Fall of the Eagles (1989)
** (out of 4)
Low-budget WWII drama about a rich German banker (Christopher Lee) who objects to the fact that his daughter Lillian (Alexandra Ehrlich) is loved by two different German soldiers. Both Karl (Ramon Estevez) and Peter (Mark Hamill) love the woman but she can only select one. When the two go off to fight in the war she decides to become a dance hall singer, which doesn't sit well with her father. Soon the woman decides to go further into the war zone.
Jess Franco's FALL OF THE EAGLES is yet another low-budget film from the maverick director. This isn't a great film and it's not a bad one. The movie is okay but there's no question that it's appeal will be limited and it will mainly attract fans of the director who want to see everything he did throughout his long career. What I find most interesting about this film is that it was following FACELESS, which was Franco's comeback film after a decade of porno movies. That film was allowed a budget and the director did a very good job with it.
This film here looks very professional so there's no question that the director could make a good looking picture. With that said, this here was clearly meant to be a WWII epic but the budget just didn't allow for that and you can tell that it really hampered the film. This is especially true during the battle scenes as they are very minor and a lot of times it's just stock footage from other movies. There's a sequence where there's supposed to be a major bombing yet they just didn't have the budget to pull it off. I'd also argue that Franco doesn't bring any drama or romance to the story but this here can be blamed on the screenplay.
This here was the second film that Lee and Franco made during the late 80s and these were the first since their run during the late 60s. For the most part Lee is certainly the main reason to watch the picture as he turns in good and strong performance as the father ashamed of his daughter. Estevez is okay in his role but Hamill really doesn't get to add too much. I thought Ehrlich was also rather bland in her part. Again, the screenplay really doesn't let any of the actors do too much. Heck, it really doesn't help that everyone is speaking in a different accent and rarely are they German.
FALL OF THE EAGLES is a mildly entertaining film if you're a fan of the director but when the credits roll you can't help but wish it had a bigger budget.
** (out of 4)
Low-budget WWII drama about a rich German banker (Christopher Lee) who objects to the fact that his daughter Lillian (Alexandra Ehrlich) is loved by two different German soldiers. Both Karl (Ramon Estevez) and Peter (Mark Hamill) love the woman but she can only select one. When the two go off to fight in the war she decides to become a dance hall singer, which doesn't sit well with her father. Soon the woman decides to go further into the war zone.
Jess Franco's FALL OF THE EAGLES is yet another low-budget film from the maverick director. This isn't a great film and it's not a bad one. The movie is okay but there's no question that it's appeal will be limited and it will mainly attract fans of the director who want to see everything he did throughout his long career. What I find most interesting about this film is that it was following FACELESS, which was Franco's comeback film after a decade of porno movies. That film was allowed a budget and the director did a very good job with it.
This film here looks very professional so there's no question that the director could make a good looking picture. With that said, this here was clearly meant to be a WWII epic but the budget just didn't allow for that and you can tell that it really hampered the film. This is especially true during the battle scenes as they are very minor and a lot of times it's just stock footage from other movies. There's a sequence where there's supposed to be a major bombing yet they just didn't have the budget to pull it off. I'd also argue that Franco doesn't bring any drama or romance to the story but this here can be blamed on the screenplay.
This here was the second film that Lee and Franco made during the late 80s and these were the first since their run during the late 60s. For the most part Lee is certainly the main reason to watch the picture as he turns in good and strong performance as the father ashamed of his daughter. Estevez is okay in his role but Hamill really doesn't get to add too much. I thought Ehrlich was also rather bland in her part. Again, the screenplay really doesn't let any of the actors do too much. Heck, it really doesn't help that everyone is speaking in a different accent and rarely are they German.
FALL OF THE EAGLES is a mildly entertaining film if you're a fan of the director but when the credits roll you can't help but wish it had a bigger budget.