In 1968 somebody came up with the good idea of putting two very different actors (Clint Eastwood, Richard Burton) as unlikely allies in an undercover commando unit sent to free a captured American officer--and also to plug a little leak in British military intelligence.
This movie is more of a "caper" film than a war movie, which is probably why it appeals to the adolescent male instinct to see a couple clandestine Allied officer dudes kicking the collective butt of the Gestopo and their Wehrmacht buddies. This was one of my favorite movies as a kid and I remember enjoying the twists and turns of high adventure inherent in this unlikely but satisfying thriller. I was glad to see its on DVD and the film holds up better in my humble opinion than the two "Raiders of the Lost Ark" sequels for entertainment value.
Clint Eastwood said of "Where Eagles Dare": "Richard Burton did all the talking ; I did all the killing." It's true that Clint does his share of grim point-blank shooting in this one, but he does have more than a few lines of dialouge as this clip shows. One of the nice things about this Nazi castle is that the Germans speak English a lot so its easier for our heroes to fit in with the crowd than your average Nazi castle. (The actual castle used in the film is called Hohenwerfen and is 30km south of Salzburg, Austria.)
Ron Goodwin's score is also a big factor in the enjoyment of this bravura flick. Anyway, for those who might not have seen it in awhile, here''s a bit of the flavor of the piece.
One note: the Germans did have prototypes of helicopters during World War II. They saw limited use, however, from what I could gather, and apparently were much larger than the "heli" shown at the end of this scene. This one is actually a Bell chopper, which probably wasn't in production in the USA yet and if it was probably wasn't at the disposal of the German Army in 1944!
"Where Eagles Dare" (1968) MGM
Story and Screenplay by Alister MacLean
Directed by Brian G. Hutton
This is a great movie. They play it from time to time on one of the movie channels so I catch it there. But this is one of those that I always wonder "why don't I have this on dvd" after I see it.
ReplyDeleteI've always loved this movie!
ReplyDeleteI was a really big fan of Alister MacLean growing up.Had most of his books.In fact,I still have some of them.
Very cool! Thanks!
I concur with you both of course.
ReplyDeleteThe only MacLean book I've read is "The Guns of Navarone", but that may change soon.
I loved the movie. It is one of the few movies where Clint Eastwood is upstaged by another actor.
ReplyDeleteHadn't thought of that, but you could make a strong case Burton does upstage the younger actor. Burton, like Eastwood, could be very engaging even in a so-so movie.
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