Critic Reviews
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, Variety
Alistair MacLean wrote an original screenplay that was treated with respect for the writer's unusual abilities as a master of actionful suspense. The resulting film is highly entertaining, thrilling and rarely lets down for a moment.
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, Time Out
It may be devoid of significance of any sort, but it is nevertheless passably entertaining, and certainly better viewing than most MacLean adaptations.
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Vincent Canby, New York Times
It is so long (almost three hours) that it may finally bore the very action trade for which it was intended; yet it's just at that point of surface boredom that the movie aficionado will probably become entranced.
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Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
You have to admire any film that casts Clint Eastwood opposite Richard Burton; the real violence is in the clash of acting styles.
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John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
Mostly, Eastwood just follows Burton's character around, shooting people and blowing stuff up. (Blu-ray Action Double Feature)
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John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
...it provides full-on thrills, maybe exaggerated thrills, to be sure, but making for an exciting ride, nonetheless.
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Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews
A straight-ahead, old-school action movie for war-espionage junkies. [Blu-ray]
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
If it's a mindless roller-coaster thrill ride that you fancy, this is the vehicle that knows how to make it a fun ride.
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, TV Guide's Movie Guide
If it's explosions, gunplay, and wartime treachery that you like, Where Eagles Dare delivers.
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Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com
Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton team up for a fairly high-flying adventure.
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Jeffrey Westhoff, Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)
Non-stop action of the highest quality.
Read all 11 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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They sure knew how to make great WWII films back in the 1960's. So many classics from that era to love and remember. This highly suspenseful action-adventure, starring Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood in excellent form, joins those ranks with ease, as it takes us through a… More
They sure knew how to make great WWII films back in the 1960's. So many classics from that era to love and remember. This highly suspenseful action-adventure, starring Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood in excellent form, joins those ranks with ease, as it takes us through a rousing series of taut and explosive events. While we do have to suffer a lot of obvious blue-screens, the outstanding story - along with its actors - makes such minor drawbacks effortless to overlook. There's a lot of plot twists as well, which results in the film being pleasantly unpredictable. We don't get that too much in modern cinema, without it feeling contrived or artificial in some way. Add to that the enchantingly sexy Ingrid Pitt, and you have more than enough reason to watch this great classic. A well-deserved 4 out of 5 stars!
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An impossible but no less important mission..
Hyper cool heroes who perform the most daring stunts without as much as breaking a sweat..
Double, triple or even quadruple twists and turns in the plot (Eventually you'll loose count)..
Overall, a brainless popcorn movie that… More
An impossible but no less important mission..
Hyper cool heroes who perform the most daring stunts without as much as breaking a sweat..
Double, triple or even quadruple twists and turns in the plot (Eventually you'll loose count)..
Overall, a brainless popcorn movie that does'nt offer anything reputable or realistic. Still its fun to watch Eastwood shooting the crap out of people.
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One of the highlights of the World War II military caper films that were rather popular in the 1960s. It has all it needs: an impossible mission to a unique and interesting location, very bad odds and cool heroes. Here: Richard Burton as sly fox planning ahead and Clint Eastwood as… More
One of the highlights of the World War II military caper films that were rather popular in the 1960s. It has all it needs: an impossible mission to a unique and interesting location, very bad odds and cool heroes. Here: Richard Burton as sly fox planning ahead and Clint Eastwood as tight-lipped rookie. While the first half concentrates on stealth and deception, the second is action packed, both are very exciting. The story offers more twists than you'd expect from such a film, too. As far as the realism of UK and US soldiers easily sneaking into Nazi facilities go: Tarantino certainly had a look at this before doing "Inglourious basterds".
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A blisteringly exciting and thoroughly exhilarating action-packed thriller. A classic men on a mission adventure in the tradition of The Guns of Navarone. It's purely entertaining with enough explosive suspense and slam-bang non-stop action to go around for two and a half hours.… More
A blisteringly exciting and thoroughly exhilarating action-packed thriller. A classic men on a mission adventure in the tradition of The Guns of Navarone. It's purely entertaining with enough explosive suspense and slam-bang non-stop action to go around for two and a half hours. A smart, dazzling and well-crafted masterpiece. Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood are terrific.
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This is one of my all-the-time favourite war films based on the novel by Alister MacLean I read before watching this. Really great entertainment in the escapist adventure where our heroes can do no wrong and the action comes thick and fast.
Surprisingly the combination of Richard… More
This is one of my all-the-time favourite war films based on the novel by Alister MacLean I read before watching this. Really great entertainment in the escapist adventure where our heroes can do no wrong and the action comes thick and fast.
Surprisingly the combination of Richard Burton's classical approach to acting & Clint Eastwood's brash new-kid-on-the block 1960s adaption works quite excellent and make for a good partnership as they go about kicking Nazi butt in their usual inimitable ways.
