With Hemlock now leading, the surviving members retreat towards a tunnel window that connects to a railroad station inside the mountain, carrying the dead climber between them. Review of Eiger Selfness Hotel. [1], As soon as he signed on to the project, Eastwood took complete control of the production. [6] It was Trevanian's first novel and was written as an intentional spoof of James Bond novels. He agrees to join an international climbing team in Switzerland planning an ascent of the Eigernorth fac… The case is intact. A classical art professor and collector, who doubles as a professional assassin, is coerced out of retirement to avenge the murder of an old friend. Eiger Trail - wonderful We hiked the Eiger Trail in August 2020 with our children, aged 10, 12 and 16. [1][Note 1], In a 1976 interview with author Patrick McGilligan for Focus on Film, Eastwood described the essential problems with the novel: "The book has no ties. Get a sneak peek of the new version of this page. Art professor Jonathan Hemlock (Clint Eastwood) is a retired government assassin who is coerced into doing One Last Job for his former employer C2, the sanctioning of the two enemy agents responsible for the murder of Agent Wormwood (actually Henri Baq, an old war buddy of Hemlock's). Variety concluded, "Eastwood ... manages fine suspense both in the Swiss and Monument Valley climbs, as well as delineation of character. A pilot is sent into the Soviet Union on a mission to steal a prototype jet fighter that can be partially controlled by a neuralink. Shot on location in the Alps and Zion National Park, the cinematography is first class. [9] Eastwood was never interested in espionage as a subject or the spy thriller as a genre,[9] but he was attracted to the project for two reasons. Very much a minor entry to the Eastwood canon and certainly one of his most lacklustre and conventional directorial efforts, "The Eiger Sanction" concerns professional-assassin-turned … The scene required him to cut himself free so he could be pulled to safety by his rescuers. Was this review helpful to you? After Bowman leaves, Jemima Brown joins Hemlock and wonders if Dragon was correct. Whitaker wrote a sequel entitled The Loo Sanction. (1975). [30], Eastwood chose John Williams to compose the original music soundtrack for The Eiger Sanction—his only score in the spy thriller genre. The Eiger Sanction comes to Blu-Ray with a digital AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1 derived from a 2K remaster. "[28] After five weeks at the Eiger, the production unit traveled to Zurich to film the opening scenes of the film around the area of the Grossmünster cathedral and the Limmat river, the Münsterbrücke bridge, the Café Bauschänzli, the Kirchgasse, the Napfgasse, and the Restaurant Karl der Grosse. He was one of the few crew members who actually climbed the Eiger north face. The film is based on the 1972 thriller novel The Eiger Sanction by Trevanian, a pseudonym for Rodney William Whitaker, a University of Texas film professor. The Eiger Sanction is a long, foolish but never boring suspense melodrama about a college art professor named Jonathan Hemlock (Clint Eastwood), who has a passion for French Impressionists and mountain climbing and an underground reputation as the best assassin in the international spy business. The general reaction among many reviewers offered criticism of the story and screenplay, and praise for the climbing footage and action sequences. The headstrong and condescending German member, Karl Freytag (Reiner Schöne), presents his proposed route up the mountain, and the team agrees that he will lead the party. Film critic David Sterritt, for example, concluded that "Eastwood's unsubtle directing hammers the story home effectively, with commendable attention to details of performance". 128 minutes. Frankly the differences in all three situations are argueably done better in the movie. The following morning, the men begin their ascent of the Eiger north face, but soon the weather conditions become poor. Dragon agrees to pay him $100,000 (equivalent to $518,000 in 2019) plus expenses, and tells him the target is a member of an international mountain climbing team that will soon attempt an ascent of the north face of the Eiger mountain in Switzerland. No skill, no brains, just pure muscle. The Eiger Sanction was released in New York City on May 21, 1975, and received mixed reviews. Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid. He tries to kill Hemlock by hiring George to drug him, but Hemlock survives. Action & adventure. Hemlock is reluctant, but agrees when he learns that the C2 agent killed, Wormwood, was in fact his old friend Henri Baq. The Eiger Sanction is a 1972 thriller novel by Rodney William Whitaker, written under the pseudonym Trevanian. The way the book was written, he had no motivations for anything. The presentation is pretty gorgeous throughout most of the runtime, providing a step up from the previously-released Blu-Ray from Universal. Train from Grindelwald to Kleine Scheidegg and then change to another train for the 5 minute trip to EigerGletscher. [31] The original soundtrack album was released in 1975 on the MCA label, and in 1991 it was issued as a CD on the Varèse Sarabande label. We are an Exeter-based local, independent charity which provides high quality care and support to people with a progressive life-limiting illness and those close to them living in Exeter, East and Mid Devon. He pulled in his chin and gritted his teeth and with absolutely no technique at all, just blood and guts, he mossed his way up. Twitter. 