The Eagle Has Landed (1976)

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Celestialhost's avatar
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I watched this film when I was ten years old and loved it. A couple of years later, I read Jack Higgins' novel on which it was based. I was a bit bothered by all the sex in it.

The Eagle of Landed is about a plot by the German intelligence to send a team of paratroopers to an English village, disguised as Poles in order to kidnap Winston Churchill. Needless to say, it fails. But it is an exciting ride, if not altogether convincing.

This film has some fantastic acting talent. The starring role as Colonel Steiner goes to Michael Caine. It is perhaps not his best performance; he seems to struggle with how to play the character and he still ends up sounding a bit cockney. Robert Duvall, on the other hand is fantastic as the German intelligence officer masterminding the plot. Donald Sutherland plays an IRA terrorist who agrees to assist the Germans in their plot. They are also assisted by a spy of Afrikaaner origin, superbly played by Jean Marsh. She is a pleasure to watch. She played three different characters in Doctor Who (and was married to Jon Pertwee at one time). We also get Larry Hagman playing an idiotic American colonel. I cheered when Jean Marsh shot him in the head.

As fun as this film is, it is not nearly as good as the book. It is unfortunate that the planning stage has to be trimmed down for time. The meticulous planning is an important part of the story, just like in The Day of the Jackal.  The shortened time span also makes the romance between the IRA terrorist and a local girl look ridiculous.

One of the problems with both the film and the book is the way that all the German characters except the SS have only contempt for Hitler and the Nazi party. It gives a misleading picture of German attitudes.

I think the cliched notion of the 'Good German' is problematic. The 'Good German' who hates the Nazis, is compassionate towards the Jews,  but who fights heroically for the Fatherland, is always juxtaposed to 'Bad Germans' who hate the Jews and support Hitler. This totally removes any sense of moral complexity. What we never see in films or books like this are Germans who are generally quite decent people, but who admire Hitler, support the Nazi Party and who are not particularly sympathetic to the Jews. But I suppose people who read thrillers and who watch war movies aren't interested in moral complexity. On the other hand, the film perhaps goes a bit too far in making an IRA terrorist seem like a lovable poetry reciting romantic. 


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single-leg's avatar
  I remember watching this and appreciating how it showed what tough soldier/fighters the Germans were which was a change of pace for nearly all American/British movies of the war. 

Higgins probably felt he had to make Steiner being a German sympathetic by making him an anti Nazi, alot of writers do that (like Garth Ennis). In truth most Germans regretted the whole war simply because they lost .Which is perfectly understandable. (that was how my Grandfather felt to be honest although he was not so enamored of the Nazis because of his Christianity, thats what he told me. Overall he mainly despised the "Bolsheviks"). I think its interesting that the hero from Cross of Iron was also named Steiner

Robert Duvall is simply one of the best actors who has ever lived. Also I always liked Treat Williams (playing the American Officer who was not a moron).