Where Eagles Dare (1968)

Director:

Brian G. Hutton

Writer:

Alistair MacLean (story)

Release Date:

12 March 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | War

Tagline:

They look like Nazis but . . . The Major is British . . . The Lieutenant is American . . . The Beautiful Frauleins are Allied Agents!

Plot:

Allied agents stage a daring raid on a castle where the Nazis are holding an American General prisoner... but that's not all that's really going on.

Plot Keywords:

Mission | Nazi | SS | Castle | Parachute Drop

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Richard Burton	...	Maj. Jonathan Smith, MC
Clint Eastwood	...	Lt. Morris Schaffer
Mary Ure	...	Mary Elison
Patrick Wymark	...	Col. Wyatt Turner, DSO MC
Michael Hordern	...	Adm. Rolland
Donald Houston	...	Capt. James Christiansen
Peter Barkworth	...	Edward Berkeley
William Squire	...	Capt. Philip Thomas
Robert Beatty	...	Gen. George Carnaby
Brook Williams	...	Sgt. Harrod
Neil McCarthy	...	Sgt. Jock MacPherson
Vincent Ball	...	Carpenter
Anton Diffring	...	SS-Standartenführer Kramer
Ferdy Mayne	...	Gen. Rosemeyer
Derren Nesbitt	...	SS-Sturmbannführer Von Hapen

Runtime:

158 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | German

Colour:

Colour (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Mono (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Spain:13 | Australia:G (TV rating) | Iceland:12 | New Zealand:PG | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1969) | Sweden:15 | UK:A (cut) (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1988) | USA:M (original rating) | USA:PG | West Germany:16 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Aigen im Ennstal, Steiermark, Austria

Company:

Winkast Film Productions

Trivia:

Despite Clint Eastwood's reputation for violence in other films, his character kills more people in this film than any other Eastwood character.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Christiansen fires at Smith through the roof of the cable car, he fires five shots yet the pistol can be heard to click empty on the fifth.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Lt. Morris Schaffer: Do me a favor, will you? Next time you have one of these things, keep it an all-British operation.
Major John Smith: I'll try, lieutenant.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Hitler: The Comedy Years (2007) (TV)

A great wartime thriller

Where Eagles Dare is simply wonderful. Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood are in terrific form as leaders of a mission deep behind enemy lines. Their job: to infiltrate a mountain top castle and rescue an imprisoned American colonel. There's actually more to the mission than that, but to give away the twists would be to rob anyone who hasn't seen the movie of some wonderful surprises.

The snowy backdrop is perfectly captured. The action sequences (of which there are many) are brilliantly staged, especially the fight atop the cable car, and the bus chase at the end. Each character is well cast, with Burton, Eastwood, Ure and Hordern giving commanding performances. Best of all is the little-known Derren Nesbitt who oozes menace and charm as a nasty Nazi soldier.

I've seen this film countless times and it never tires me. It has so many twists and turns and well-execute sequences that it is gripping every time you watch it. There's really no other way to say it - you need to see this film and see it soon!