Where Eagles Dare (1969)
Chest-thumping gung-ho action as a group of commandos set out
to rescue an allied officer from an impregnable Nazi fortress. A
less serious and more popcorn-friendly take on WWII, Where
Eagles Dare has stonking battles, heroes dangling from cable
cars, huge explosions and any number of other camp clichés.
 Written from scratch by the thriller author Alistair MacLean in
six weeks flat, the movie was commissioned at Burton’s request
after his own son expressed a wish to see him in an old-fashioned
action adventure.
This is pulsating high-budget entertainment containing a
marvellous series of ingenious plot twists and spectacular action
sequences including hand-to-hand combat on a cable car high in the
Bavarian Alps and the destruction of the Oberhausen air base by a
school bus.
Plus it is headlined by a pre-stardom Clint Eastwood, who
humbles the Jerries with his very best squinty-eyed glares.
Eastwood fans will gleefully tell you that his character kills
more people in this film than any other. What more could you ask?
Director Brian G. Hutton has the good sense not to take the
movie too seriously. Based on the novel by Alistair MacLean.
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