Fantastic WW2 adventure

Rating: 10/10 (20 June 2016)

I think WHERE EAGLES DARE is a tremendously exciting, action-packed WW2 adventure and certainly the best adaptation of a novel by Alistair MacLean that I've watched. My only complaint is that it's taken me until the thirty-fifth year of my life to actually bother sitting down and watching it, which is almost criminal. In any case, this is a classic war film that can be mentioned in the same breath as the likes of THE GREAT ESCAPE. It features an all-star cast of heroes doing heroic things in a film which has a bit of everything: suspense that never lets up from beginning to end, huge action in the form of countless shoot-outs, sinister Nazi villains, beautiful women, and rugged male heroes.
Richard Burton is the erstwhile lead, doing unsurprisingly well with a multi-layered character, and Clint Eastwood is the perfect choice for his young, cocksure, American partner. The setting itself - this was filmed in the Bavarian Alps - is beautifully shot and a fine addition to the movie. I find the idea of infiltrating a Nazi mountaintop fortress to be incredible in itself and WHERE EAGLES DARE runs away with the premise. In the second half, there's as much action as in COMMANDO, it gets so thrilling.
Mary Ure and Ingrid Pitt in particular make their mark as the femme fatales caught up in the action. Other reliables like Donald Houston, Patrick Wymark, Michael Hordern, and a superbly slimy Derren Nesbitt really make their mark, and Anton Diffring plays one of his most memorable Nazi characters. There are some stunning set-pieces here, but the latter bit on the cable car is by far the best moment of the film. I just can't get over how fresh and modern-feeling WHERE EAGLES DARE, and how much entertainment it packs into that lengthy running time. It's a classic!