The Eagle Has Landed
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Donald Pleasence, Donald Sutherland, Jenny Agutter, Michael Caine, Robert DuvallDVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0
Format: Anamorphic, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 134 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-04-24
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Live / Artisan
Movie Reviews of The Eagle Has Landed
Movie Review: Unusual WW II Drama
Summary: 5 Stars
In the prologue Higgins outlines the basic plot and says that at least 50 percent of the story is fact, inviting the reader to decide which parts are fiction. Chapter one is written in the first person and tells us how the author came upon a discovery in a small English village churchyard where lie the deceased bodies of the local townspeople. He discovers a mostly hidden gravestone, with the engraving telling of the burial of Lt. Colonel Kurt Steiner and 13 German paratroopers killed in action in November, 1943. Everyone in the village that he asks about this discovery shuts up like a clam, including the local priest. Only the gravedigger, with a little bribery and flattery from the author, unwittingly divulges the tiniest bit of information. It is enough to whet Higgins' appetite about this intriguing grave marker, and he resolves to do a search of any records left by the Germans. And if possible, he intends to write an account of what happened.
And so the story begins - why were those German paratroopers on English soil and how was it that no one knew anything about it? It starts with Hitler's recalling Skorzeny's rescue of Mussolini from the Sports Hotel atop the Gran Sasso after he had been deposed, and wondering aloud why the German Commandos could not do the same thing- perhaps capture (kidnap) Churchill, a feat which, if successful, would bolster the morale of the German forces, and even become a negotiating tool with the Allies. Hitler's idea was mostly the most current musing on his mind, but Himmler will not let it die. The Abwehr (German Military Intelligence) is directed to do a feasibility study on the Churchill kidnapping. Admiral Canaris is head of the Abwehr and thinks the whole idea is ridiculous, but his subordinate, Lt. Colonel Max Radl, does come up with a plan which Canaris expects will go nowhere. However, Himmler learns of the plan and summons Radl, telling him to go ahead with the plan in strict secrecy, leaving Canaris out of it. Using a personal letter from Himmler as a directive from The Fuhrer, authorizing him to go anywhere and to enlist the services and equipment of anyone, Radl begins to put together the strategy and the tactics.
The intrigue among those in the German High Command, the IRA advance man for the mission (a real Irish rogue), the coercion of Steiner's paratrooper squad to go on this mission, the well-liked South African lady who was a model citizen living in the English village and who was co-opted to spy for the Germans because she hated the British, the actual landing of the Germans on British soil and awaiting the arrival of Churchill at the village of Studley Constable, and the ensuing gun battle; all these things are well described in good detail, and the suspense is always present. All of the plots and sub-plots are plausible, the background information is accurate, and you almost feel that you are living through it if you know enough about World War II. Although we know that the kidnapping of Churchill never happened, we don't know whether it was ever attempted and failed, and then covered up. It is suspense, intrigue, excellent dialogue, great characters and great reading/viewing.
After all the action is concluded, Higgins again writes in the first person, of his visit to the village priest who persistently tried to be rid of him on his first visit, and they discuss a few of the unanswered questions about the whole matter, leading to a mild suprise.
The book is great, the film is just as good, with an all-star cast. This is one of my favorites.
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