The Eiger Sanction (1975) - Eastwood's mountain climbing dud

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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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2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
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American Sniper (2014) - Eastwood conveys an American man and myth in electric masterpiece  
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
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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?

Cahill U.S. Marshall/Cahill (1973) - John Wayne upholds the law in exciting late-career western

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John Wayne takes yet another turn as the man of the law in Andrew V. McLaglen's Cahill U.S. Marshall

QUICK REVIEW:

Lawman Cahill is one of the hard dogs of the West, but he has never raised his sons right, and now they are involved in a bank robbery. But the bad guy, Fraser, is so evil that they don't dare talk to their Pa about it.
Cahill is a film with intense suspense and several great actor's performances. Elmer Bernstein's (Airplane! (1980)) music is peculiar for a western, - it is more urban crime-like. The film has atmospheric locations and a well-playing John Wayne (Stagecoach (1939)) in one of his last performances here. George Kennedy (Another Happy Day (2011)) as the ugly bastard Fraser is also worth seeing, and not least of all is Clay O'Brien (The Cowboys (1972)) a treat as little Billy Joe Cahill, a dougthy lad.
It is directed by Andrew V. McLaglen (The Wild Geese (1978)).

Related review:

Andrew V. McLaglen: Chisum (1970) - Middle-of-the-road John Wayne action-western

Don't mess with this guy! John Wayne as Andrew V. McLaglen's Cahill U.S. Marshall

Watch the original trailer here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: 3.1 mil. $ (North America rentals only)
= Uncertainty

What do you think of Cahill U.S. Marshall?
Can you ever get enough of Wayne, the lawman?

Airport (1970) - A genre is born

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An original poster for George Seaton's event picture Airport, which flashes its starry cast and for some reason repeats its title 8 times

Chicago Airport: A blizzard, too few landing strips and snow plows, a man with a mysterious attaché briefcase, impending divorce and a stowaway passenger. 

 

These are just some of the obstacles presented in Airport, the film that's called the first disaster movie ever, defining genre conventions for countless disaster movies to follow by combining small-scale melodrama with big-scale disaster aspects. It is written and directed by George Seaton (Diamond Horseshoe (1945)), adapting the same-titled 1968 novel by Arthur Hailey (Overload (1979)). Henry Hathaway (Nob Hill (1945)) directed some winter outdoor scenes.
The film is entertaining and worth watching particularly for its stars; the glorious Jean Seberg (À Bout de Souffle/Breathless (1960)), Dean Martin (Rio Bravo (1959)) as a veteran sky captain who might finally choose love over individual freedom, and Burt Lancaster (From Here to Eternity (1953)), who made millions off the flick but still disparaged it gloriously in public, calling it "the worst piece of junk ever made."
The start of Airport is a bit cardboardy, as characters and their wives and girlfriends are introduced, but later on it gets quite exciting, and the film still works perfectly as a lazy afternoon watch.

 

Watch a trailer for the movie here

Cost: 10.2 mil. $
Box office: 128.4 mil. $
= Blockbuster (returned 12.58 times its cost)

[Airport was released 5 March (North America) and runs 137 minutes. Through profit participation deals, Martin was paid 7 mil. $ for his performance; Lancaster 5 mil. $. Shooting took place from January - June 1969 in Minneapolis, Minnesota and in California. The film grossed 100.4 mil. $ (78.2 % of the total gross) in North America. It was nominated for 10 Oscars, winning one: Best Supporting Actress (Helen Hayes (Ah, Wilderness! (1959, TV movie)). It lost another Supporting Actress nomination (Maureen Stapleton (Passed Away (1992)), Art/Set Decoration to Patton, Cinematography (Ernest Laszlo (The Last Sunset (1961))) to Freddie Young for Ryan's Daughter, Costume Design to Cromwell, Editing to Patton, Score (Alfred Newman (Bus Stop (1956))) to Francis Lai for Love Story, Picture to Patton, Sound also to Patton and Adapted Screenplay to Ring Lardner Jr. for MASH. It was also nominated for a BAFTA, win 1/4 Golden Globe nominations, 1/2 Grammy nominations and a few other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 2/4 star review, translating to 2 notches under this one. The Boeing 707 used in the film was only leased: It later crashed in 1989 in Brazil, killing the 25 people onboard. The film was followed by 4 sequels, the first being Airport 1975 (1974). Seaton returned with Showdown (1973). Lancaster returned in Lawman (1971); Martin in The Red Skelton Hour (1970, TV-series), Swing Out, Sweet Land (1970, TV movie) and theatrically in Something Big (1971). Airport is fresh at 73 % with a 6.20/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Airport?