The Eiger Sanction
|
List Price: Our Price: $7.77 You Save: $7.21 (48%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $3.52 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of The Eiger Sanction
Movie Review: Wierd. Sadistic. Entertaining. Eastwood!
Summary: 3 Stars
In his seemingly endless career, Clint Eastwood has directed quite a few movies, and acted in a helluva lot more. "The Eiger Sanction" may rank as the wierdest of all of these, and that's saying something. It's the not-so-short story of a semi-retired government assassin who is blackmailed back into service for one last job. Of course, "one last job" turns into several. And the last of the last involves a target whose identity is unknown to both Eastwood and his employers. Cross a boilerplate international secret-agent yarn with a whodunnit, or rather a whoisit, mix in some Rocky-esque training sequences and top it off with a documentary on the wierd because-it's-there mountain-climbing culture, and you have "The Eiger Sanction."
I knew after 5 minutes of watching this movie it had to be based on a novel, and not a particularly good one at that. It has the feeling of a by-the-numbers story punched up to "colorful" dimensions by a pill-popping hack writer, who deciced that making every character so wildly eccentric would make us forget they could all have walked right out of Central Casting with their per diem checks in hand.
Take the names, for instance: Hemlock, Mello, Dragon, Wormwood, Pope, George (for a woman), and of course, Jemimah. Subtle, they're not.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Eastwood is Dr. Hemlock, the ex-assassin who now works as college professor. For a third of the film, Clint plays Hemlock as a fussy, smug, condescending, know-it-all who uses words like "involuted" and wears ridiculous 70's era eyeglasses. Then, about a half-hour into the film, he simply becomes CLINT EASTWOOD, guzzling beer, using words like "ain't" and abandoning the professor persona completely. I never did figure out whether this was intentional, meaning that Hemlock's collegiate personality was simply an act, or whether Clint simply couldn't summon the energy to play Hemlock as such an annoying, arse-puckered temple of repression and decided to play himself for the rest of the flick instead. To his credit, once Eastwood drops the smug, his character is a lot more likable and often very funny.
Hemlock's boss is Dragon, a wierd albino who lives in a climate-controlled office(I'm not making this up). Dragon, we are told, used to work for the Nazis, and how he heads up C-2, a "deniable" gov't agency that "sanctions" various unfortunates who fall afoul of it. He blackmails Hemlock out of retirement by threatening problems with the IRS over Hemlock's art collection (I SWEAR I am not making this up). Then he sweetens the pot by saying that the mystery target is the guy that iced Hemlock's friend and mentor. Dragon also employs a hapless minion named Pope, whose main purpose in the film seems to be to get beaten up and humiliated by Eastwood. Question: if you're such a Professor Moriartyesque mastermind, why can't you employ a goon who actually knows how to fight?
Hemlock's girlfriend, sort of, is a black female agent named....sigh....Jemimah. She seduces him and steals his money, which is how all good relationships start. Then he gives her a condescending lecture on the immortality of her actions, which had me holding my head in dismay. Dude, YOU KILL PEOPLE FOR A LIVING, AND YOU'RE GIVING MORALITY LESSONS? NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL INVOLUTED.
After killing several unimportant people, Hemlock discovers that his mystery target is a mountain-climber going up with an expedition to best the Eiger, a man-eating pile o'rock in the Swiss Alps. Since Hemlock twice failed to conquer the Eiger, he's naturally intrigued. He can combine his two hobbies and take a vacation to Europe all at once. But first he has to get in shape, and since this takes half the movie, it's worth noting.
Eastwood's old friend George Kennedy trains him at his remote desert resort in Arizona. While Hemlock follows George, his female Indian mountain guide, around on endless runs up sheer rock, he runs into Mello, an effete, foppish ex-mercenary now emeshed in the drug trade, who left Hemlock for dead in the jungle years ago. Poor Mello, played by Jack Cassidy, is one of those unfortunate characters who always appear in Eastwood films, whose express purpose is to be humiliated over and over again and then get killed. Like Dragon, Mello employs a bodyguard who can't fight and ends up blubbering for his life in the middle of the desert. The scene is played for laughs, but I didn't find it funny, or realistic. Hemlock drives the guy at gunpoint into the Mojave desert and leaves him to die of thirst and heat stroke? You gotta be kidding. First of all, if Mello really was an ex-special forces drug kingpin, he'd hardly be the floppy-wristed wuss Cassidy is forced to portray. Second, he'd be carrying a damn gun himself, instead of a poodle and a pack of cigarettes. I've met a lot of SF guys in my life, and none of 'em ever lisped, "You let ME choose the wine!"
Having prepped himself, Eastwood heads for the Eiger while trying to puzzle out which of his team-mates he's got to kill. He also beats up Pope again, for using an unpleasant phrase to describe Jemimah. Once again, let us behold the hypocrisy: the murderer for hire stands up for racial justice. Finally, and by this time you've worn quite a groove in your couch and are probably on like your ninth beer, they climb the mountain, and the real fun begins. Will Eastwood get his man? Will Eastwood even survive the climb? Do you care, considering he's playing a sadistic button-man with a superiority complex?
