Starring Michael Caine, Robert Duvall and Donald Sutherland, has been hailed by fans as “wonderful” and “brilliant” and is now streaming on BBC iPlayer

Robert Duvall in The Eagle Has Landed (Image: undefined)

A wartime drama praised by film fans as ‘powerful’ and ‘wonderful’ is now available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

The Eagle Had Landed features Michael Caine, Robert Duvall, Donald Sutherland and Jean Marsh, and has captivated film lovers universally.

Adapted from Jack Higgins’ 1975 novel of the same name, the film chronicles German intelligence officer Max Radl in 1943 as he devises a daring plot to abduct Winston Churchill while he’s visiting a quiet English village.

Colonel Kurt Steiner commands a squad of camouflaged paratroopers, assisted by Irish operative Liam Devlin.

The operation, which commences as intended, unravels when a soldier’s identity is accidentally exposed during a rescue attempt, alerting American troops.

Michael Caine in The Eagle Has Landed (Image: undefined)

Despite its 1977 release garnering mixed critical response and receiving no Academy Award nominations, the film has undeniably won audience hearts, with supporters consistently celebrating it.

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes features numerous favourable reviews, all contributing to the film’s 71 per cent score.

One fan said: “Its a brilliant lazy afternoon war film packed with actors you recognise and a wonderful performance from Larry Hagman.”

Another added: “Watched the film for the first time recently. It was better than I thought. Great cast and moves quickly.”

Michael Caine also starred in the film (Image: undefined)

A third viewer wrote: “This is as much a thriller as a ‘war movie’. It has great characters, a wonderful soundtrack and has an authentic vibe throughout. Suspect negative reviews are from gamers. This film requires thought and attention to fully enjoy. The book is Higgins best and is a really enjoyable read.

“A powerful beginning, great build-up, an interesting side-story to keep us interested and great finishing action sequences make for a World War II movie that is well worth seeing,” a fourth viewer noted.

A fifth viewer said: “A neat little WWII spy thriller. Caine and Duvall are great, and Pleasence and Sutherland ham it up in an agreeable fashion.

“It’s not attempting to reinvent the genre, but it goes about its business with confidence (the steady hand of veteran director Sturges is felt in this regard), and it’s unique in that it presents the story (fairly exclusively) from the point-of-view of the ‘enemy.’”.

Another admirer praised the outstanding cast, stating: “Michael Caine and Robert Duvall are two of my favorite actors of all time and yet somehow, Donald Sutherland totally steals the show. Awesome story out of the WW2 era. Not your typical boring war movie either.

“Well made little war film based on the novel by Jack Higgins. Last film directed by Sturges is not as good as “The Great Escape” or “Magnificant Seven” but its not bad. Duval, Sutherland, Caine and Wiliams all do well while Hagman acts like he’s in a different movie entirely,” noted another reviewer. One viewer simply declared: “One of the best action war movies.”

The Eagle Has Landed is currently available to stream on BBC iPlayer.