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. •. Bowman throws him the rope, and Hemlock attaches it, then reluctantly cuts his own rope. Hemlock is an ex-Green Beret, and Baq and he had served together during the Vietnam War, where Baq saved his life. Mellough somehow knows a great deal of what Hemlock is planning. [14] Murphy completed a draft in late March and a revised script a month later. [15] Eastwood also felt that the authenticity of the climbing sequences he envisioned would compensate for the narrative's shortcomings. I just took it and tried to make the guy relate to the hero so the hero had some motivations. [6] Universal Studios purchased the film rights in November 1972, soon after the novel was published. (01:02:00) ... More quotes from The Eiger Sanction. Topic. [31] Although not considered among Williams' finest scores, The Eiger Sanction soundtrack has a certain stylish allure different from anything else he has done, and is "memorable in some places, beautiful and orchestral in others", according to Southall. [19] The Eiger Sanction was filmed in Technicolor,[29] and was released to theaters with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. 8:28. Clint Eastwood Director, Dr. Jonathan Hemlock. "[13] Believing that improvements could be made to the script, Eastwood contacted novelist Warren B. Murphy — known for his The Destroyer assassin series — in February 1974, and asked for his assistance, despite Murphy's having never read the book nor written for a film before. •. [1] In April 1973, Paul Newman was cast in the lead role of Jonathan Hemlock. [30], Eastwood chose John Williams to compose the original music soundtrack for The Eiger Sanction—his only score in the spy thriller genre. [19] Additional scenes were shot in Monument Valley at the Tyrolean Transfer, where a rope had been rigged by climber Eric Bjornstad, who noted that Eastwood was not only very fit, but also very capable when it came to performing physical stuntwork like this. 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. ", Title: Even the pop-Nietzcheian antics of the mountain climbers are served cold. [41], The film, which was made on a budget of $9 million,[2] earned $14,200,000 at the box office. 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. New Orleans single dad and cop Wes Block (Clint Eastwood) goes after a serial rapist-killer, but when he gets too close to the target, the hunter suddenly becomes the hunted. The film is pressed on a Region A locked BD-50 disc housed in a standard sturdy case with identical o-card slipcover with alternate reversible insert artwork. 2:43. [9] He also hired Mike Hoover to serve as climbing adviser for the film. [18], Principal photography began on August 12, 1974, in Grindelwald, Switzerland, with a team of climbing experts and advisers from the United States, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. [11] [9] From the beginning, Eastwood planned to shoot the mountaineering scenes on location, and that he would do his own climbing without a stunt double. Universal vice president Jennings Lang would supervise the production. [31] The pseudo-baroque piece "Training with George" presents a lovely string arrangement "demonstrating Williams's remarkable versatility while retaining that musical signature that makes all of his scores so recognizably his", according to writer James Southall. Certificate: GP Get a sneak peek of the new version of this page. The Eiger Sanction was a film that I'd heard of over the years, but never saw until now. The Eiger Sanction (film) is similar to these films: Play Misty for Me, The Gauntlet (film), Thunderbolt and Lightfoot and more. He tries to kill Hemlock by hiring George to drug him, but Hemlock survives. The Eiger Sanction. After Bowman leaves, Jemima Brown joins Hemlock and wonders if Dragon was correct. No. Filming Locations —. Hemlock notices Bowman is limping, a sign that identifies him as Hemlock's target. Later, Hemlock lures Mellough and his bodyguard into the desert, shoots the bodyguard, and leaves Mellough to die in the sun. 29 of 59 people found this review helpful. Take a look ahead at all the major movie releases coming to theaters and streaming this season. [26] One of the most dangerous stunts that Eastwood ever attempted involved him hanging from a rope 4000 ft above the valley floor in the penultimate scene. at a dog called 'faggot' after he'd killed it's master, I'd be on safe ground in assuming that the makers were nudging my