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Where Eagles Dare

Where Eagles Dare

List Price: $19.98
Your Price: $14.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A German fortress? Clint Eastwood? Richard Burton?
Review: How could this combination let you down! This film delivers an extraordinary plot coupled with action and of course, acting to match. I'm 25 years old and I watch this one with my father-in-law who's nearly 70. It's a classic Richard Burton film, but I wouldn't....couldn't watch it without Clint. His silent scowel and young appearance (just barely 30 yrs old) is exactly what we young movie buffs like to see...but to have that Richard Burton performance to boot, you can't lose. Just wait for the monologue.
Apart from that, the action doesn't disappoint and the film truly delivers surprise after surprise.
And do I even need to mention the digitally remastered, widescreen edition is fantastic?!?!?!
Enjoy

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Daring Duo
Review: This is considered part of the Clint Eastwood DVD collection. It includes Widescreen and Standard format versions on one disc, digital transfer, remastered Dolby 5.1 soundtrack, and a Making of featurette. The picture and sound quality overall is first rate.

Although at the time the movie was made it would be considered more of a Richard Burton movie. If you are a fan of either star you will thoroughly enjoy this movie. Burton's acting is right on and a stand out performance. Eastwood although a bit wet behind the ears at that time comes across as weathered for his years and believable.

Based on one of the better Alistair MacLean novels it is non-stop action. Constantly moving from the parachute jump into the mountains of Austria to the escape to Britain there is never a dull moment. The action packed cable car fight and the snow plow chase are great. You are always wondering who is a spy and double agent and who is not. Well worth adding to the your collection of WWII war movies like "The Guns of Navarone" and "The Great Escape".

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: DVD looks great
Review: My patience in waiting for this to come out on DVD has been rewarded. Nicely remastered picture and sound help one enjoy the fact that this is not only a fun action flick, but also full of great scenery.

Clint Eastwood is typically stoic and understated, while Burton is verbose, manly, and often appears to have a look in his eyes that corresponds to his reputation as a boozehound.

The plot? Well, it's rather complicated to explain, but rest assured that it involves WW2, a picturesque castle atop a mountain, Her Majesty's Secret Service, some mystery, intrigue, and a ton of dead nazis. Trying to unravel it all along with the characters is enough to keep one's attention if for one reason or another the action isn't.

As for the action, it is superb and set the bar for all the later action films like the "Die Hard" series. For fans of that series and more recent action films who haven't seen "Where Eagles Dare", this one comes highly recommended.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Solid WWII Action Film
Review: While "Where Eagles Dare" may not be the epitome of WWII action flicks it is an exhilarating thrill ride nonetheless. Great locations, wild action sequences and ultra cool performances from Burton and Eastwood raise this film above the run of the mill actioneer.

The film does have an extremely high body count compared to the novel and this may put off some viewers. In MacLean's book of the same name Burton and Eastwood's characters actually prefer to render the Nazi's unconscious rather than mow them down with bullets as in the film. In fact there is one sequence in the book where the two main characters go out of their way to save a young German soldiers life from a burning building!! I suppose Hollywood insisted Mr. Maclean (who also wrote the screenplay) up the violence ante to draw in more viewers. I prefer the way Mr. Maclean handled things in the book.

There is a scene in the film where a helicopter is shown and this bit seems to get a lot of comments about being historically inaccurate. Actually the Germans had been experimenting with various helicopter designs since the mid-1930's and did so throughout the war. In fact there were several models that saw production and had some limited use in various capacities through out the war. So the inclusion of a helicopter is not so far fetched after all.

Bottom line: not as great as "Guns of Navarone" or "Dirty Dozen" but a solid action film nevertheless. If you don't mind the violence and high body count then be sure to give this one a spin in the DVD player when your looking to satisfy that WWII action/adventure film craving.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Blasting Through the Reich!
Review: I always felt you could really point to 1968's "Where Eagles Dare" as the birthplace of the modern shoot 'em up action movie. An obvious influence on the classic computer game Wolfenstein, Where Eagles Dare treats the viewer to a never-ending stream of violence, bullets, and dead Nazi soldiers. I mean a LOT of dead Nazi soldiers. In the midst of these wild shootouts, you can see the origin of some modern action movie devices, such as the perilous ski lift fight and the extremely frequent use of explosions and other various detonations.

