56 years ago, Clint Eastwood starred in one of the best World War II films of all time

For most viewers, it’s Clint Eastwood The Movie Cowboy. Eastwood is so synonymous with the Western, particularly its deconstructive Spaghetti Western phase, that it is impossible for some to see him as anything other than a cold gunslinger. Although he will always be the man with no name, Eastwood was such a unique film star that he left an irreplaceable impression even in the most famous niches of the broader action genre. Typical examples: Dirty Harry for police films and Where eagles dare for films from the Second World War. Not only Where eagles dare One of Eastwood’s best military films, but also one of the best World War II films ever made.

That is, one of the biggest misconceptions about it Where eagles dare is that it is a typical Eastwood film. Despite being one of the film’s biggest names and one of its most important characters, it was far from a loner like his other films. To be honest, Where eagles dare is really Richard Burton’s film, with Eastwood taking second place. What’s more, it was more than just another gritty action movie with a tough-as-nails Eastwood gunning down hordes of enemies. These aren’t bad things, as these aspects helped make the film itself a standout in Eastwood’s illustrious repertoire, growing older over time.

Where Eagles Dare is Clint Eastwood’s definitive World War II blockbuster

The film essentially places the Man with No Name in World War II

What does Where eagles dare What’s so interesting in the context of Eastwood’s career is that it was one of the few times he didn’t take the lead role. It was also one of the few films that defied his typecasting at the height of his fame. The film was released in 1968, just four years after his breakthrough performance as Joe in A handful of dollars. More importantly, Where Eagles dare came to theaters just two years later The good, the bad and the ugly cemented Eastwood as the face of the revisionist spaghetti western movement and the cowboy archetype. From the late ’60s through the ’90s, Eastwood was a certified movie star who was considered a cowboy. Even films that weren’t set in the Wild West contributed to his image as a Wild West gunslinger, such as: Coogan’s bluff And Honkytonk man.

In the meantime, Where eagles dare cast him as Lt. Morris Schaffer: an American soldier sent alongside British agents deep into Nazi Germany itself to infiltrate a Nazi stronghold. Although it wasn’t his first film about World War II, Where eagles dare was the first to bring Eastwood into the spotlight – even if he was playing second fiddle to another actor. Burton (who portrayed British spy Major John Smith) was the protagonist, with Eastwood’s creator serving as his deputy. While Burton drove the story, doing most of the characterization and delivering the film’s biggest twists, Schaffer handled the action scenes and fights. Although Schaffer was as violent and reserved as Eastwood’s most famous characters, he wasn’t the one calling the shots.

Schaffer was such a secondary figure that he only fought and killed under the orders of Smith, the mission’s commanding officer. In contrast, Eastwood’s characters were usually the first to shoot, regardless of his superior’s orders. “Dirty” Harry Callahan is the most obvious example. Schaffer also became unconscious Where Eagles Dare’s are now iconic cable car fight. It was Smith who fought the Nazi spies in the film’s climax and most famous scene, and Schaffer woke up to Smith having already won. More importantly, Schaffer wasn’t as in control of the situation and story as Eastwood was as Private Kelly Kelly’s heroesor Gunnery Sergent Thomas Highway in Heartbreak Ridge. Schaffer was clueless and deliberately stayed out of the picture for most of the film, only being fleshed out in the second act. As irritating and out of character as Schaffer may sound and look, when you compare him to Eastwood’s leading roles, the opposite is true.

Schaffer is essentially what would happen if The Man With No Name – specifically Manco out For a few dollars more – were dropped into World War II. Both Schaffer and Manco were the deuteragonists of their respective films. Even though they were portrayed by a movie star, they were guests in their co-stars’ stories. Schaffer helped Smith rescue the captured “General”, while Manco assisted Colonel Douglas Mortimer in his revenge. Their characterizations, backstories, and dialogue were limited to the bare minimum, but were more than enough to keep the audience invested in their actions and fates. Most importantly, Schaffer and Manco represented Eastwood’s most underrated character archetype. When he wasn’t the protagonist, Eastwood portrayed imposing and relentless supporting characters. Sometimes these were actually the characters that the titles of their films referred to. Schaffer and Manco were just the early versions of people like The Stranger Plateau Drifter or The Preacher in Pale Rider.

“Where Eagles Dare” is a pivotal film about World War II and a war epic like no other

The film irrevocably changed the fiction and war films of the Second World War

Aside from starring a young Eastwood and the epic scale of his filmmaking, what does Where eagles dare it was so important that it was so The Turning point for war films. The film was made and released in the late 1960s; the height of the Vietnam War. Social anger, hostility toward those in power, and pessimism among Americans really ran rampant during this time. Surprisingly, war films – which were incredibly optimistic and nationalistic just a decade earlier – captured this anger perfectly. This act of artistic rebellion was made all the more poignant and significant by the fact that these films were set during World War II: the war that most fueled America’s image of military power and heroism.

Where eagles dare joined people like The Weapons of Navarone And The Dirty Dozen by openly questioning and completely rejecting America’s moral superiority through their fictional missions in World War II. In these films, the soldiers were flawed anti-heroes, the high command was either corrupt or incompetent, and the violence was brutal and blunt. No one was a clear hero or villain, and no heroism was evident in battle. Given the horrors and evils of the Vietnam War, these films demystified the ways in which the war was glorified and romanticized in American literature. They also paved the way for more pessimistic films about World War II A bridge too far And Iron Cross. Eastwood himself returned to this movement Kelly’s heroes, which recontextualized that anger in the form of comedy and a “private corporate operation.”

Which set Where eagles dare Unlike his contemporaries, it was simply cynical. If The Weapons of Navarone showed the grim reality of war and The Dirty Dozen played the most unsympathetic mob imaginable, Where eagles dare portrayed the Allies (metaphorically: the American government) as just as bad or even worse than the Nazis. The film’s real villains weren’t Nazis; They were German spies disguised as British soldiers and a high-ranking British officer who betrayed his country for personal gain. It was up to Smith, Schaffer and their dwindling group – which included prominent and proactive female characters, an archetype almost non-existent at the time – to expose these traitors. To make matters worse, the film ended just after Smith and Schaffer had completed their mission. They didn’t save the day, defeat the enemy, or end the war. They merely eliminated some of the many traitors hiding among the leaders they were supposed to trust.

At the time, such a twist was unheard of, especially in World War II films where the moral principles were often so clear. Since Where eagles dare and its ilk subverted the idealism and unquestioned patriotism of their subgenre, World War II films were never the same. Mindless and escapist films about World War II were (and are) still being made, but the ones that followed Where Eagles Dare’s are Dark themes and deconstructions gradually became the dominant force. Even after the Vietnam War, his influence was still felt in later World War II films and the genre as a whole. The days of John Wayne heroically leading clean-cut American soldiers to righteous victory are long gone. The era of Eastwood’s wartime defiance of authority and capacity for unwavering violence continues to this day.

“Where Eagles Dare” is now available to view and purchase both physically and digitally.