A German plot to kidnap Prime Minister Winston Churchill unfolds at the height of World War II.A German plot to kidnap Prime Minister Winston Churchill unfolds at the height of World War II.A German plot to kidnap Prime Minister Winston Churchill unfolds at the height of World War II.
Rick Parsé
- E-Boat Commander
- (as Rick Parse)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaSir Michael Caine was originally offered the role of Devlin, but did not want to play an I.R.A. member, and requested to play Steiner instead.
- GoofsWhen Col. Steiner knocks one of the guards unconscious towards the end of the film, he impersonates the call-sign "Delta 2". The NATO alphabet which used that term for D ("Delta") was not adopted until 1956. The WW2 call-sign would have been "Dog 2".
- Quotes
Captain Clark: Colonel, there's no such thing as "death with honor". Just death.
Colonel Kurt Steiner: I have no intention of dying now. But if I'm going to, allow me to choose where and how.
- Alternate versionsThe Carlton distributed DVD "Michael Caine double bill" is the full uncut version incorporating all the cut scenes, including the blood from Colonel Pitts' head and the shot in the back of the soldier. However on the description of the film it has the wrong film length info, it is about 12 minutes longer than shown.
- ConnectionsEdited into Give Me Your Answer True (1987)
Featured review
Partially thanks to my father I've always been a fan of war movies and that's how I already saw several of them as a kid. But of course as a kid I wasn't as critical towards them as I am today. Several of the war movies from the sixties and seventies now seem dated and very unbelievable (think for instance of "Where Eagles Dare" from 1968, which many people seem to like, but which lacks all realism as the Allies seem impenetrable by German bullets). But that doesn't mean that they all are bad. Take for instance "Cross of Iron", "All Quiet on the Western Front" (the TV remake), "A Bridge Too Far",... which are one by one excellent movies. If I have to give this movie a place in between these two categories, than I would say right in the middle. It isn't the best war movie from that time period, but it's far from bad.
Based on the novel by Jack Higgins, this movie tells the story of Colonel Steiner, a German parachute unit commander, who has been court-marshaled for opposing the SS in rounding up Jews. To avoid further imprisonment and certain death, he is offered the chance to go on an assignment in England. He and his unit will have to kidnap the British Prime Minister Winston Churchil on a covert mission. They decide to go for the seemingly impossible assignment and dressed as Polish soldiers on a training maneuver, they soon take over a small English town, waiting for the visit of the Prime Minister who will take his vacation there...
Even though I have read the book, I'm not really able to tell you whether the adaption to the movie has been a success or not. I read the book about ten years ago and it's impossible for me to remember all the details. However, as I already said, this certainly isn't a bad movie. The acting for instance is very nice. People like Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland, Robert Duvall,... all did a nice job. Especially Donald Sutherland stole the show playing the IRA militant and full time playboy Liam Devlin. What I also liked was that the 'Germans' didn't speak with some funny accent, but spoke fluent English. I prefer to hear the Germans speak German, but when that it isn't possible, this option is the best to go for. There is nothing more hateful than a well-known Hollywood actor who tries to make you believe that he speaks a language other than English (it never works and only brings down the quality of a movie).
Overall this is a good WWII movie that shows the war from a different perspective, namely from the German side. For some that will probably make it uninteresting as they see the Germans as the stupid bad guys, unable of doing some daring operations, but for me it works. I really liked this movie and all its aspects. The story is nice, the action scenes look more than OK, the acting is very good,... I really liked it all and that's why I give this movie a 7.5/10.
Based on the novel by Jack Higgins, this movie tells the story of Colonel Steiner, a German parachute unit commander, who has been court-marshaled for opposing the SS in rounding up Jews. To avoid further imprisonment and certain death, he is offered the chance to go on an assignment in England. He and his unit will have to kidnap the British Prime Minister Winston Churchil on a covert mission. They decide to go for the seemingly impossible assignment and dressed as Polish soldiers on a training maneuver, they soon take over a small English town, waiting for the visit of the Prime Minister who will take his vacation there...
Even though I have read the book, I'm not really able to tell you whether the adaption to the movie has been a success or not. I read the book about ten years ago and it's impossible for me to remember all the details. However, as I already said, this certainly isn't a bad movie. The acting for instance is very nice. People like Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland, Robert Duvall,... all did a nice job. Especially Donald Sutherland stole the show playing the IRA militant and full time playboy Liam Devlin. What I also liked was that the 'Germans' didn't speak with some funny accent, but spoke fluent English. I prefer to hear the Germans speak German, but when that it isn't possible, this option is the best to go for. There is nothing more hateful than a well-known Hollywood actor who tries to make you believe that he speaks a language other than English (it never works and only brings down the quality of a movie).
Overall this is a good WWII movie that shows the war from a different perspective, namely from the German side. For some that will probably make it uninteresting as they see the Germans as the stupid bad guys, unable of doing some daring operations, but for me it works. I really liked this movie and all its aspects. The story is nice, the action scenes look more than OK, the acting is very good,... I really liked it all and that's why I give this movie a 7.5/10.
- philip_vanderveken
- Jun 29, 2005
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Der Adler ist gelandet
- Filming locations
- Church of St Margaret, Mapledurham, Berkshire, England, UK(East Anglia church where the villagers are held hostage)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $6,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime2 hours 3 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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