The movie is fairly simple. In 1944, the Nazi's have captured an American general who has intimate details of the upcoming Allied invasion of Europe. Obviously, this is unacceptable, so British intelligence decides upon a daring scheme to eradicate this little problem. A small group of commandos is sent into Nazi occupied Alpine territory, where they find a very daunting challenge. The American is being held in an impregnable Nazi castle, accessible only by a military controlled lift system. Oh yeah, there?s about a thousand Nazi soldiers up there with him. So, with good sense thrown to the wind, the team prepares for the assault. Once the assault begins, the viewer is treated to some really intense action sequences, scenes that I view as way ahead of their time. Hand to hand, machine guns, grenades, dynamite, ice picks, you name it, it gets used in this movie. Of course, a lot of unbelievable things happen, including the movies one detriment. The plot twist in the middle of the movie, a twist that is of the utmost importance to the novel, is pulled off in the movie with an excruciating amount of clumsiness. I still have trouble figuring it out!

Never mind those plot problems though, if you want to see Richard Burton calmly mow down the henchmen of the Third Reich, this is the movie for you. At his side, miraculously, is the unerringly calm Clint Eastwood, who somehow gets mixed up in this operation (I guess they needed at least one hero with an American accent!). The cinematography is excellent, as the gloom and freezing temperatures of a Nordic alpine castle are convincingly rendered. Once the action starts, this movie never looks back, so just sit down and enjoy this WWII action bonanza.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Weak plot, boring film
Review: This film is a waste, a total and absolute complete waste of Richard Burton's talents. This is just a stop-gap for Eastwood fans smack dab in the middle if his spaghetti westerns of the 1960's and his exploitative crime films of the 1970's. This film is a waste of my time. Its just that bad.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Finally on DVD after Years of waiting!
Review: WHERE EAGLES DARE has been number 1 on my DVD wishlist since DVD was invented! And that is a very long time to finally view this Great Comic-Book style WWII adventure in all it's Widescreen Glory! Conceived by Richard Burton himself, who commisioned his friend Alistair Maclean to write an action/adventure screenplay which might revive his lagging screen career after one too many Taylor/Burton pairings, this is the ultimate macho/buddy/nazi bashing/over the top action extravaganza. GUNS OF NAVARONE looks like a picnic in the park compared to the non-stop action in this wonderful. wonderful film. The dialogue sparkles. The Heros (and Heroines!) are smart and funny and ruthlessly daring! The villians (and Villianess's!) are so stereotypically Evil they could be at home in any HAMMER HORROR FILM (as many of the actors playing them were!). Many people don't realize that this is the first film in which Clint Eastwood actually has real lines to speak. Burton chose him personally as his fame from the Spagetti Westerns was at it's peak that year. I like this film because it surprises the viewer...just when you think it can't get any more over the top, it DOES! Highly entertaining ad worthy of many, many reviewings especially with friends! If you've seen it before on video, you haven't seen it yet!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Man With No Name Captures Germany!!!
Review: You can take Clint out of the western but you can't take the western out of Clint. Eastwood puts on another triumphant performance as an American commando sent into Southern Bavaria with several other commandos to penetrate the Castle of the Eagles mountain fortress in an attempt to rescue a U.S. General whose plane was shot down a few days earlier. The plot is thicker than molasses and with so many twists and turns you'll never know who to trust or just how this will end. Needless to say you'll be left on the edge of your seat as this 60's war film spits out all the action, suspense and drama one could possibly stand. It's just a great well rounded movie, and if you liked Guns of Navarone or The Great Escape you won't be disappointed with this film.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Where Eagles Dare...finally on DVD
Review: A great movie that is easy to enjoy again and again. Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood make an unlikely, but excellent team set on literally storming the castle, behind enemy lines, during World War II. The film is an incredible example of how it is possible to make one of the best action movies of all time without any modern day special effects. The locations give the film a realistic backdrop to a story that is more like a classic serial. Where Eagles Dare is filled with explosions, twists, great escapes and characters you love to hate (the Nazi SS for example). An outstanding soundtrack compliments the movie perfectly. Good versus evil and the Allies win against the Nazis in this one too. About a decade late on arriving to DVD, but worth the wait.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Guilty Pleasure
Review: I just have the best time viewing this film again and again. I'm very pleased that a clean DVD is being issued. I have often caught it on television and each time a relive the pleasure I enjoyed seeing this as a teenager for the first time in a theater. Burton and Eastwood make a great team and the story's surprises still entertain.


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