Dandy espionage during wartime...scales the heights...

Rating: 7/10 (28 August 2006)

This well-titled thriller indeed goes WHERE EAGLES DARE and then some. When men aren't climbing mountain peaks, they're fighting atop cable cars and doing so many other stunts on a rescue mission that it becomes the ultimate in action/spy drama of the cleverest kind.
And why not? It's based on Alistair McLean's thrilling novel and he authored the screenplay, turning his fast-moving novel into a thrill ride despite a running time of 158 minutes.
At the center of the action are RICHARD BURTON and CLINT EASTWOOD and their mission is to rescue an American General from the clutches of the Nazis before he can reveal the secret plans for a D-Day invasion. He's being held in a German castle high in the mountains so the mission starts out as a built-in obstacle course. Naturally, a lot of daring and derring-do are needed to accomplish the task once the men arrive at the castle.
It's a beautifully mounted production with no expense spared to turn this into a full-fledged winner, aided immeasurably by Ron Goodwin's background score and some exceptional photography in vivid color.
Summing up: an action fan's dream.