Where Eagles Dare (1968)

Preview

In this classic from 1968, Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood star as two allied soldiers during World War II with the daunting task of infiltrating the Schloss Adler, an 11th century castle in the alps, and rescuing General Carnaby of the United States before the Germans interrogate him. Clint Eastwood as U.S. Army Ranger Lieutenant Morris Schaffer is the lone American on the mission joining six other British commandos from MI6. Unknown to everyone except Richard Burton as Major John Smith, this mission is much more than a simple rescue. The resulting film is filled with enough plot twists that you may just lose count.

The Good

The film has a great variety of scenes that turns the movie into a drama, spy/espionage thriller, and action films all wrapped up in one awe-inspiring hit. There aren’t many films that have such diversity. The mixture of slow-paced scenes filled with romance and drama, fast-paced action-packed scenes, and the mysterious shroud that is slowly lifted to reveal the whole picture makes this film extremely unique. I don’t think any film can go wrong with having Clint Eastwood, an action star, blasting away Nazis as fast as they come at him. Not to mention, the film has amazingly choreographed actions sequences that includes a fist fight on a cable car and an explosion-packed car chase. Where Eagles Dare is one of those old films that doesn’t paint war as hell, but as some amazing adventure that could make anyone dream of being a hero. In many ways, the film reminds you of a James Bond adventure. The orchestral score perfectly matches the mood of the film as well. Overall, between the production value of this film and the excellent directing, how could it not have become a classic?

The Bad

The film runs and 2 hours and 38 minutes and, in all honesty, some of the dialogue could easily be cut out to make for a more concise film. Some of the stunts seem absolutely unrealistic, which is why I compare it to James Bond. Is it really possible to jump 20 feet from one cable car to another? Maybe? Who really knows, right? The thing that drove me nuts was when Clint Eastwood was tossing dynamite like a baseball. Dynamite is extremely volatile and no one would be reckless enough to toss it unless you want to risk blowing yourself up in the process.

Final Notes

It ought to be a crime to cast Clint Eastwood as the sidekick, but, funny enough, Eastwood was actually more than okay with that. During the filming of Where Eagles Dare, he thought the script was too wordy and demanded to have lines removed. Richard Burton said of the film “I did all the talking and he did all the killing.” What seems like an odd pairing at first ended up making this film one of the most memorable war films ever produced. Where Eagles Dare is a rousing adventure that constantly makes you rethink your understanding of events. In my book, this is one of those action classics that you just don’t want to miss.