The answer is, yeah, sort of. This movie is bizarre, sluggish, wantonly cruel, and has enough shots of the Arizona desert and the Swiss alps to fill 2 or 3 documentaries. But it's also wierdly compelling and visually impressive. When he isn't humiliating people or killing them, Eastwood's Hemlock is wisecracking at thrice the rate of Dirty Harry. All that's missing is the enjoyabl sensation that the hero is actually doing something good.
Movie Review: Dirty Indiana Bond
Summary: 3 Stars
If this is not one of the silliest, over the top, unintentionally (or maybe intentionally) hilarious movies ever - with or without Clint Eastwood in front and behind the camera, then I don't know which one is. So, Clint does Indiana Bond, teaches Art in the college, collects priceless paintings of the Artists no less than El Greco, Pissarro, and such, is an accomplished mountain climber, and on the side moonlights as an assassin for C2, an international spy organization led by an ex-Nazi albino villain known as Mr. Dragon. By the time, the movie starts, Dr. Jonathan Hemlock (Eastwood) is retired from C2 but like so many retired secret agents, just when he thought he was out, they pulled him back in. His former employer, terrifying Mr. Dragon who has to stay all the time in almost complete darkness due to his condition, orders him to perform a "sanction" meaning to kill a man who had killed a friend and a former colleague of Hemlock with C2. To complete the mission, Dr. Hemlock has to participate in the attempt to climb one of the most dangerous mountains in Swiss Alps, the North face of Eiger - thus the title of the film, The Eiger Sanction. While preparing for the mission, Hemlock would go to train in Arizona at a mountain resort run by a close friend, Ben Bowman. The Arizona sequence allowed Eastwood the director to make some truly magnificent and stunning shots of Monument Valley. The shoot of Eastwood and George Kennedy on top of the "Totem Pole" is a real spectacle and a symbol of masculinity that Eastwood has been the embodiment of. Besides being breathtakingly beautiful, it has historic significance - it was the last time anyone was allowed to climb to "Totem Pole".
The second half of the film takes place in Alps and covers the preparations of the international group of four famous climbers from France, Germany, Austria, and USA (Dr. Hemlock) for the ascent to Eiger and the dramatic climb. To make the matter even more difficult for Hemlock, one of three mountaineers is the target of The Eiger Sanction, and that's all he knows. The name of his future victim was not revealed to him by his bosses at C2.
Even with the laughable dialogs, one-liners, and way over the top villains, The Eiger Sanction is an entertaining movie which has a lot to enjoy. First of all, during his long career, Clint Eastwood has always been a strong presence at the screen. Back in 1975, at the age of 45, he looked great, and the lustful interest in him from the beautiful exotic girls in the best traditions of the Bond's movies is fully justified. Eastwood did all his stunts in the film. All climbing was real, and if anything, the film will be remembered for truly astounding scenes of the ascent to the North Face of treacherous Eiger and dramatic descent. I also should admit that the twist in the end was if not unpredictable but satisfying in the way it put the pieces of puzzle together.
The music that was written for the film by John Williams, and plays in the opening and closing sequences, deserves special mention.
3-3.5/5
Movie Review: Dr. Hemlock...I Presume???.....
Summary: 3 Stars
This review refers to the Universal DVD edition of "The Eiger Sanction".....
Dr.John Hemlock(when Clint gets a name in a movie it's really a doozey!)...Professor of Art,Collector of Fine Paintings,handsome,has a weakness for beautiful women...and oh yeah...Assassin! But don't worry he works for the government. His superiors may be dangerous,they may be insane, but hey, they're on our side! Well.. maybe!
When our agents are being killed by the other side, Hemlock is coerced out of his retirement to "sanction" these killings. Or in a word..REVENGE! He is reluctant but when he learns one of the killings was of his friend, he dons his assassin outfit and goes back to work. The outfit is mountain climbing gear. The killer he is after is one of a party of climbers who will tackle "The Eiger" a dangerous peak in the Alps. Which one is the killer? That's for our guy Clint to figure out.
Although an intiguing mystery with some wonderful cinemagraphic scenes of the desert and the Alps,this one is not the usual above average to excellent film we are usually treated to by Eastwood. It's a good story, but at times slow(for an Eastwood flick) and somewhat predictable.
Eastwood directed as well as stars and by the way did all of his own climbing and stunts(gotta give him credit for that).
It also stars George Kennedy,Vonetta McGee, and Jack Cassidy.
The music by John Williams is one of the best parts of this film. It adds just the right flavor to this Europeon adventure.
It may not be one of Clint's best, but it's still an Eastwood film,an intriguing story, and worth the view. And being that it is and Eastwood film, I felt the DVD transfer deserved better.
