402. The Eagle Has Landed (1976)

Starring: Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland, Robert Duvall

Director: John Sturges

Running Time: 125 mins

The Eagle Has Landed is a British film about a Nazi parachutist regiment which is sent on an undercover mission to England in order to kidnap Winston Churchill and bring him back to Berlin to level the playing field in WWII.

Ok, although some parts of this film are relatively factual, the main idea and storyline is quite preposterous indeed. It is often good fun to watch, however it isn’t the most convincing of stories, meaning that it’s a lot harder to get really interested in this film for long periods of time.

That is one of the main problems I see with this film. It really goes on a bit. There are numerous discussion scenes between Nazi commanders that are in the end quite irrelevant to the plot, and while watching them, it’s not very entertaining to watch.

However, once the story really starts going, once the Germans have landed in Norfolk, it becomes a lot more enjoyable. There is quite a lot more action, however what was most interesting was the Irishman, and the local woman who is a traitor trying to keep their heads low, creating a great deal of tension in the middle part of the story.

The outcome of the story is a long gunfight in a sleepy village, which is quite exciting, and although a little bit ridiculous, it was one of the most entertaining parts of the film.

Overall, I’ll give this a 7.0, because it’s not necessarily the cleverest or most intriguing of war films, but it is actually good fun to watch throughout.