When Eagles Dare is in many way one of the most interesting movies I've seen in a long time. Starring Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood in a movie based on the penmanship of Alistair MacLean is a recipe for success, and this is a success.
Reviewing it now is unfair on so many levels. The lack of CGI, the mediocre stunt-performances and film tricks and the progress 42 years have had in movies all make it a completely different story watching a war movie today. Compared to Saving Private Ryan, Zwartboek, Inglourious Basterds or The Hurt Locker there's so much to point you finger towards. To begin with it's very annoying having English as the sole spoken language except for some greetings. After watching a movie like Zwartboek or Inglourios Basterds, it's silly having German soldiers speaking English. Still. It was a different time in cinema, and I guess it would have been quite impossible getting the funding if the movie hadn't been English spoken.
Other annoying things are the fake blood, the silly and unbelievable shootout scenes and other stuff like that. Most of it because of the much more limited possibilities back then, and I can easily look past most of it and rather enjoy the movie for the time it was made. And there's a lot to enjoy. Despite being quite long, MacLean have written a solid screenplay taking the story forward in nice tempo. The acting is solid, there's some tension throughout as the rescuers and the Nazis go back and forth on several levels. I still feel I have to deduct on many of the minor annoyances, but it's a good movie from a different time. Many of the war movies made today could learn a thing or three from how they've built the story.
No comments:
Post a Comment