First of all the sound...Dolby Dig 2.0 MONO! What's up with that? The picture, presented in widescreen(2.35:1)looked good in most of the outdoor scenes(although a bit grainy), but some of the indoor scenes were dark and undistinguishable.The colors looked almost artificial(I can hardley bring myself to talk about it) The special features are in the form of production notes, telling about how Clint did his own stunts, etc. There is captioning for hearing impaired viewers, which is nice and clear and is in the black bar area, and there are subtitles in Spanish and French.(it may only be viewed in English).
If you are are collector of all things Clint(like me), at this price you may want to add this one to your collection until a better edition comes along, if not and you just want to check it out, maybe renting it first may be better.
Universal.....please update this for Clint fans!..Thank you...
enjoy....Laurie
more great action from Clint:The Gauntlet/True Crime
Movie Review: Adventurous Eastwood...
Summary: 3 Stars
"The Eiger Sanction" stars Clint Eastwood as Jonathan Hemlock, a college professor of art, experienced mountain climber and ex-hit man for "C-2", an agency of the US Government. C-2 is headed by an albino named "Dragon", who wants two enemy agents "sanctioned" (killed). Hemlock agrees to perform the hit, going to Zurich to do the job. The execution is very messy, hardly what one would call "professional", but the job gets done. Dragon still wants the second agent eliminated, but C-2 is having trouble pinpointing the identity of the target. What is known is that the man will be part of an upcoming international climb of the Eiger, a mountain in the Swiss Alps. Hemlock needs to get in shape for the climb. His training takes place out west, at a climbing school run by Ben Bowman (George Kennedy) an old climbing buddy. Hemlock's training is complicated when Miles Mellough (Jack Cassidy) arrives on the scene. Mellough betrayed Hemlock years before, nearly costing him his life. This time Miles takes a trip he won't return from.
Trained and ready, Hemlock arrives in Switzerland with Bowman, prepared for the climb, and his mission. The team includes three other climbers, one of whom is supposedly the target to be "sanctioned". One climber must continually ask silly questions any experienced climber would know the answers to, so the audience can become informed about the common practices of mountain climbing. Once the climb begins, we are treated to some magnificent scenes in the mountains. To my untrained eyes the scenes look very realistic, and are the best the movie has to offer, as they transition from climbing bare rock to snow covered rock faces. While they climb, Hemlock attempts to zero in on his target, and find the one he has to kill. The mountain does his work for him, as the Eiger proves to be too much for the team. Accidents and bad weather add up to disaster for all but Hemlock. C-2 is satisfied that the mission has been accomplished, but they don't know the complete truth.
While The Eiger Sanction is not a great movie, Clint Eastwood makes an excellent Hemlock, and the scenes of mountain climbing, both in America and Switzerland do make the movie worth viewing. Eastwood should also be applauded for his efforts to bring realism to his role when it came to doing his own stunt work. He also directed this feature, which is another of the challenging films he did in the 70's.
Movie Review: Dated but still exciting in places
Summary: 3 Stars
Eastwood directs and stars in this unsubtle but still interesting mid 70's thriller. He is a retired assassin for a government agency, who is persuaded out of his art loving retirement for one last job. He, apparently, is also a retired rock climber, and therefore the only man for the job since his mark is one of a group of climbers about to climb the Eiger... but which climber is it..? We don't know. Well, in truth the whodunit is fairly easy to see early on, and the first hour is pretty mediocre 70's fayre.. It's once the climbing starts the tension starts racking up, thanks to Clint's insistence on both acting and directing on location and doing the stunts for real. Sadly, this was to lead to the death of one of the stuntmen climbers, who ironically had previously successfully climbed the Eiger.
Nobody really seems to be taking this seriously, least of all Clint as either actor or director, as the `plot' develops with many a 70's cliché.. girls with afros jumping into bed at the drop of a hat, random nudity, horribly stereotyped camp gay bad guy (who actually names his dog `faggot' in case you don't get the `subtle' clues) and George Kennedy, just to name a few. Eastwood forgets the slack first half once we get to the Eiger in the final section of the movie, and it's the tense climbing scenes rather than any intrigue or 70's styling you will probably remember after the lights come up. Also worth a note is a John Williams score which more than passes muster in setting the scene for that real 70's thriller feel...
Truthfully, Eastwood's indefatigable screen charisma makes this a 4 star movie, despite trying to convincingly play a `womanising-art-lecturer-retired-assassin-rock-climber `, which isn't a part one imagines one is asked to do very often.. However the very poor transfer - which is so bad in places you could be forgiven for thinking you were watching a pirated copy - knocks a star off. It's in widescreen at least, but non anamorphic (meaning it's not designed for modern widescreen TV's and will appear as a letterbox in the middle of the screen, requiring some zooming in to fill out your screen), frequently washed out colours despite the gorgeous locales, and full of other imperfections. Watch the movie, the end is worth it - just try and find the remastered version which is out there somewhere..