Entertaining? Yes. Acting performance? Okayish. Eastwood a bit wooden at times (I love him for that though).
Camera and location? Good! Influential? Even I can see that (cf. the Wolfenstein video game). Good movie? Nah... It's too long. People look too perfect - especially those who are killed or seeing combat. They didn't bother to speak German, although that's a major part of the plan (which is of course dangerous production-wise given that you have to sound like real Germans and almost nobody in filmmaking history ever got that right). It's full of stereotypes incl. cultivated, adventurous and daring British officers with a posh accent, cool Americans, well-dressed, shouting, angry German idiots (who are too easily tricked and killed) with dobermans, klaxons and leather coats. Unrealistic plans (I mean that was the plan? Isn't that unnecessarily convoluted just to uncover a few spies?). Unrealistic coincidences. Unrealistic fights (that's basically another thing the FPS Wolfenstein and this movie have in common). The good guys have a seamingly limitless supply of explosives and ammo, the Germans didn't manage to shoot a single one of the infiltrators. That's not how war works... It's all a bit ridiculous. Add those bombshell blondes and brunettes, a few explosions too many, and they have come damn close to making a Bond movie.
So close to being a great film.
There is a lot I enjoyed about 'Where Eagles Dare', the core of the film has some greatness to it. The action sequences are fun, the acting is terrific and the music is strong. However, it has far too many lull moments for me to consider it anything other than 'good'.
A 2hr run time would've been perfect, instead it's stretched out to 2hrs 30mins+ and it really shows. The pacing is bad, any moment of quality is immediately followed by the film dragging its heels. It heavily overstays its welcome, in my opinion.
Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood are excellent together, while the rest of the cast are very good themselves. It's just a shame about the aforementioned, as I could quite easily see this being one of my favourite films if what I've stated wasn't true.
I'd personally be up for a shorter, tighter remake of this, because all the ingredients are there; it's like a 'Bond' film mixed with 'Fast & Furious' in parts.
I'm sure this was a game-changer when it was released.
Watching it in 2020 - some 51 years later - it hasn't aged at all well. And it is a tough watch at a 2h30 runtime.
Richard Burton is not convincing. Eastwood is young but largely wooden. The plot is dragged out and convoluted. The script perfunctory.
The last hour was the longest I've had all year!
I can see the influence on modern films. I wonder how a rewatch of The Dirty Dozen would feel.... Similarly underwhelming?
But then I think of how The Great Escape is still highly watchable and from a similar era.
Not for me.
5/10 (accounting for its influence and age)
Never has a movie seen so many sticks of dynamite in a small rucksack
Shout by amra2500BlockedParent2022-01-10T21:10:17Z— updated 2022-11-19T16:56:19Z
If you take it for what it is, a fun war adventure, and ignore that's highly improbably and overall unrealistic, it's actually a great movie. An awesome setting/atmosphere can plug lots of holes. 8/10