Never Bettered.

Rating: 9/10 (31 October 2010)

Arguably the most successful and memorable screening of Alistair McClean's rip-roaring novels; it is also the most preposterous by a long chalk.
'Where Eagles Dare' is a do-or-die mission with a plot so convoluted that it's almost incomprehensible. A special team are sent behind German lines during WW2 in order to rescue a captured American general and prevent him from divulging all the allied plans. I think that's it - so far. Led by charismatic Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood, you know you're in for a rollicking ride.
The general is being held in a castle/fortress deep in the Bavarian mountains. It's unapproachable, impregnable, and guarded by a top SS regiment - a piece of cake in other words. Maybe I should say 'a slice of gateau'. What's more - as in all good action-stories of this genre - there are spies and traitors in the team.
This movie is an adrenaline rush from beginning to end. Our heroes face hazard upon hazard. But at each turn, they run rings around the Germans who are - as usual - depicted as dumb, pedantic twits. Access to the fortress is via cable-car, which provides all manner of seat-edge suspense and drama. The final denouement concerning the American 'general' and the ultimate reason for the mission is so bizarre and improbable that it's a wonder the actors could take it seriously. But they did, and we go along for the ride too.
So much stuff happens in this movie - although the special-effects are gapingly obvious - it's a match for most of the slicker, CGI'd offerings available today. I'd back this hokum against the super-self-important 'Matrix' twaddle any time.
Apart from the flawed special-effects during some of the cable-car sequences, the rest of the movie is tight, taut, and ready to rock. There's bags of pyrotechnics, shoot-em-ups that don't entail walking up the walls; there's believable locations and set-pieces. The castle 'feels' like a castle, the gunshots look realistic. Really; you can't quibble about the camera-work, lighting, editing etc. And there's instantly recognisable theme and incidental music. Top this off with a decent script, two box-office stars and a host of excellent character actors; and there's not much left wanting. Although 'The Guns Of Navarone' is more believable, this movie is the action-maestro of its period.
If you haven't heard Broadsword calling Danny-Boy, then you must be Ellen Ripley. This is a vintage must-see. No question.