The Eagle Has Landed (1976)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

John Sturges

Writers:

Tom Mankiewicz (screenplay)
Jack Higgins (novel)

Release Date:

25 December 1976 (Finland)

Genre:

Adventure | War | Drama

Tagline:

In 1943 sixteen German paratroopers landed in England. In three days they nearly won the War.

Plot:

Oberst Steiner, a German parachute unit commander, is sent to England on a covert mission to kidnap...

Plot Keywords:

Parachute | Winston Churchill | Magnifying Glass | Cigarette Smoking | Heinrich Himmler

Cast

Michael Caine	...	Colonel Kurt Steiner
Donald Sutherland	...	Liam Devlin
Robert Duvall	...	Colonel Max Radl
Jenny Agutter	...	Molly Prior
Donald Pleasence	...	Heinrich Himmler
Anthony Quayle	...	Admiral Canaris
Jean Marsh	...	Joanna Grey
Sven-Bertil Taube	...	Capt. Hans von Neustadt
John Standing	...	Philip Verecker
Judy Geeson	...	Pamela Verecker
Treat Williams	...	Capt. Harry Clark
Larry Hagman	...	Col. Clarence E. Pitts
Alexei Jawdokimov	...	Corpral Kuniski
Richard Wren
Michael Byrne	...	Karl

Runtime:

135 min | Germany:125 min (25 fps) (TV version) | UK:145 min (25 fps) (extended version) | USA:123 min | USA:131 min (DVD version)

Country:

UK

Language:

English | German | Polish

Colour:

Black and White | Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (35 mm prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | 4-Track Stereo (some 35 mm prints) (London premiere print)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | West Germany:16 (f) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:16 (1977) | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video rating) (1986) | UK:A (original rating) | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Berkshire, England, UK

Company:

Associated General Films

Trivia:

The MTB used in this film is actually MTB 102 an extremely important and illustrious boat used throughout WWII including during the Dunkirk evacuation of British and French forces in 1940 where it actually became the flagship of the fleet when the Admiral in charge of the operation transferred his flag to the boat after his destroyer was sunk. The production company paid for the completion of its restoration after being used by a local Sea Scout troop on the Norfolk Broads. The boat is still afloat and has a vast number of related articles about it on the internet including those about its design heritage and timely build just prior to the beginning of the war. A true historic boat.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Robert Duvall grossly mispronounces the words, "herr major".

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: [WWII News Story] September 12, 1943, German paratroopers snatched Mussolini from his mountaintop prison in Italy.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005) (TV)

A superb colorful war movie

Usually I do not like war movies, but this one is excellent seen from different point of views.

The dialogue is fantastic and helps describing the characters. Every line is as written for the actors.

And what an incredible cast: Michael Caine as Nazi officer driven by duty and honor, Donald Sutherland as an amazing Irish dog and horse whisperer (there is always those sparkling glimpses in his eyes!), Robert Duval as colonel Radl (he does not play the character - he IS in fact the colonel), Donald Pleasance as a slimy and yet funny Himmler and not to forget the energic Larry Hagman as "home made" American red neck officer. Besides that a good supporting cast.

But what is more important in this well done movie is the complexity of the war combatants - e.g. Caine trying to save a jewish women from certain death, one of his soldiers saving a little English girl from drowning at the water mill, Hagman as an incompetent, but yet war loving officer, sacrificing of an actor who takes over Churchill's part. The conclusion is that when you cut down to basics you will find honorable men among the enemies (Nazis) and less sympathetic men among the Allied.

By the way - there is a lot of humor on both sides - and that is not too bad though!