The greatest movie ever made..!

Sadly Over-hyped

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

I wonder about the rank of Reichsmarschall Rosemeyer, this means "Marshall of the Realm" which I understand that was created specially for Goering to ensure he was higher than generals. Nobody else was a reichsmarschall

Where Eagles Dare has been given the status of one of the best war movies ever produced. I think that statement is going a little too far, but I found the movie to be an effective war film and one of the better ones from an era in which seemingly hundreds of movies focused on World War II were released. Despite the acclaim it has received, it has received notice for historical inaccuracy. Personally I don't mind because the value of a movie is entertainment, not truth. On top of that, this story which was written by Alistair Maclean as a pet project for Richard Burton so it's a work of fiction, so history accuracy should not matter here. The movie is rather lengthy as it clocks in a tad over two-and-a-half hours, but I felt the time flew by quickly. There are plenty of action sequences and most of them are convincing and entertaining. Who wouldn't want to see Allied personnel lay waste to a bunch of Nazi scum? Despite this being a piece of fiction, I was washed over by a feeling of pleasure watching these Allied troops infiltrate a Nazi stronghold.During the war, a British aircraft was shot down over Nazi territory leaving only one survivor, an American general. The Allies are fearful because he knows all about the D-Day invasion, which holds the key to their success in achieving victory. They decide its best that he not divulge any information to the Nazis, so they plan a rescue mission. The team is led by Major John Smith (Richard Burton)-I know, such an original name right?, and his second-in-command, Lieutenant Schaffer (Clint Eastwood) who happens to be the only American in the rescue group. After the parachute drop goes wrong, it becomes clear to Schaffer that the mission is more important and more secretive than originally thought.The performances seem to be low-key despite the starpower in the main roles. You know, the one and only Richard Burton and the main famous for his manly scowl, Clint Eastwood. They all did well in their roles, even if their roles are not the best they have ever done. Burton does well in anything he does so it's no surprise he does so here. I like Clint Eastwood, and he puts his action chops to good use here. I read that he thought the screenplay was horrible and he wished to be given less speaking lines. So director Brian G. Hutton gave more of his lines to Burton and allowed Eastwood to focus more on the action. In the end, I think that worked out well.Where Eagles Dare is a very fun, entertaining movie. The movie has lots of muscle to it, but it surprisingly has a good amount of brains to it. That scene in the headquarters meeting room with Burton revealing some traitors, that was an incredible scene. Burton's character was messing around with the heads of everyone in the room, friend or foe. The action is consistent and they do a solid job. From the beginning with that parachute drop to the infiltration of the Nazi headquarters, to the grand escape with a bunch of Nazis on their heels-it was all good fun watching Smith and crew act smarter than the Nazi's. The movie itself is nothing special, but it's fun, entertaining, and a war thriller that doesn't take itself seriously. Not everything about the film plays off as rational, but does it really have to be? My Grade: A-

"Where Eagles Dare" isn't only one of the best WWII movies of all time it is also one of the most entertaining, and in addition it also the best adaptation I've seen of Alistair MacLean's work since "The Guns of Navarone" (1961). At the time this movie was in production Richard Burton's career was in a downward spiral due to the box office failure of many films including "Doctor Faustus" (1967) and "The Comedians" (1967) (of which these two films he did with then wife Elizabeth Taylor). So Burton badly needed a hit and even though he didn't like war movies he did this because he wanted to revitalize his film career by doing an action movie in close coordination with MacLean and producer Eliot Kastner. Thus the movie was made and Burton got his box office hit. Burton plays the title role of British army Major John Smith who is in charge of a mission to go to the Nazi "Castle of the Eagle" dressed up as Nazis in order to rescue an American General (Robert Beatty) who is held prisoner, while dressing up as Nazis. The person on the team that Smith trusts the most is an American army Lieutenant named Morris Schaffer (Clint Eastwood) who is totally confused as to why he is involved with the mission, the rest of the team consists of Brits and is allied with two women Mary Ellison (Mary Ure) and a woman named Heidi (Ingrid Pitt) who pose as Germans in order to infiltrate the castle. The movie was directed by Brian G. Hutton who would direct Eastwood again in "Kelly's Heroes" (1970) two years after this movie was released. Burton and Eastwood give one of their best performances of their respective careers, and MacLean's screenplay really kept me in suspense as well as shock with the amount of major plot twists which are too important for me to spoil in this review. The movie does have echoes of other World War II classics such as "The Guns of Navarone" (1961), "The Great Escape" (1963), and "The Heroes of Telemark" (1965), and like those films this one was truly Oscar level thanks to Hutton's expert direction made this movie the masterpiece that it truly is. This is one of 1968's finest films.

Where Eagles Dare is a World War 2 based action thriller where British secret agents are given a mission to infiltrate a Nazi castle and rescue a prisoner of war.I first heard about this movie via the Facebook group For Bond Fans Only where one member mentioned the movie stating that Richard Burton's performance would have qualified him for the role of James Bond. I myself became eager to see the movie and ordered it from Amazon for only £2.While the plot may seem thin when you first read the blurb on IMDb, it turns out to be much more complex than that with a few great twists. This in turn adds to the thrills of the movie which will get you gripped. The double act of Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood added star quality to the movie. The action sequences were also very exciting to watch and added extra spice to the movie.I must say I was pleasantly surprised with this movie. This is not your typical World War 2 movie. In fact it was more than that. I don't understand why this movie is not well know. It should be considered a classic. I may consider watching other classic World War 2 movies after this such as The Dirty Dozen. My £2 spent was definitely worthwhile.