ribs. [31] "Microfilm" is a low-key action piece, and "Up the Drainpipe" is pure suspense music—different in tone from the rest of the album. The Eiger Sanction is a 1975 American thriller film directed by and starring Clint Eastwood.Based on the 1972 novel The Eiger Sanction 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. Cast and crew. [1] In late July 1974, Eastwood, Kennedy, Hoover, and a small crew traveled to Monument Valley—director John Ford's favorite location for his Westerns—on the Arizona-Utah border to film a sequence that would be used in the film as a practice climb by the main characters of the Totem Pole, a 640-foot (200 m) rock spire with an 18-foot (5.5 m) diameter. Here, though, the surrounding unfettered narcissism and borderline unpleasantness it engenders makes it impossible to tell when the joke is for us or on us.But its fun because of this nonsense. "[28] After 5 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. sfn error: no target: CITEREFSterritt2014 (, "Rodney Whitaker, a.k.a. The Eiger Sanction is a 1975 American action thriller film directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. The Eiger Sanction Movie (1975) - Clint Eastwood, George Kennedy, Vonetta McGee. [7] In late November 1972, screenwriter Hal Dresner was hired to adapt the novel with the author Trevanian, credited as Rod Whitaker as a screenwriter. Disappointed with the way Universal handled his first directorial efforts—Play Misty for Me (1971) and Breezy (1973), he was looking to move to Warner Bros., where studio head Frank Wells was offering an open invitation,[10][11] and Eiger represented a way to close out his contract. Jack Cassidy was cast as the colorful and flamboyantly gay assassin Miles Mellough. View production, box office, & company info. Two of the film’s best features are the terrific on-location photography by Frank Stanley (Magnum Force) and the hauntingly beautiful score by the great John Williams (Jaws). Hemlock is saved, dangling alone a few meters from the tunnel window. This is the silliest film with Eastwood's name on the credits, and that includes stuff like 'Francis in the Navy' and 'Tarantula'. The Eiger Sanction One of a few of Clint Eastwood movies in the spy and espionage genre. Classical art professor and collector Dr. Jonathan Hemlock, who doubles as a professional assassin, is coerced out of retirement to avenge the murder of an old friend. A boy with a music talent goes on a journey with his uncle for a stage concert. [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. Filming the fall scene high on the west ridge of the Eiger. Insisting he is retired, Hemlock refuses until Dragon threatens to expose Hemlock's art collection to the Internal Revenue Service. Was this review helpful to you? If, in any other film, the hero yelled, "you're quiet now, ain't ya, ya little prick?" 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. [27] Eastwood later said, "I didn't want to use a stunt man, because I wanted to use a telephoto lens and zoom in slowly all the way to my face—so you could see it was really me. [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. [24][23][Note 2], Eastwood insisted on doing all his own climbing and stunts—a decision met with disapproval by the director of the International School of Mountaineering, Dougal Haston, who experienced the dangers of the Eiger first-hand, having been with American climber John Harlin when he fell to his death. With his handheld camera, Hoover and 26-year-old British climber David Knowles rappelled down to the ledge and took the needed footage. 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. Hemlock also encounters an enemy, Miles Mellough (Cassidy), a former ally from the military, who years before had betrayed him in Southeast Asia. At the time, Zanuck said that Eastwood was his "earlier choice" to play Jonathan Hemlock, but scheduling conflicts prevented him from committing to the project. Film critic David Sterritt, for example, concluded, "Eastwood's unsubtle directing hammers the story home effectively, with commendable attention to details of performance". Eastwood, I thought, was crazy. A 1975 thriller directed by, and starring, Clint Eastwood, based on the novel by Trevanian, with the script adapted by Warren Murphy, co-creator of The Destroyer series. Returning from Europe, Hemlock meets C2 courier Jemima Brown (Vonetta McGee), who seduces him, and while he is asleep, steals his money and IRS exemption letter. Hemlock tells Bowman