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Summary: 2004 marks the 35th anniversary of this classic. DVD, please
Review: A hugely enjoyable film, Where Eagles Dare cries out for a DVD release with all the requisite bells and whistles attached. Set during WW2 it's the story of an allied rescue mission parachuted into snowy Austria to rescue General Carnaby, a captured US Colonel who is being held captive in the Schloss Adler - a mountaintop fortress accessible only by cable-car.Richard Burton heads the cast as the British agent leading a small team which includes Clint Eastwood as an American Ranger. Clint and Richard - despite or perhaps because of their different acting styles make for a great double act. Eastwood handles most of the action - mowing down legions of crack German troops without batting an eyelid - whilst Burton's rich melodious voice is put to good use in a fantastic scene where our heroes crash the interrogation of General Carnaby. What follows undermines everything you've been led to believe about the 'rescue mission' and will have you on the edge of your seat to find out what happens next. The location filming in snowy Austria is spectacularly well done - you can practically feel the chill coming off the screen and the numerous action sequences are exceptionally well staged for the time (1968). If WED reveals anything it's the sheer pleasure to be had from watching a good story, well told. There isn't a bad scene in the movie and at two and a half hours WED can hardly be said to be short. Yet the pace never flags and unlike so many of todays blockbusters 'Eagles' practically overflows with plot twists, double crosses, triple crosses and dry humour - Eastwoods line to Burton 'Major, right now you have me about as confused as I ever hope to be!' is a classic. Superb action scenes - chief amongst them a brutal to-the-death fight atop a cable car - don't disappoint. Add to this lots of gun battles with machine pistols, booby traps (remember the tripwire bombs?) huge explosions, chases and a fantastic rousing music score from Ron Grainer and hopefully I'll have given you some idea of why this old warhorse is remembered with so much fondness. Nearly 35 years after its release Where Eagles Dare has held up extremely well, better perhaps than anyone might have expected. Are there any faults? Well,'sophisticated' adults may sneer at WED's schoolboy view of war but frankly, that's their fault for being so pompous about it. Where Eagles Dare is wonderful Boys-own escapism untroubled by anything approaching reality and all the better for it.
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Summary: Great WWII War Movie
Review: I saw this movie as a kid, and loved it. It is still my favorite WWII movie of all time - and I love all the war movies! Great plot, great twists, beautiful scenery, great action, Burton, Eastwood (very young) what more could you want! Next time you are in the cheap section at Blockbuster, take it home for an enjoyable winter's afternoon entertainment.
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Summary: the penultimate king of all thrillers!
Review: I have been waiting to write a review about this classic for quite some time now...well,I just couldn't think of suitable enough words.I purchased this film in the VCD format(in excellent print!)just 2 days ago.Now, I somehow don't agree to the way some people have viewed this film.I have seen reviews stating this film as "unrealistic","the germans can't shoot straight!"etc.etc.they are all as WRONG!WRONG!WRONG! can be.
Now this a very different kind of a ww2 film.It's one of the best films made on the "commando coup" subject in ww2 along with MACLEAN'S "THE GUNS OF NAVARONE" & "OPERATION CROSSBOW".people should take into consideration the legendary & daring OTTO SKORZENY rescue of MUSSOLINI from the high ABRUZZI mountains in ITALY during the war.sound familiar!!
the acting by BURTON(NEEDLESS TO SAY!)is riveting;so's EASTWOOD'S presence as an experienced(and not mistakenly teenage-he was 38 at that time!)U.S. ranger.The supporting actors are equally well suited-sir MICHEAL HORDERN,PATRICK WYMARCK,ANTON DIFFRING & DERREN NESBITT.it's the ultimate espionage fim set during ww2.....well enough,just see it!!!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Where Eagles And Good Actors Dare...
Review: This film was overall an excellent film. After seeing almost all of the classic war movies (Great Escape, Bridge On The River Kwai, Stalag 17), I wanted to find another movie like those. "Where Eagles Dare" is no exception. It is an excellent movie that deserves the four stars it gets. The acting in the movie is great. Richard Burton is perfect as the serious and hard-edged commando who must rely on his wits to get himself out of tough situations. Clint Eastwood was alright but he seems to be a little too sure of himself throughout the movie. He did say "Let Richard do all the talking..." but I felt he was too stiff. The actions sequences are excellent; the numerous explosions at the end a great way to finish off the movie. The fight on the telepherique is thrilling. The rest of the gunfights are excellent also. The plot is alright but a little weak. The reason to go seemed a little corny and unconvincing, and the whole double-crossing part had such a big impact because it means that they went up there for nothing more than to buy some time for the Allies. The one thing that bothered me throughout it was the dialogue. No, there weren't any corny lines. It was the absence of the use of the German language. None of the German officers spoke German, right down to the Gestapo man. They all spoke English with sounded like the accent of a British actor. Even the German Officers talked amongst themselves in English. I found this to be terribly unconvincing and distracting the whole way through. Overall the movie was great and is a must see for any fan of war movies or just action-thrillers in general.
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Summary: I nearly froze to death in that .... plane - DVD PLEASE!!!!
Review: The greatest war, action, romance, thriller, nature movie EVER EVER EVER made. PLEASE PLEASE release this (pardon the overused word now) CLASSIC(!!!) on DVD. Everyone of these thousands of people who have written these rapsodic reviews of this MASTERPIECE of ALL genres, promises to buy 100 copies each! DVD DVD DVD!
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Summary: Great if it was on DVD
Review: This is a great film. Really good action. It's a pity that it still is not on DVD!
