Review by Gary Tooze

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Description: In this World War II action-thriller, the British High Command finds itself in the thick of a huge dilemma when it is realized that they have long been infiltrated by spies form a German intelligence group. This all happens during the preliminary stages of the Battle of Britain.

Nine years before his WWII classic 'Inglorious Bastards', Enzo Castellari virtually invented the 'Macaroni Combat' genre with this over-the-top saga of valor, vengeance and machine- gun mayhem. Hollywood legend Van Johnson ('The Caine Mutiny') and Frederick Stafford (Hitchcock's 'Topaz') star as military officers pursuing a merciless team of Nazi saboteurs through war-ravaged London, featuring Castellari's jaw-dropping recreations of the evacuation of Dunkirk, the Battle Of Britain and more. Francisco Rabal ('Nightmare City'), Ida Galli ('The Psychic') and Luigi Pistilli ('The Good, the Bad & the Ugly') co-star in this explosive epic – also known as 'Battle Squadron' – now restored on Blu-ray for the first time ever in the U.S!

 

 

The Film:

Excerpt from Monster Hunter located HERE

Image :    NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were ripped directly from the Blu-ray disc.
 

Eagles Over London fares better on Blu-ray than Severin's other Castellari film to 1080P; The Inglorious Bastards.  I'd say it is still fairly weak and has inconsistencies but the image quality seems a notch superior to the first offering. This is only single-layered and colors are bland with drab greens but I suspect it is accurate to the source - which may be the best available. Detail has strong moments but softness as well - it really varies. Noise is only minutely visible as is grain - but the latter is nice to see when it does make its presence known. The lighting of the film is suspect and I'll assume this reflects in the transfer's contrast. The cinematography has some interesting angles and split-screens, through triggers etc. When these are captured in high-definition it kind of brings out their uniqueness. The Blu-ray is most probably a decent representation of Eagles Over London but fans shouldn't expect too much - this is easily noted as HD - superior to SD-DVD - but depth and texture are not abundantly apparent.

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No boost here - its a bland Dolby 2.0 channel track with the fronts being used exclusively. The quality is scratching, poor high end and exhibits no depth or range. I'd say this is even weaker than the image but surprisingly suitable for the film's nostalgic cache. I'll assume a lossless option would have required some extensive restoration although making this linear PCM may have improved it a certain degree although battle/bombing scenes do pick up the bass a bit. There are no subtitles and my Momitsu has identified it as being a region FREE disc playable on Blu-ray machines worldwide.

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
These original Italian war films have their own charisma and appeal with a certain following. I wasn't that much into Inglorious but appreciated this a bit more - with everything being a bit more polished and cohesive. It's actually a decent war-adventure-thriller in its own right and kind of cool to have on Blu-ray. I'd like to encourage Severin with their projects - exposing these clandestine Italian flics to HD audiences. I got into this film and had some fun - I think many others will to. 

Gary Tooze

October 8th, 2009