The Eagle Has Landed (1976)
Genre: War
Duration: 135 minuten
Country:
United Kingdom
Directed by: John Sturges
Stars: Michael Caine, Robert Duvall and Donald Sutherland
IMDb score:
6,9 (27.321)
Releasedate: 24 December 1976
The Eagle Has Landed plot
"The daring World War II plot that changed the course of history."
1943. A tired Winston Churchill tries to relax in an English village. Meanwhile, Heinrich Himmler receives the message 'the eagle has landed'. This message means that a group of German paratroopers has landed safely in England. Their mission is to kidnap the British Prime Minister. Everything goes without incident. The Germans dressed in Polish uniforms are included in the English community. Until a German soldier is killed in a rescue and it becomes clear that the Poles are really Germans.
Actors and actresses
Col. Kurt Steiner
Liam Devlin
Col. Max Radl
Molly Prior
Himmler
Admiral Canaris
Joanna Grey
Captain von Neustadt
Father Verecker
Pamela
Reviews & comments
Lovelyboy
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- 4059 messages
- 3041 votes
Nice movie I've seen a long time ago. I only remembered 'the rescue' where the cover fails. At the time I thought it was just a setback that couldn't be compared to Kelly's Heroes or Where Eagles Dare to name a few. Despite the fact that the film still falls short in that area, I still think it is a nice and entertaining film.
The first thing that stands out is the 'anti-Hitler' atmosphere among the German officers in the beginning. Now Canaris was not exactly a supporter of Nazism and he hated Heydrich. The introduction to Steiner is wonderful but not very realistic. Himmler is also portrayed very funny by Pleacence. After that, the run-up turns out to be very long and the moment that something finally happens remains very long, and the film mainly has to rely on humor. Especially with Sutherland everything is done with a wink and although entertaining it comes at the expense of the atmosphere and the film.
The 'Poles' charm offensive is entertaining as Sutherland flies through the window. The character Arthur, purely functional, is very mediocre, Hagmann's bland bravado is also mediocre where Treat Williams, didn't know he was that old, is nice again. That every Mof is blond is striking again, the puppy love between Liam and Molly is very perfunctory. The build-up to the end is quite nice despite the fact that the doppelganger wasn't really a surprise.
The Eagle Has Landed is a lovely film but not particularly good. Entertainment with a wink covers the load best and all in all a nice print to see every now and then.
Translated from Dutch · View original
blurp194
-
- 5681 messages
- 4306 votes
Jack Higgins.
Over the years I have read I don't know how many books - from the library, bought in the ramsj for a few guilders - still worth the euro, I think. This story then comes from one of his earlier books, before he became a bit complacent in the same heroes over and over again. Although Devlin is a well-known name in his work, and so is Steiner.
This film is, of course, a classic, not only because of the countless times it was on TV early on, but also because of its all-star cast - all of whom were perhaps a little less well-known then than they are now, but still. The story is also quite exciting - Higgins really does a great job in that area. And some memorable scenes, the affair at the mill was still fine in my memory, it turned out. Sutherland may have been somewhat forgotten, and the role he plays here is also less pleasant than the one in Eye of the Needle - a somewhat similar story, but by Ken Follett - another writer of exciting books.
But I think the best role is that of Caine.
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