Once an Eagle (TV miniseries)

Once An Eagle

Promotional poster
Directed by Richard Michaels
E.W. Swackhamer
Produced by Peter S. Fischer
Screenplay by Peter S. Fischer
Story by Anton Myrer
Starring Sam Elliott
Cliff Potts
Darleen Carr
Amy Irving
Glenn Ford
Music by Dana Kaproff
Cinematography J.J. Jones
Editing by Howard Deane
John Elias
Chuck McClelland
Distributed by NBC
Release date(s) December 2, 1976 (1976-12-02) (United States)
Running time 540 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Once An Eagle (1976) is a nine hour American television mini-series directed by Richard Michaels and E.W. Swackhamer. The picture was written by Peter S. Fischer and based on the 1968 Anton Myrer novel of the same name.[1]

The first and last installments of the seven-part series broadcasted two hours each, while the interim episodes were 60 minutes.

The mini-series concerns the thirty year careers of two military men, from the outbreak of World War I to the aftermath of World War II.

Contents

Plot

Sam Damon (Sam Elliott) is a good family man and praiseworthy warrior.

Courtney Massengale (Cliff Potts) is the opposite—a womanizing, self-aggrandizing conniver.

Cast

Background

Once An Eagle was the second of four story subseries of the NBC anthology series "Best Sellers;" it was preceded by Captains and the Kings, and followed by Seventh Avenue and The Rhineman Exchange.

The picture, based on the Anton Myrer's novel, is a military novel written in the United States. The novel is noted for its stark descriptions of men in combat and in its analysis of human and technical challenges and the moral dilemmas of command. It is one of only two novels (the other being The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara) on the US Army's recommended reading list for Officer Professional Development; the one common element of both novels is that Sam Elliott has a starring role, playing a US Army general officer, in the film adaptations of both.[2]

Filming locations

Some of the scenes of the film were filmed in Napa Valley, California.

DVD Release

Timeless Media Group released the complete television series on a two disc DVD set on August 31, 2010.

Awards

Nominations

Once-an-Eagle Origin

The "once-an-eagle" is derived from a famous Persian poem:

That once an eagle, stricken with a dart,
Said, when he saw the fashion of the shaft,
"With our own feathers, not by others' hands

See also

References

  1. ^ Once an Eagle at the Internet Movie Database.
  2. ^ Military Times newsweekly web site. Last accessed: February 9, 2011.

External links