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| Clint Eastwood looks fierce in spiked climber's shoes on this painted poster for his own The Eiger Sanction |
Our hero is an art professor, who has retired from a former career as hitman. But he is now brought back into the service due to a combination of a killing of an ex-colleague and our man's own unique mountain climbing skills.
The Eiger Sanction begins fairly well with master filmmaker director-star Clint Eastwood (The First Traveling Saleslady (1956)) in his familiar corner as a character who is, in short, a superior, womanizing lone wolf. Here he reports, - and negotiates with tremendous luck, - with his blind albino boss in near-darkness.
Quite some time passes before we get to the titular Eiger Sanction, a mission name for Eastwood's hit job on the Swiss mountain the Eiger. Then a while passes with the training and mountain climbing in general, which I found very light on suspense. The Eiger Sanction almost develops into a buddy movie at this point with Eastwood and George Kennedy (Hangfire (1991)).
The Eiger Sanction is written by Hal Dresner (Husbands and Wives (1977), TV movie), Warren Murphy (Lethal Weapon 2 (1989), story) and Rod 'Trevanian' Whitaker (Hot Night in the City (2004), short story), based on Whitaker's same-titled 1972 novel. The film features great aerial photography but is deeply unexciting, very unhip and nearly sexist. It also remains a mystery to me why the plot's central hit absolutely has to happen on the Eiger, but maybe that's just me.... (?)
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J. Edgar (2011) - Eastwood, Black and DiCaprio's great, intense biopic
The Changeling (2008) or, The Christine Collins Story
The Dead Pool (1988) - The highly entertaining last Dirty Harry movie (actor)
City Heat (1984) - Eastwood and Reynolds wrestle dispassionately in Benjamin's messy period affair (actor)
Tightrope (1984) - An undervalued Clint Eastwood sex killer thriller (actor)
Any Which Way You Can (1980) or, More Monkey Business! (actor)
Escape from Alcatraz (1979) - Siegel, Tuggle and Eastwood's phenomenal prison escape thriller (actor)
Every Which Way but Loose (1978) or, Honky Tonk Monkey Business! (actor)
The Beguiled (1971) - Intense, erotic Civil War kammerspiel thriller (actor)
Dirty Harry (1971) - Eastwood's great, signature renegade cop character comes to life (actor)
Coogan's Bluff (1968) or, Dopes and Hippies, Beat It! (actor)
A Fistful of Dollars (1964) or, Killer in a Poncho (actor)
Listen to a piece of John Williams' elegant score for the film while seeing pictures from the production in this video
Cost: 9 mil. $Box office: 14.2 mil. $ (North America only)
= Uncertainty (but likely a minor flop)
[The Eiger Sanction was released 21 May (USA) and runs 129 minutes. Trevanian's novel, his first published, was a James Bond spoof, which was turned more serious in the script. Eastwood wasn't interested in spy films but took the opportunity to end his three-movie deal with Universal, who he wasn't happy with, and also to get to shoot far away from the studio while challenging his own mountain climbing skills. Shooting took place in Utah, Arizona, California and Switzerland, including on and around the actual Eiger mountain, from August - September 1974. A 26 year-old climber who worked on the production was killed on the Eiger as part of an accident that also left another crew member injured, and it was considered to cancel the production. Reportedly led on by other climbers, Eastwood decided to go on, and the dangerous shoot, in which he did his own stunts, went on. Eastwood invited cast and crew for a wrap party at his own California restaurant, the Hog Breath's Inn. Roger Ebert awarded the film 3/4 stars, translating to two notches higher than this review. The international box office figures are not publicized, but if we assume that the film did modest business and ended up with a 20-22 mil. $ gross, the film counts as a flop or a minor flop. The Eiger Sanction is fresh at 69 % with a 6.4 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of The Eiger Sanction?
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