35 of 45 people found this review helpful. By 1974, forty-one climbers had lost their lives trying to climb the forbidding edifice. Practically the only significant differences between the two are the relationship between Johathon and Wormwood, the final status of Johnathon and Jemima's relationship, and the fact that C2 is - in the novel - so totally inept as an intelligence organization as to be completely unbeliveable, this is somewhat glossed over in the movie. The Eiger Sanction is a 1972 thriller novel by Trevanian, the pen name of Rodney William Whitaker. A hard but mediocre cop is assigned to escort a prostitute into custody from Las Vegas to Phoenix, so that she can testify in a mob trial. Original title: The Eiger Sanction. Brenda Gabrielle Venus was born on 10 November 1947, in Biloxi, Mississippi USA, of part Native American ancestry, and is an actress, author, model, filmmaker, and ballerina, but probably best known for appearing in several high-profile films during the 1970s, including “The Eiger Sanction”, “An Eye for an Eye”, and “FM”. Hemlock agrees, and travels to Zurich, where he carries out the first sanction for $20,000, twice his usual fee (equivalent to $104,000 in 2019), and a letter guaranteeing no trouble from the IRS. Deadly Euphemism: Dragon loves to use "sanction" for this end. [34] In his review in the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars, writing, "It has a plot so unlikely and confused that we can't believe it for much more than 15 seconds at a time, but its action sequences are so absorbing and its mountaintop photography so compelling that we don't care ... and so we get wrapped up in the situations, and we're seduced by the photography, and we enjoy the several pretty girls who happen along in the hero's path, and if the plot doesn't make any sense well, no movie's perfect. Based on the 1972 novel of the same name by Trevanian, the film is about an art history professor, mountain climber and former assassin once employed by a secret United States government agency who is blackmailed into returning to his deadly profession and do one more "sanction," a euphemism for killing. The Eiger Sanction [18] Located within the lands of the Navajo Nation, the Totem Pole had religious significance to the Navajos who prohibited climbs on the formation. [21] Cameraman Frank Stanley also thought climbing the perilous mountain to shoot a film was unnecessary. United States. The Eiger Sanction by Trevanian and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at AbeBooks.co.uk. [12] "The challenge of it for me," he would later explain, "was to actually shoot a mountain-type film on a mountain, not on sets. I just took it and tried to make the guy relate to the hero so the hero had some motivations. Hemlock says, "You're limping, Ben," reluctant to trust that Bowman will rescue him. Hemlock is sent to Switzerland on a mission to climb the notorious Eiger peak of the Alps, whose north face has meant death to many climbers. Just prior to the start of filming, Vonetta McGee was cast as the African-American female C2 operative, Jemima Brown. [21] At 13,015 feet (3,967 m) in elevation, the north face of the Eiger, which means ogre in German, is renowned for its treacherous climbing,[21] earning the German nickname Mordwand or "murder wall". Search for "The Eiger Sanction" on Amazon.com, Title: "[35] Playboy magazine described the film as "a James Bond reject. the eiger sanction. Buy from £7.99 or 799. Use the HTML below. [1] While he had done some rock climbing in his youth, the forty-four year old Eastwood was not prepared for the levels of difficulty presented by the climb. They elevate an otherwise silly plot, marking a moment in movie history when the images committed to film were far more real than today's mix of live action and cartoons. The Eiger Sanction is a 1975 American action thriller film directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. The film was produced by Robert Daley for Eastwood's Malpaso Company, with Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown as executive producers, and co-starred George Kennedy, Vonetta McGee and Jack Cassidy. The general reaction among many reviewers offered criticism for the story and screenplay, and praise for the climbing footage and action sequences. [1][8] In late 1973 Universal producers Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown approached Eastwood with the project. In other words, the character that is killed at the beginning has no relationship to anybody else. The Eiger Sanction was first released in DVD format on December 15, 1998, and in Blu-ray format on November 10, 2015 by Universal Studios. [14] Murphy completed a draft in late March and a revised script a month later. Reviewed February 1, 2017 via mobile . Celebrate Black History Month with IMDb's exclusive galleries, recommendations, videos, and