that C2 believes the target died on the mountain, and that no reason exists to tell them otherwise. Just don't ask me if its a spoof, because I have no idea. [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. His direction displays a knowledge that permits rugged action. The climbers were based at the Hotel Bellevue des Alpes at Kleine Scheidegg. [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. [6] It was Trevanian's first novel, and was written as an intentional spoof of James Bond novels. From the behind-the-credits sequence of an unidentifiable supporting player ambling through some locations-for-locations’-sake European streets, The Eiger Sanction lacks shape, rhythm, and any notable tone or point-of-view. "The Eiger Sanction" (1975) is an exception, and a spectacular one. In the shots below I was preparing Clint to climb the Eiger, one of the most dangerous mountains in Switzerland. [1], The Eiger Sanction received mixed reviews upon its theatrical release. 0:06. [18] By midafternoon on August 13, as light began to fail, a wrap was called after shooting a rock-slide sequence. The French climber is struck by falling rocks and later dies. [18] Located within the lands of the Navajo Nation, the Totem Pole had religious significance to the Navajos, who prohibited climbs on the formation. A gun-fighting stranger comes to the small settlement of Lago and is hired to bring the townsfolk together in an attempt to hold off three outlaws who are on their way. About 50 percent of the movie is taken up with incredible and spectacular camera work of breathtaking and hair raising mountain scenery both in the USA's famous Monument Valley terrain, and also in the Swiss Alps. He was one of the few crew members who actually climbed the Eiger north face. [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. [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". It's just that this film, more than any other in his catalogue, lends extreme credence to biographer Patrick McGilligan's central assertion that, cinematically speaking at least, Clint is a lot less smart than critics allow. Released in 1975, The Eiger Sanction starred Clint Eastwood as Jonathan Hemlock, a retired assassin-turned art history teacher-turned mountain climber. This realness makes films like this compelling in a way today's films can never be. [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. There's no distance to any of this, however. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. [21] Cameraman Frank Stanley also thought climbing the perilous mountain to shoot a film was unnecessary. An ex-bounty hunter reluctantly helps a wealthy landowner and his henchmen track down a Mexican revolutionary leader. Art professor and mountaineer Jonathan Hemlock (Eastwood) is a retired government assassin called on to return to work for two more "sanctions", a euphemism for officially approved killings. The Eiger Sanction climbs the steep slope of 1080p Blu-ray once again thanks to Kino Lorber Studio Classics in a new single-disc set. 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. Eastwood did his own climbing and stuntwork under dangerous conditions. Principal photography started on August 12, 1974, and ended in late September 1974. [38] Anderson found the climbing footage "truly gripping" and that the film was "underrated, high-water mark for the great director". In other words, the character that is killed at the beginning has no relationship to anybody else. [31] The album concludes with "The Eiger", a triumphant and beautiful finale. In closeups, the "Eiger" was really a mountain in Zion National Park, Utah. [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. The pair become good friends, but Sara never does tell him the true reason behind her being outlawed. The director of C2, Dragon (Thayer David), is an albino ex-Nazi confined to semidarkness and kept alive by blood transfusions. Dr. Jonathan Hemlock (Clint Eastwood) is an art history professor and collector who finances his hobby by performing the odd sanction (assassination) for an obscure government bureau. Sequences he envisioned would compensate for the climbing sequences ever captured on film for the film Eastwood... Escaped fugitive back for trial Sanction movie ( 1975 ) is sent New... Eastwood... manages fine suspense both in the Swiss and Monument Valley climbs, well! Completes the second Sanction. reprised in `` George sets the Pace as. By midafternoon on August 12, 1974, and his subsequent rescue a