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Debatably my favorite war movie, mainly in the fact that it's so much fun. The plot is virtually flawless and extremely original, I almost feel like it could have been a B movie at one time before they discovered how cool it was. A secret ops mission at a Nazi Castle is… More
Debatably my favorite war movie, mainly in the fact that it's so much fun. The plot is virtually flawless and extremely original, I almost feel like it could have been a B movie at one time before they discovered how cool it was. A secret ops mission at a Nazi Castle is unbeatable in terms of shear intrigue, who wouldn't want to see that played out. Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton give two very different, yet flawless performances. Every time they appear on screen you are marveled by how amazing they are. The action is amazing and some of the best sequences are achieved by simply doing things no one ever tried to do before. The visuals alike are so unique and beautiful, hardly any war movies capture the offbeat background in the way this film does.
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This is a true representation of the book by alistair maclean, which may not be the best thing, as it does get a little boring. however, clint eastwood does very well and this movie was great for its time.
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Where Eagles Dare is about a group of Brits led by Major Smith (Richard Burton) and one American (Clint Eastwood) whose mission is to penetrate a fortress and bring back an American general who has the plans for the second wave of Allied European assault.
This is your basic,… More
Where Eagles Dare is about a group of Brits led by Major Smith (Richard Burton) and one American (Clint Eastwood) whose mission is to penetrate a fortress and bring back an American general who has the plans for the second wave of Allied European assault.
This is your basic, straightforward, 1960's WWII movie where they take an established star (Burton) and an up and comer (Eastwood) and send them on an impossible mission against thousands of Nazis. The problem with Where Eagles Dare is that by the time you get to any kind of pay off you really don't care. You'll be bored to tears by the never ending action sequences as characters swing back and forth between sets over and over again. The two hour forty minute running time could have easily been trimmed to make the film run a little easier, but that would still not make up for Burton's performance. Burton tries to be the star, yet Eastwood steals the stage, which isn't saying much because Eastwood is given very little to work with in his character. He's practically playing a plank. Burton, who was intoxicated through much of the shoot, pales in comparison.
There are a few good sequences throughout the film, but most of it drags on and on and never really reaches its destination. You'll need a score card for all the plot twists and a pillow for the inevitable nap.
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Good but overlong action thriller. Some good twists and beautiful scenery help. Burton, sometimes a very good actor and sometimes a very lazy one falls on the good side in this as does Eastwood, the ladies perform well although they aren't given much in the way of character… More
Good but overlong action thriller. Some good twists and beautiful scenery help. Burton, sometimes a very good actor and sometimes a very lazy one falls on the good side in this as does Eastwood, the ladies perform well although they aren't given much in the way of character development.
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Another Great "Bunch of Guys (and this time girls) get together to kick some ass movie
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why is it that Clint Eastwoods best films are not Dirty Harry or westerns
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Rather dim-witted boys own WWII action movie based on a novel by populist hack Alistair MacLean. The action scenes are strangely dull and overlong, but it does have some kitsch entertainment value, particularly involving the interplay between Burton and Eastwood.
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GREAT! one of the best war spy movies ever!
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Despite it's improbable and often incomprehensible plot, Where Eagles Dare is an effective World War II action film. Director by Brian Hutton, whose other notable films include Kelly's Heroes (also featuring Eastwood), and Gunfight at the O.K. Carole, guides the film with a… More
Despite it's improbable and often incomprehensible plot, Where Eagles Dare is an effective World War II action film. Director by Brian Hutton, whose other notable films include Kelly's Heroes (also featuring Eastwood), and Gunfight at the O.K. Carole, guides the film with a proper sense of tension and pace, combined with impressive cinematography. In short- it's smartly made. The script suffers from being overly written (or perhaps overly gimmicky), in that it has an overabundance of twits, some of which are fairly asinine. The action scenes, though handled well, do also get tiresome toward the end. The casting, however, is very strong, with Richard Burton showing his brilliance (especially in one very memorable scene, which I have seen described as an "epic mindfuck session"), and is complemented well by Eastwood. That chemistry alone carries the film through any deficiencies.
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A War/Spy movie based on a book by master of action, Alister MacLean, who also wrote the screenplay at the same time. Throw in the inspired pairing of Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood, some breathtaking alpine locations and it sounds like a recipe for one hell of an action film - and… More
A War/Spy movie based on a book by master of action, Alister MacLean, who also wrote the screenplay at the same time. Throw in the inspired pairing of Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood, some breathtaking alpine locations and it sounds like a recipe for one hell of an action film - and that's exactly what we get - non-stop action and intigue from beginning to closing credits in a very memorable and classy movie indeed.
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Good war movie starring Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood. A group of spies set out to rescue a captured soldier in a German Fortress high in the mountains, only to find out their assignment has been leaked by an informer. The story was very silly, but the interplay between screen… More
Good war movie starring Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood. A group of spies set out to rescue a captured soldier in a German Fortress high in the mountains, only to find out their assignment has been leaked by an informer. The story was very silly, but the interplay between screen legends Burton and Eastwood made up for it, and there was plenty of action with Clint killing half of the German army singlehandedly. Worth a look if nothing's on.
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Genuinly good film.....definatley one of the better war mobies.
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A complicated plot with so many twists and turns it borders on being hard to follow. The action is impressive for the time, but it grows a little tiring.
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Another of the great little films staring Richard Burton. Also, Clint Eastwood was amazing in this double cross film.
Read all 19 featured audience ratings
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