more. Hemlock is an ex-Green Beret and he and Baq served together during the Vietnam War, where Baq saved his life. [12] On January 31, 1974, Universal announced that Eastwood was contracted to both star in and co-produce The Eiger Sanction with his own Malpaso Productions and Universal Pictures. I said, 'Well, Clint, you really don't have much choice, do you?' He agrees to join an international climbing team in Switzerland planning an ascent of the Eiger north face in order to complete a second sanction to avenge the murder of an old friend. "There comes a time in some movies when sheer spectacle overwhelms any consideration of plot, and Clint Eastwood's 'The Eiger Sanction' is a movie like that," wrote the movie critic Roger Ebert in 1975. At the time of Eastwood’s official casting, the positions of director and screenwriter were yet unconfirmed. John Vogel . [32], The Eiger Sanction premiered in New York City on May 21, 1975. Twenty-six-year-old British climber David Knowles died on the Eiger during the production. [38] Christopher Granger in the Tampa Bay Movie Examiner gave the film four out of five stars, writing, "The scenery in the Alps is breathtaking and the action in this spy thriller is end of your seat viewing. [1] Dresner and Trevanian prepared two drafts of the screenplay, which were provided to Newman. Adventure. At the last moment, Freytag and the Austrian, Anderl Meyer (Michael Grimm), fall to their deaths. Hemlock notices Bowman is limping, a sign that identifies him as Hemlock's target. Then he reacted characteristically—he got pissed off. The walk took about 2-2.5 hours. [38] Anderson found the climbing footage "truly gripping" and that the film was "underrated, high-water mark for the great director". Mark as already seen. "The Eiger Sanction" (1975) starring Clint Eastwood is a spectacular "mountain movie" of the sort big in 1920's German classic cinema. Written by View production, box office, & company info. He is forced to take a case where he must find out which of the members of a mountain climbing team is the Russian killer he has been given as a target by joining an expedition to climb the treacherous Eiger. Knowles was a skilled climber who worked out of the Dougal Haston International School of Mountaineering in Leysin, Switzerland. The Eiger Sanction is a 1975 American action thriller film directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. Art professor and mountaineer Jonathan Hemlock (Clint Eastwood) is a retired government assassin called on to return to work for two more "sanctions," a euphemism for officially approved killings. Bowman throws him the rope, and Hemlock attaches it, then reluctantly cuts his own rope. [21] While filming on the Eiger, Stanley fell and sustained injuries that forced him to use a wheelchair for some time. Check out our February TV calendar for the biggest TV premieres this month, including "Clarice," "Superman & Lois," and "Strip Down, Rise Up.". [16] He worked with soundman Peter Pilafian to develop lightweight, disposable batteries to power a specially adapted camera and sound equipment needed to film on the mountain. Hemlock travels to Switzerland with Bowman, the "ground man" or supervisor of the climb, and meets the other members of the climbing party at the Hotel Bellevue des Alpes at Kleine Scheidegg. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. [31] The main theme is reprised in "George Sets the Pace" as a guitar solo with flute harmony. The Eiger Sanction (147) IMDb 6.4 2h 8min 1975 Clint Eastwood directs and stars in this intrigue thriller about a retired assassin who is forced into action when a deadly double agent murders a close friend. Government assassin Clint Eastwood has to scale the north face of the Eiger to get his man. Watch now from £2.49 or 249. The director of C2, Dragon (Thayer David), is an albino ex-Nazi confined to semi-darkness and kept alive by blood transfusions. I have also had the privilege of meeting him personally a thousand years ago in the restaurant he owns in San Francisco. Dragon wants Hemlock to kill two men responsible for the death of another government agent, code name Wormwood. [17] Eastwood had seen and admired the documentary, and hired Hoover to train him on how to look professional during the climbing scenes, and to serve as principal cameraman on the more dangerous climbing sequences. $3.99 Rent HD. Hemlock tells Bowman that C2 believes the target died on the mountain, and that there is no reason to tell them otherwise. Those holes in the story - well, they're right there in the book, too. An ex-bounty hunter reluctantly helps a wealthy landowner and his henchmen track down a Mexican revolutionary leader. [22] While the team was preparing to be helicoptered off the north face, Hoover remembered they had not taken any footage from the climbers' point of view of the boulders crashing down on them. Redeem voucher. [42] The film was released in Blu-ray format on November 10, 2015 by Universal.[42]. [18] By midafternoon on August 13, as light began to fail, a wrap was called after shooting a rock slide sequence. The Eiger Sanction. [31] The latter title presents the kind of rapturous orchestral celebration now commonly associated with Williams' music.