7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 4.3 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A Nazi Strike Force plots to kidnap Winston Churchill while he is resting in a desolate Norfolk village.
Starring: Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland, Robert Duvall, Jenny Agutter, Donald PleasenceWar | 100% |
Drama | 19% |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.34:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Jack Higgins may not be a name that rings many bells nowadays, but in 1975, Higgins (actually a nom de plume for one Harry Patterson) was riding high atop virtually every international bestseller list after a long but not overly successful career as a novelist. The book that put Higgins on the pop cultural map was the hugely popular The Eagle Has Landed, an improbable but incredibly exciting faux historical piece that posited a German plot to kidnap Winston Churchill at the height of World War II. Many people have pointed out some basic similarities between Higgins’ formulation and the classic 1942 film Went the Day Well? (based on a story by Graham Greene), but in 1975, more people may have been drawing comparisons to the thrillers of Frederick Forsyth, notably pieces like The Day of the Jackal. The film version of The Eagle Has Landed came a year after the book’s release, and had an all star cast and crew. Adapting the novel was screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz (son of legend Joseph Mankiewicz), who was then very famous for his James Bond screenplays (Live and Let Die). Helming the film was the iconic action director John Sturges (The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape), and the cast included a who’s who of major stars of the day, including Michael Caine, Robert Duvall, and Donald Sutherland. While the basic premise of the film is at the very least far fetched, Mankiewicz’s screenplay makes it all seem rather improbably possible (to coin a phrase), and Sturges directs with his customary flair and attention to detail. The Eagle Has Landed was a big hit in 1976 when it was first released, and this nicely appointed Collector's Edition Blu-ray presentation will certainly be welcome news to the film’s many fans.
The Eagle Has Landed is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout! Factory with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.34:1. From a damage perspective, the elements used for this transfer are in more than adequate shape, with relatively few issues to report, and then only very minor ones like occasional flecks and the like. What may bother some videophiles more is the just slightly faded color, which tends to make flesh tones occasionally pallid and which also makes some of the nice location photography pop a little less vividly than might be hoped for. A couple of sequences are very soft when compared to the rest of this generally sharp looking release. One sequence is the train yard segment which introduces us to Steiner, and in fact the first shot of Steiner inside the train car looks like it was shot through a foggy lens (see screenshot 7). The other really noticeable sequence is the section where Steiner and his men are returning by boat after a mission where a couple of them have been killed, where what was perhaps second unit footage is notably softer than the bulk of this presentation. There are also some minimal issues with what appears to be telecine wobble throughout the film where eagle eyed viewers will be able to see very minute shifts from frame to frame. While there are some minor issues here, overall this is still a very nice looking high definition presentation. Grain is intact and very natural looking, the image does not suffer from any overt artifacting, and the general appearance of the film is quite sharp and well defined.
The Eagle Has Landed features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix that boasts excellent fidelity, delivering both dialogue and Lalo Schifrin's exciting (if occasionally Mission: Impossible- esque sounding) score with precision and nuance. The last 45 minutes or so of the film, once the battles really begin breaking out, offers some substantial low end and extremely wide dynamic range.
The Eagle Has Landed takes a while to set its pieces in motion and its players in place, but once everything has shifted to the sylvan English countryside, things get very tense and very exciting in a big hurry. Performances are excellent throughout the film and Sturges keeps everything moving briskly, despite the somewhat padded running time. This Blu-ray comes with great supplements and features generally nice looking video and great sounding audio. Highly recommended.
1968
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1989
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1993
2011
2002
Warner Archive Collection
1945
New 2K Restoration
1980
1959
Unrated Director's Cut
2005
1942
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The Rank Collection
1957
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The Great Spy Mission / Warner Archive Collection
1965