Director: Brian G. Hutton
Production Company: Winkast Film Productions
Country: UK
Year: 1968
Sometimes a good suspenseful, action thriller is all you really need. When you go back in time a bit, a lot of them are fairly bland (think of all those WWII movies that TCM show during the day that just kind of all blur together), but some are just a cut above the rest. When you put Richard Burton, formerly the highest-paid actor in the world, and up-and-comer (back then) Clint Eastwood in the same picture, with even Oscar nominee Mary Ure and Ingrid Pitt in supporting roles, and have them infiltrate a Nazi castle up in the snowy mountains to protect British government secrets from falling into the wrong hands, you know that, all being well and good, this one should be a stormer.
What’s clear right from the outset is that, although this is a film which is over two and a half hours long, it’s really cleverly contained in pretty much one rough geographical area. There’s no massive treks all over the world, and though there’s some cutting back to a command center in Britain, there’s nothing fundamentally extravagant. All the effort is gone into putting our small platoon of heroes in the snowy Nazi town below, and up to the castle in the hills via the cable cars. One of the massive upsides of this is that it then becomes a really good pot-boiler of a thriller, and you almost don’t notice how long the film is. Everything’s laden with suspense from ten minutes in to the final few frames as the credits begin to roll. You never get a break, there’s never a chance to escape; its just a couple of heroes on their own, trying to carry out the impossible and get the hell out of there again. There’s some twists and turns, as all good thrillers have, but in principle, it’s very simple, and that means that they can focus on what’s important: being really entertaining.
And most of it works because Burton’s refined tones give an air of respectability and command, and Eastwood is very good with a machine gun when he needs to be. Though there are others involved, the two aforementioned women perform their roles well, and aren’t afraid to use a machine gun when they need to, its these two performances of Burton and Eastwood which carry the film. They’re perfect for the roles; quiet and even suave when they need to be, but tough and ready to throw down when push comes to shove. This also includes one of the greatest fight scenes ever put to film, with Richard Burton’s Major Smith fighting off two enemies atop a moving cable car, suspended hundreds of meters above a sudden death on the snowy, rocky gorge bottom. It’s just sheer cinematic wonder.
And there’s actually quite a bit of violence involved. Every bullet shot gives a gush of bright red blood, a change-up from the usual wartime movie fare of the time before, when hundreds would get mowed down and not a spot of red in sight. Perhaps the Technicolor world of Hammer films had convinced them to put a bit more coloured realism into their world, and make everything have a little extra punch. Whatever it is, that there’s so much time taken to sneaking around and keeping us on the edge of our seats, means that the action feels so much more visceral. It feels exciting. It doesn’t feel like someone told them they need another gunfight because we need another gunfight. It’s a natural release of tension which feels earned, and is all the better for it.
Is the film a little too long? Perhaps. I’m sure they could have found a way to bring it down to nearer the two-hour mark, but it’s not a major blow. Is the final twist in the tale fully expected? Perhaps, especially with the amount of twists and turns we’ve seen in movies over the years preparing us for it. But its’ still thrilling, still exciting, and still a film which, for the most part (aside from one or two effects shots which are aging badly in lots of films), holds up well, at least from a narrative crafting point of view. Where Eagles Dare is fun, thrilling, and a good way to while away an evening curled up by the fire. It’s just one of those films which is always going to go down well.
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Rating: 8/10
Review by Kieran Judge
Twitter: kjudgemental
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