The Eagle Has Landed Collector's Edition (Blu-ray) Available for Preorder (1 Viewer)

Amazon is showing the running time as 131 minutes. This being SHOUT! and Amazon being notoriously incorrect with their specs I wonder if we might be getting the extended cut. As I recall the extra ~15 minutes actually helped my comprehension of the film.

Good news if so.

Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland and Robert Duvall lead a star-studded cast in this World War II classic based on Jack Higgins’ best-selling novel.

A Nazi Strike Force plots to kidnap Winston Churchill while he is resting in a desolate Norfolk village. Colonel Radl (Duvall), Colonel Steiner (Caine) and Liam Devlin (Sutherland) are enlisted to carry out the operation, which if successful, would irrevocably alter the outcome of the war. Disguised as Polish airmen, these paratroopers descend upon England only to be interrupted by an unforeseeable incident which threatens to derail their treacherous mission.

Packed with action and suspense, this unrelenting thriller was the final picture directed by the great John Sturges (The Great Escape, The Magnificent Seven).

Special Features:
The Eagle Has Landed Revisited: Invading Mapledurham
Tom Mankiewicz: Looking Back
Film Night Location Report
On Location In Norfolk
On Location Interviews with Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland and John Sturges
ATV Today On Location
Theatrical Trailer

Blu-ray: 1080p High-Definition Widescreen (2:35:1), DTS-HD Master Audio
DVD: Anamorphic Widescreen (2:35:1)/ Dolby Digital

I will wait on confirmation of the running time before ordering.

I have the Region 2 Special Edition DVD which I purchased from Amazom.uk with a running time of 145 minutes. In this case the extra minutes add to the movie. I will wait for reviews of the Blu-ray to determine if it includes the longer version. If not I will stick with the DVD which looks very good the video is 16 x 9. The audio is Dolby Digital Stereo. The Special Edition comes with two DVD's one for the movie the second contains special features.

So I take this will be an improvement over the old UK ITV blu-ray?

I didn't buy the original blu-ray release due to its poor reviews and will wait to see if this is an improvement.

Fans of this film may also like Went The Day Well which was made during WWII and is available on blu-ray.

This was shown at the Empire in London in 35mm 4-Track
Magnetic Stereo so they should have proper Stereo elements.

So many different cuts of this film have existed, the original UK cinema edition ran 135 minutes, you have the 123 minute USA edition, the 131 minute USA edition and the 145 minute ( 25fps ) UK edition, that latter one would run longer if it was a 23.98fps cinema edition.

I wish they would release a seamless branching version with all the different cuts, that would be a real collectors edition.

From IMDB.

The new Region 2 DVD contains an extended cut of the film with a running time of 145 mins (25 fps). The additional scenes are:1. Different pre-title sequence with Himmler arriving at the castle seen in the opening credits. Himmler, Canaris and Hitler exit a meeting, where Himmler suggests the feasibility study of the Churchill kidnap plot to Canaris. This runs into the title sequence.
2. After the scene between Radl and Canaris, Radl goes to his own office to find his doctor waiting for him. A conversation follows which suggests that Radl is terminally ill.
3. Extension of the scene between Devlin and Joanna Grey where she gives him money for the trucks, warns him about stolen petrol and they toast the success of the mission. This is followed by Devlin riding through the village on his motorcycle, across the marsh, arriving at his cottage and looking around. This runs into the scene of Devlin arriving at the village pub.
4. After the scene in the dunes between Devlin and Molly Prior, there is a scene between Steiner and Von Neustadt at the airfield where they discuss their chances of success.
5. That scene runs into Devlin arriving at his cottage. He is joined by Molly Prior. They talk and Devlin reads poetry to her.
6. After Devlin takes delivery of the trucks, he re-enters the cottage to find Molly there. She confronts him, mistakenly thinking he is a black marketeer. These two scenes make more sense of her later declaration of love for Devlin to Arthur Seymour.
7. Directly after Himmler rips up Radl's letter, there is a short scene with Father Verecker reading a newspaper in the vestry of the church. He is surprised by Laker Armsby who enters via the tunnel (used by Devlin and Steiner later). This basically explains where it comes and goes to.The film was originally classified by the BBFC in November 1976 with a running time of 135 mins. This was cut to 123 mins for its US release. It was this version which was released in the UK on VHS/DVD (118 mins 25 fps), until the new 2 Disc Special Edition arrived in June 2004. There is also a 131 min cut in circulation. It is this version which is currently available from Artisan on Region 1 DVD

I'm going to blind-buy this since it appears it'll be the best edition available and I know Shout regularly puts out quality stuff but it doesn't surprise me that people are going to wait for reviews before preordering. After the GREAT ESCAPE fiasco I can't blame people for being cautious.

cineMANIAC said:

I'm going to blind-buy this since it appears it'll be the best edition available and I know Shout regularly puts out quality stuff but it doesn't surprise me that people are going to wait for reviews before preordering. After the GREAT ESCAPE fiasco I can't blame people for being cautious.

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What fiasco was that?

Robert Crawford said:

What fiasco was that?

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Let's not get started again....

John Hermes said:

Let's not get started again....

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Start what?

cineMANIAC said:

Shout regularly puts out quality stuff

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Huh.

Robert Crawford said:

Start what?

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What is this an A&C routine?
As you may recall, there were two camps on The Great Escape as far as picture quality goes. Some thought it was okay. Others purchased it, expected better, and were disappointed. I think that's what he's talking about in regard to The Eagle Has Landed.

THE EAGLE HAS LANDED is an MGM title, correct? I don't suppose they sprung for a new master and that's what Shout is releasing so I'm guessing this won't be demo material.

John Hermes said:

What is this an A&C routine?
As you may recall, there were two camps on The Great Escape as far as picture quality goes. Some thought it was okay. Others purchased it, expected better, and were disappointed. I think that's what he's talking about in regard to The Eagle Has Landed.

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Most people were happy with The Great Escape. That's not to say it couldn't have been better, but it was far from a fiasco.

cineMANIAC said:

THE EAGLE HAS LANDED is an MGM title, correct? I don't suppose they sprung for a new master and that's what Shout is releasing so I'm guessing this won't be demo material.

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A new master doesn't necessarily mean better. Let's hope for the best.

Robert Crawford said:

Most people were happy with The Great Escape. That's not to say it couldn't have been better, but it was far from a fiasco.

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Eye of the beholder, my good man.