Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Claire Dunne One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

richarddixonmail Definitely a B movie but entertaining and correct; the uniforms and staging were quite excellent and the fight scenes sufficiently prof. A film of the times, seen in perspective, see it and enjoy. I have only seen the lead Tribune as a detective or other roles of that niveau but he handels his star roll as a good actor would. Good film.

Leofwine_draca This 1966 movie is Ferdinando Baldi's follow-up to the previous year's ARMINIUS THE TERRIBLE, also starring Cameron Mitchell in a very similar role to the one he has here. This time, however, the Black Forest is swapped for more typical locations like a Roman castle, a quarry, and a spooky grotto although the action is generally the same. Despite a low budget, Baldi - who also wrote the story and screenplay - creates a well-paced and always interesting movie with more fleshed-out characters than usual, with in particular some meaty supporting roles for the female members of his cast who are more just than romantic interests here.The film deals with the uprising of a tribe from Pannonia, which has not one but two leaders. The first is the elder Magdo (played with skill by Vladimir Medar, returning from ARMINIUS THE TERRIBLE with Mitchell) who is a peace-loving leader who only wants to ally his army with Rome. Unfortunately, his rival, Bertone, is a hot-headed warrior only out for Roman blood who has other ideas and goes around massacring Roman soldiers at will. Matters are complicated when Mitchell's character Fentidius finds himself falling in love with Magdo's beautiful blonde-haired daughter after she finds herself captured, and you can guarantee that there'll be plenty of swordplay and bloodshed before the credits roll.Baldi's film is a movie never lacking in action, apart from one instance when the old padding of an extended dance routine is brought into play. The all-out action ending tops what is a predictable if enjoyable movie, which has one sequence which stands out in which Mitchell, captured by the enemy, is forced to run three times over a bare bridge in his bare feet. Unfortunately, Mitchell doesn't give one of his very best performances here, but that may be because his character of Marcus Fentidius isn't really fleshed out until the second half of the film, where he gets to show his human side and also have a great one-on-one sword fight with the villain. IN THE SHADOW OF THE EAGLES is a visually pleasing film to watch, with themes of honour and jealousy to keep it interesting, and indeed in the end it is the human characters rather than the action-orientated plot which make it worthwhile.

akkhtimakt you won't miss much if you turn the sound off. The score is a bizarre mix of uninspired marches and weird chords that sound more appropriate to a bad Euro sexploitation flick. The characters are one-dimensional and the script makes little sense. The romantic scenes are about as passionate and believable as watching paint dry. On the positive side, the sets (mostly borrowed from better productions), and costumes are quite good, as was common to many of the Italian B epics. The Yugoslavian locations are at least accurate to the story, and in late winter/early spring, they lend a properly bleak and lonely look to the borderlands of civilization. Despite the care and striving for authenticity put into those elements, the director cared little for how the Romans waged war. They charge willy-nilly at the enemy to fight man to man, rather in proper formations.As another reviewer mentioned, this is a sort of companion piece to 'Massacre in the Black Forest'. If you have a choice, go for that one instead.

Zar IN THE SHADOW OF THE EAGLES is an extremely rare peplum directed by Ferdinando Baldi, apparently shot back-to-back with his MASSACRE IN THB BLACK FOREST. Cameron Mitchell more or less repeats his role from that film, staring as a Roman general matching wits with a rebellious tribe of barbarians at the border of the Empire. Recommended.