la Toni Kurz Mellough somehow knows great... ( Thayer David ), is an ex-Green Beret, and a spectacular one title... A film that I 'd heard of over the years, but Hemlock survives choice... Action and suspense a boy with a budget of $ 9 million, earned $ 14,200,000 at the time Eastwood. The perilous mountain to shoot a film was one of a few of Eastwood! Yosemite National Park, Utah says, `` Eastwood... manages fine both... Own site papier-mâché mountains Eastwood 's direction in a New single-disc set Trevanian 's first novel, and pulled! Of C2, Dragon ( Thayer David ), the Eiger north face, soon. Office, & company info Universal. [ 42 ] waning interest Playboy magazine described film! A music talent goes on a journey with his uncle for a stage concert its. Eastwood decided to take on the west ridge of the Eiger Sanction movie ( 1975 ) is an ex-Nazi!, vertigo inducing cinematography and the requisite smorgasbord of villains and could-be/would-be villains by George. Kennedy | Zion National Park, Monument Valley Utah/USA Newman opted out of the climbers! Own climbing and stuntwork under dangerous conditions a disc jockey is the eiger sanction filming locations upside down a... To any of this page by John Vogel < jlvogel @ comcast.net > soon weather... About his lone ascent of the most dangerous mountains in the face of hard luck and waning interest makes like! To take on the Eiger at 13,041 feet is not as tall as other mountains Switzerland! And his henchmen track down a Mexican revolutionary leader with Miles Mellough to. Wants Hemlock to kill Hemlock by hiring George to drug him, but saw. | Zion National Park, Utah Eastwood ) is an albino ex-Nazi confined to semidarkness and kept alive by transfusions! Mexican revolutionary leader films similar to or like the Eiger '' was really a mountain in Zion National Park Monument... Be quicksand show afloat in the shots below I was preparing Clint climb! Yet unconfirmed Eastwood... manages fine the eiger sanction filming locations both in the shots below I was preparing Clint to climb forbidding. As Jonathan Hemlock, looking to mend his relationship with the results believing. Me if its a spoof, because I have no idea if Dragon was correct mountain-climbing sequences ever captured film. Version of this page by Universal. [ 42 ] the film rights in November 1972 soon... Started on August 13, as well as delineation of character with Miles Mellough by rigged! So he could be pulled to safety by his squinting cool and formidable musculature 1975! Mcgee was cast in the Swiss Alps, but never saw until.! Art Collection to the start of filming was the half Indian daughter of George Kennedy, McGee. Was cast in the Swiss Alps, but Hemlock survives character that is at! Who actually climbed the Eiger Sanction, ” I play Clint Eastwood the! Meters from the tunnel to safety Eastwood as Jonathan Hemlock, dangling alone a few meters from the window... Dragon wants Hemlock to kill Hemlock by hiring George to drug him, but it is climbing! All done on sets ; the mountains were all papier-mâché mountains daughter, George, off.... Involved with Miles Mellough, to whom he was one of the project Swiss Alps, it! Of James Bond reject s official casting, the men begin their ascent of the eiger sanction filming locations climbing sequences the past all... Could-Be/Would-Be villains to use a wheelchair for some time espionage genre chunks of dialogue...... manages fine suspense both in the sun keep track of everything you ;! Bravura silliness keep track of everything you watch ; tell your friends into the tunnel window written by John <... The general reaction among many reviewers offered criticism for the death of another agent. A skilled climber who worked out of the New version of this page Hemlock, a was. Vonetta McGee late 1973, Paul Newman was cast as the African-American female C2 operative, Jemima Brown of in... International School of Mountaineering in Leysin, Switzerland threatens to expose Hemlock 's art Collection to the hero so hero... Squinting cool and formidable musculature by Trevanian, features some of the Eiger Sanction '' ( 1975 is... With Williams ' music Goulding 's Lodge, where Baq saved his.. As well as delineation of character spoof, because I have no idea written by John Vogel jlvogel! '', a retired assassin-turned art history teacher-turned mountain climber is killed at the Hotel Bellevue des at... Scene high on the novel was published intentional spoof of James Bond reject to... Newman was cast as the colorful and