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Summary: Calls into MGM lead to confusion over rights
Review: I have been waiting and waiting for word on the expected and previously tentatively announced release of a special edition of this DVD. So, using my position as an editor at a reasonably sized suburban newspaper I put in a call to my contacts at MGM to see what the hold up might be.
Imagine my surprise then when my contact informs me that MGM does not hold the rights to the picture. Furthermore, they believe the picture has been licensed to Warner Bros.
My interest piqued I turned around and called my contacts at Warner Bros. It seems they (at Time Warner) are not aware of any licensing agreement concerning "Where Eagles Dare" and therefore have no plans to release it (since they didn't even know they had rights to it).
I don't think we can expect any DVD release of this much loved movie until MGM and Warner decide exactly who has rights to it.
Concerning the movie itself: Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood give solid performances as commando's parachuted behind enemy lines in this movie adapted for the screen by Alistair (Guns of Navarone) McLean, from his own novel.
The scenery is breathtaking and the action steller and after an admittedly slow start the action scenes really pick up in the latter half of the movie as Burton unravels a web of deceit and unmasking of traitors. He must then attampt to escape with his secrets with what would seem like the entire German army in hot pursuit.
Recommended for action fans, Clint Eastwood fans and people who like their Richard Burton dark, brooding and dangerous.
Rating:
Summary: 50 calibre action
Review: Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood complement each other so well that this movie could be carried alone by their chemistry, thankfully we also get a great world war two action/espionage plot thrown in.
I have seen this film more times than i can remember and it never loses its appeal.
Clint plays his square jawed action man against Burtons foxy spy, the double crossing and second guessing keep the tension high throughout.
Very few world war two movies of this calibre.
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Summary: One of the best movies of all time!!
Review: A movie from 1968 with...Amazon costumer reviews -- all giving it 4-5 stars -- you know that it has to be great. And it is! "Where Eagles Dare" is one of my all-time favorite flicks! In WWII Richard Burton leads a group of commandos -- including Clint Eastwood -- on a joint US/UK mission to a remote castle in the scenic Alps. It all starts with one of the best movie-beginnings ever, as a plane flies over the Alps to drop off the paratroopers. This is all to one of the best musical pieces I've ever heard in my life. From there we get mysterious deaths, romantic rendezous', remote miltary outposts, pub scenes, castles, combat, cable-car fights, chases, escapes, plot surprises, and then... well, let's just say it's not over till it's over. When it comes out on DVD -- I'll own it. Buy it!
Rating:
Summary: "Second rate punk," eh?
Review: Pros: Great action and adventure, Burton and Eastwood are likable.
Cons: Germans need training, plot and character alliances can be confusing. Let me start off by saying: This isn't a war film. Though it takes place during a war, it is really an action/adventure movie. A war film is something like "All Quiet on the Western Front". This is escapist entertainment that was aimed for young boys, though many people could enjoy this. Consider this how James Bond would fight a war. And it has a Bondish plot: An important allied general, who knows the plans for the second front against Germany, has been captured and is held in an inaccessible fortress. The only hope of getting him out before he tells the Germans what he knows is to land in an allied team, led by Burton, to get him out. Unfortunately, the mission is plagued by double crosses and various mishaps in the castle. Getting in and getting the general is difficult enough, but getting out with half the German infantry against you would take a miracle. Or maybe it wouldn't. I don't mean to sound uptight, but while the Germans have the advantage against the commandos in size, the allies definitely have the advantage in tactics. The allies try to hide behind walls and doors and such, while the Germans just march ahead or jump in the way, almost begging to be killed. The worse example was when a group of German infantry was on the stairway. Eastwood was on the other side and is spotted by the Germans, yet they freeze up while Eastwood blasts them down. It also seems that the good guys never run out of bullets. But, who are the good guys in this movie? Out of the seven commandos launched in, two are killed and three are taken prisoner. As it turns out, those three taken are German spies. This is revealed when Burton and Eastwood crash in on a German conference in the fortress, but not before Burton confuses Eastwood, and the audience, about whom he really is. He convinces the German high command that he is a double agent, only to then waste them. We also learn that the American General is actually a corporal. The biggest surprise comes at the end, when Burton reveals the top Nazi spy in England. Some people can also have a [hissy] fit all they want about the fact that helicopters were not around at this time in World War II, especially in Germany. Well, after the crew gets out, they say it is an experimental machine. And they don't even call it a helicopter. Thus, such a thing can be easily ignored. I also don't mind the fluent English that spoken by the Germans here or that Burton and Eastwood are as convincingly German as rock and roll (Sorry, but it was the best I could come up with. If you have any suggestions, put them in the comment box). Then again, this is all being judged by today's standards. This movie was released in 1968, the same year the American public saw the horrors of the Tet Offensive unfold before them on their televisions. Such fun, good, clean war movies aimed at young boys could never be made again. Or, if they were, they would not be received well. Two such recent films, "Behind Enemy Lines" and "Hart's War" vanished as quickly as they came. Another recent war film that went quickly was the brutal but sentimental "We Were Soldiers". Today, its common knowledge that war is hell, and filmmakers are quick to shove that down our throats. Anything less wouldn't please the critics. Geez, what's next on Hollywood's moral agenda: Everyone dies? So, I don't hate "Where Eagles Dare". It has some great action scenes, an exciting music score, though a few scenes seem a bit "Dr. Strangelove"-ish, and a great cast. But, had the plot and character alliances been less confusing, the movie would have been even better. As it stands, it's a great action movie. And where's that DVD?
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