Clint Eastwood in ‘The Eiger Sanction’
Category: Blu-ray's and DVD's
The 1975 thriller The Eiger Sanction is based on the best-selling novel by Rod Whitaker. While the movie is decades old, it stands the test of time.
Jonathan Hemlock (Eastwood) is an art professor who, in his spare time, is a paid assassin. He is given the option to accept a sanction for the killing on one of his friends. At first he is reluctant but accepts this “sanction” retribution killing. The name of the target is not known, however what is known is that this person will be among an international group of climbers set to climb the famous Eiger Mountain in Switzerland.
With the help of his friend Ben, (George Kennedy), Hemlock begins his training to get in shape for this treacherous climb, which he has tried and failed twice before. The scenery makes viewing a pleasure, as the picture was filmed on location in Zurich, Monument Valley, Zion National Park, and Carmel. And yes, the Eiger Mountain was used for filming as well.
Eastwood also directed the film and in one of the bonus features, Reiner Schone, who plays mountain climber Freytag, talks about filming the movie and Eastwood as a director. As many actors have stated in the past, Eastwood is an actor’s director. Schone said the director told him to play the part as he felt it should be played, but Schone knew he had a safety net with Eastwood at the helm. Schone also relates some interesting and fun stories, especially about finding mountain climbing boots in his size. He and the others were also told that they had a few days to prove they could act like professional mountain climbers, or they would be replaced. Well, all of them passed the test and the film resumed with the cast in place.
There is another bonus with a vintage 8-minute promotional reel that relates the story and the making of this classic film. Like many of his other films, Eastwood has some cute and funny lines, but at the heart of the movie is the intense story of one man looking for the killer of his friend while at the same time trying to stay alive climbing the dangerous North Face of the Eiger Mountain.
Watching the movie on Blu-ray brings out the crispness of the locations with the colors being more intense than a regular DVD. And with the score by John Williams, this is definitely a memorable film with an incredibly cast. The Eiger Sanction is rated R.
About the Author
Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 25 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books, is the entertainment correspondent for Good Day Orange County, and has her own TV show, Beyond the Red Carpet, on Village Television in Orange County. She is a longstanding member of the Los Angeles Press Club and the Television Critics Association.