's not all that's really going on.
The development of Bond films in the early 1960s brought a new dimension to espionage-oriented cinema. Where Eagles Dare brings these strands together - fusing the spy story with war action - and helped create a wave of patriotic cold war thrillers that arguably climaxed with The Spy Who Loved Me.
Its kinda surprising seeing a movie where Clint Eastwood doesn't steal the spotlight all the time, and this film delivers it in a good way. Great story and characters, the film takes its time showing all the details of the mission while giving a mistery to be solved at the same time. Some would say its a bit too long but for me it made sense and it paid off.
So close to being a great film.
There is a lot I enjoyed about 'Where Eagles Dare', the core of the film has some greatness to it. The action sequences are fun, the acting is terrific and the music is strong. However, it has far too many lull moments for me to consider it anything other than 'good'.
A 2hr run time would've been perfect, instead it's stretched out to 2hrs 30mins+ and it really shows. The pacing is bad, any moment of quality is immediately followed by the film dragging its heels. It heavily overstays its welcome, in my opinion.
Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood are excellent together, while the rest of the cast are very good themselves. It's just a shame about the aforementioned, as I could quite easily see this being one of my favourite films if what I've stated wasn't true.
I'd personally be up for a shorter, tighter remake of this, because all the ingredients are there; it's like a 'Bond' film mixed with 'Fast & Furious' in parts.
If it's explosions, gunplay and wartime treachery that you're looking for, then director Brian Hutton's Where Eagles Dare is right up your alley. [12 Mar 1995, p.51]
Where Eagles Dare is the ultimate metaphor. It encapsulates human experience into an ordered, comprehensible melodrama that is both absurd and entertaining.
Routine war adventure, imitating the callousness of Robert Aldrich's The Dirty Dozen but without Aldrich's nihilist zeal. Still, you have to admire any film that casts Clint Eastwood opposite Richard Burton; the real violence is in the clash of acting styles.
I thought it was good. For those times when filmed maybe very good since action is quite good and those shots where quite nice -for nowadays of course looks funny to see some of it. Plot was interesting too. I mean you have to take in mind when watching which year it is made.
This is Richard Burton's movie, with Clint Eastwood relegated to a glorified supporting part. All Clint does is machine gun people and set bombs. Burton's solid commanding performance is what I'll remember most.
Movie is overlong and plodding till the final 45 minutes. The story is really confusing with lots of bizarre twists and turns on what the mission is really about.