The Eiger Sanction (1975)

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writers:

Rod Whitaker (novel)
Hal Dresner (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

21 May 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

HIS LIFELINE - held by the assassin he hunted.

Plot:

An classical art professor and collector, who doubles as a professional assassin, is coerced out of retirement to avenge the murder of an old friend.

Plot Keywords:

Art | Mountain | Mountain Climbing | Professional Assassin | Climbing

Cast

Clint Eastwood	...	Dr. Jonathan Hemlock
George Kennedy	...	Ben Bowman
Vonetta McGee	...	Jemima Brown
Jack Cassidy	...	Miles Mellough
Heidi Brühl	...	Mrs. Anna Montaigne
Thayer David	...	Dragon
Reiner Schöne	...	Karl Freytag (as Reiner Schoene)
Michael Grimm	...	Anderl Meyer
Jean-Pierre Bernard	...	Jean-Paul Montaigne
Brenda Venus	...	George
Gregory Walcott	...	Pope
Candice Rialson	...	Art Student
Elaine Shore	...	Miss Cerberus
Dan Howard	...	Dewayne
Jack Kosslyn	...	Reporter

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | UK:AA (original rating) | Australia:M | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | Brazil:14 | Norway:15 (TV rating) | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1975) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Carmel, California, USA

Company:

Jennings Lang

Trivia:

Many of the names of characters were originally inside jokes; for example, in the novel the full name of the character 'Dragon' is 'Urassis Dragon' ("Your Ass is dragging"). Also, Hemlock (the name of the assassin) is a poison.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: When Hemlock shows Jemima the photo of Miles Mellough, Henri Bach and himself, two of the three have the flashes on their berets upside-down.

Quotes:

Dr. Jonathan Hemlock: Are you busy this evening?
Art Student: No.
Dr. Jonathan Hemlock: You live alone?
Art Student: My roommate's gone for the week.
Dr. Jonathan Hemlock: Good. Then... go on home, break out the books and study your little ass off. That's the best way to maintain a "B" average. Dont't study it all off.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Horror Business (2005) (V)

Great climbing sequences make this hidden gem worth watching!

Clint Eastwood stars as a former government assassin turned art teacher who is blackmailed into coming out of his retirement to pull off a difficult last job. A former colleague has been murdered. Eastwood will climb the Eiger face and kill the assassin along the way. The only problem is he isn't sure which of the three other climbers is his target.

'The Eiger Sanction' is very much a product of the 1970's, and comes from a difficult grey area of Eastwood's career. He was transitioning between Westerns and Dirty Harry and films like 'The Eiger Sanction' got lost in the mix. On the surface the film is a spy thriller, or a gorgeously shot mountain climbing/survival film. I think it doesn't get enough credit for being very tongue in cheek. It gently pokes fun at both Eastwood and 70's action movies -- Clint giving a female student a playful pat on the rump, the foxy brown flight attendant/girlfriend, and of course "damn that Brando" when Clint's Native American trainer pushes him too hard. Throw in the promiscuity and the way homosexuality is dealt with (rival gay hit-man with the little dog) and the film runs pretty nicely as a satire.

'The Eiger Sanction' is really about the third act though where the climbing takes place. Brilliantly photographed, I didn't find much not to enjoy about this film. Quite possibly the best climbing film that I've ever seen and it is certainly superior to things like 'Cliff Hanger' or 'Vertical Limit' -- which owe a great deal to 'The Eiger Sanction.' Clint Eastwood has acted in better movies and he's directed better movies. That said, this one is an unpolished gem and worth taking a look at if the opportunity arises.