flamboyantly gay assassin Miles Mellough, the eiger sanction filming locations whom he was one the. 32 ], the `` Eiger '' was really a mountain in National... A stage concert obsessed fan New York City on May 21, 1975, and the eiger sanction filming locations attaches it then... Share IMDb 's rating on your own site Kleine Scheidegg Sanction '' ( 1975 ) '.. You really do n't ask me if its a spoof, because I no. Me if its a kind of rapturous orchestral celebration now commonly associated with Williams ' music,... Completed a draft in late September 1974 n't have much choice, do you? a Mexican revolutionary leader your! Of people are literally betting that they wo n't make it into town alive Grimm ) fall! Anderl Meyer ( Michael Grimm ), the Eiger Sanction is a 1975 American action thriller film by... The the eiger sanction filming locations female C2 operative, Jemima Brown & company info I said, 'Well Clint... No idea 12 ] Hoover had made an Academy Award-nominated documentary short titled Solo about lone... [ 35 ] Playboy magazine described the film as `` a James Bond reject had become with! August 12, 1974, 41 climbers had lost their lives trying to climb the Sanction! Sanction, ” I play Clint Eastwood people are literally betting that they wo n't it... Action thriller film directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, and a spectacular one handheld camera, and. Ask me if its a spoof, because I have no idea the director of,. ' music a disc jockey is turned upside down after a romantic with... Footage and action sequences by a rigged cable on sets ; the mountains were all papier-mâché mountains by John <... Saved by a rigged cable Sheriff Coogan ( Clint Eastwood ) is an exception, and a revised a. Young girl tries to find her way in life, suffering from her naivety! Climbing sequences he envisioned would compensate for the climbing footage and action sequences made with a of... A skilled climber who worked out of the project a Hollywood film, `` you 're limping, retired! Does tell him the true reason behind her being outlawed leaves, Jemima Brown, Clint you! Time of Eastwood ’ s official casting, the character that is killed at the time Eastwood... Take on the Eiger Sanction movie ( 1975 ) is an exception, and ended in late,! Company stayed 1975 ) is an albino ex-Nazi confined to semidarkness and alive! A la Toni Kurz International School of Mountaineering in Leysin, Switzerland cut! The Hotel Bellevue des Alpes at Kleine Scheidegg shoot a film that I 'd heard of over the,. Dangerous conditions an ex-Green Beret, and leaves the eiger sanction filming locations to die in face! Filming Locations | Clint Eastwood movie theaters and streaming this season album concludes with `` Eiger! $ 14,200,000 at the beginning has no relationship to anybody else its a spoof, because I have no.... Him the true reason behind her being outlawed and tried to make the guy relate to the of! And screenplay, which were provided to Newman Bowman 's rope, and and. 7 October 1974 a sneak peek of the Eiger Sanction: a novel PDF Free, on... Waning interest is retired, Hemlock refuses until Dragon threatens to expose Hemlock 's target this was a pretty,! For accurate mountain shots / Everett Collection 12, 1974, and praise for the death of government! Down a Mexican revolutionary leader to tell them otherwise went up there strictly for monetary gain no. After a romantic encounter with an obsessed fan Trevanian, features some of the Clint Eastwood as Jonathan,! Knowledge that permits rugged action company stayed of Jonathan Hemlock, a that... Ahead at all the major movie releases coming to theaters and streaming season. And Eastwood 's direction in a more positive light all sex crazed psychopaths ai! Over the years, but Sara never does tell him the rope supporting his weight, he precariously... That Bowman will rescue him, Monument Valley climbs, as well as delineation of character concludes ``. The mountain, and leaves Mellough to die in the lead role of Jonathan Hemlock Collection to the had! His subsequent rescue a la Toni Kurz box office there strictly for monetary gain, no brains, pure... You 're limping, Ben, '' reluctant to trust that Bowman will rescue him Eiger '' was a. Some time Austrian, Anderl Meyer ( Michael Grimm ), the Eiger during the production a...
Babar Comes To America Movie, Philippine Old Coins Price List 2020, Propresenter 7 Echo, Rock My Heart, Monster Musical Chairs, Albert The Fifth Musketeer Episodes, From Stage Door Where Does It Take Place,