The Eagle Has Landed: Difference between revisions

Line 2:

''The Eagle Has Landed'' is a 1976 film [[The Film of the Book|based on the book of the same name]] by Jack Higgins, detailing a fictional plot to capture or kill [[Winston Churchill]] by a group of German commandos. [[Michael Caine]], Donald Sutherland and Robert Duvall star as the leader of the squad, their Irish nationalist liaison, and the German colonel in charge of masterminding the mission.

* [[All Germans Are Nazis]]: Averted. Steiner and his unit are depicted as chivalrous men of honor, and they are opposed to the persecution of Jews.

* [[Anti Villain]]: All of the German's and their allies are [[Punch Clock Villain|Punch Clock Villains]] who seek to avoid unnecessary casualties {{spoiler|mostly}} and in some cases feel they have legitimate grievances against the British. The exception is Heinrich Himmler, who signed off on the mission and is pretty much as much a bastard as he was in [[Real Life]].

* [[Anti-Villain]]: All of the German's and their allies are [[Punch Clock Villain|Punch Clock Villains]] who seek to avoid unnecessary casualties {{spoiler|mostly}} and in some cases feel they have legitimate grievances against the British. The exception is Heinrich Himmler, who signed off on the mission and is pretty much as much a bastard as he was in [[Real Life]].

* [[The Bad Guy Wins]]: {{spoiler|Subverted. Steiner kills Churchill, but he was just a body double. The real Churchill wasn't even on the same continent.}}

* [[Critical Research Failure]] / [[History Marches On]]/ [[Rule of Cool]]: {{spoiler|In [[Real Life]] the Nazi's really did send a commando squad to assassinate Churchill, but they knew all about the Tehran Conference and sent them there, and Roosevelt and Stalin were targets as well. They were foiled before they got anywhere near him or any of the other leaders. Incidentally the mission was headed (from abroad) by Otto Skorzeny, the man who rescued Mussolini which in-universe inspired the events of the story.}}