I was anxious to see if Clint Eastwood's The Eiger Sanction was as bad as I had always read, whether it was one long bore which worked well as a sedative. I was surprised at how entertained I was despite the fact that it was all means to an end. The spy story itself wasn't exactly mindblowing or extraordinary, but the exhilarating mountain climbing finale (..and the training portion as Eastwood's agent prepares for the big climb up the Eiger), to me, was well worth sitting through the weaker aspects of the film.
The movie is really a tale of three halves. The opening sets up why Eastwood's art professor, whose past life was that of a hired assassin, will be scaling a massive mountain he has failed to climb twice previous, the middle shows his Dr. Jonathan Hemlock training under old pal Ben Bowman(George Kennedy, a delight and wonderful support to the film, I thought)getting ready for his date with destiny, and the final thirty minutes moving up, and down, the Eiger, with three other professional climbers.
I think the viewer can look at the film in two ways. As a spy movie, it just doesn't cut the mustard(..although, I must admit that I found the twist amusing, regarding the revelation of the identity behind who might've been responsible for the death of Hemlock's former associate, an act of betrayal to our country, helping hand over germ warfare microfilm "to the other side")for Eastwood is realistic holding a magnum as a San Fran detective or a pistol as a gunslinger staring down opposition, but he's not James Bond..the deliberate, leisure pace defies the rapid pace that the James Bond movies are known for. I think that's why the story plays second fiddle to the action sequences which are far more exciting and awe-inspiring. The camera-work / cinematography is first-rate, exceptional in particular once Eastwood is climbing up mountains, whether in breathtaking Arizona or Switzerland locations.
I think if you look at it as an adventure, one will probably consider it one of the greatest mountain climbing movies of all time, the precursor to Renny Harlin's Cliffhanger and Martin Campbell's Vertical Limit. Eastwood's insistence on doing his own stunts enhances the climbing sequences, adding a realism that is to be admired.
The cast is rather fascinating. Eastwood doesn't really stretch his acting muscles, but Kennedy is quite engaging as his buddy, while Jack Cassidy steals the film as the flamboyant homosexual Benedit Arnold traitor who Hemlock plans to kill when the time is right. Gregory Walcott is Eastwood's foil, as agent Pope, often embarrassed and humiliated by Hemlock, when he assaults him. Thayer David has a strange role as Hemlock's sickly Albino governmental charge, Dragon, blackmailing him into finding the traitorous rogue responsible for the murder of a former field colleague. Vonetta McGee is Jemima Brown, a "patriotic whore" who works for Dragon, falling in love with Hemlock in an interesting interracial love affair. I think it's all about what you enter the film expecting from it. If you looking for phenomenal mountain climbing sequences, this delivers the goods, but I suggest searching elsewhere for a strong spy story..if you want both, try For Your Eyes Only.
The incredible difficulty for shooting the scenes up the Eiger at the end shows and you can tell Eastwood took great strides getting the most out of the setting. As the four climbers make their way up, I enjoyed how the young lead climber pokes and jabs at Hemlock for his failure to successfully scale the Eiger because this ridicule will come back to haunt him when a decision to continue despite evidence of potential disaster leads to devastating consequences.
The movie is really a tale of three halves. The opening sets up why Eastwood's art professor, whose past life was that of a hired assassin, will be scaling a massive mountain he has failed to climb twice previous, the middle shows his Dr. Jonathan Hemlock training under old pal Ben Bowman(George Kennedy, a delight and wonderful support to the film, I thought)getting ready for his date with destiny, and the final thirty minutes moving up, and down, the Eiger, with three other professional climbers.
I think the viewer can look at the film in two ways. As a spy movie, it just doesn't cut the mustard(..although, I must admit that I found the twist amusing, regarding the revelation of the identity behind who might've been responsible for the death of Hemlock's former associate, an act of betrayal to our country, helping hand over germ warfare microfilm "to the other side")for Eastwood is realistic holding a magnum as a San Fran detective or a pistol as a gunslinger staring down opposition, but he's not James Bond..the deliberate, leisure pace defies the rapid pace that the James Bond movies are known for. I think that's why the story plays second fiddle to the action sequences which are far more exciting and awe-inspiring. The camera-work / cinematography is first-rate, exceptional in particular once Eastwood is climbing up mountains, whether in breathtaking Arizona or Switzerland locations.
I think if you look at it as an adventure, one will probably consider it one of the greatest mountain climbing movies of all time, the precursor to Renny Harlin's Cliffhanger and Martin Campbell's Vertical Limit. Eastwood's insistence on doing his own stunts enhances the climbing sequences, adding a realism that is to be admired.
The cast is rather fascinating. Eastwood doesn't really stretch his acting muscles, but Kennedy is quite engaging as his buddy, while Jack Cassidy steals the film as the flamboyant homosexual Benedit Arnold traitor who Hemlock plans to kill when the time is right. Gregory Walcott is Eastwood's foil, as agent Pope, often embarrassed and humiliated by Hemlock, when he assaults him. Thayer David has a strange role as Hemlock's sickly Albino governmental charge, Dragon, blackmailing him into finding the traitorous rogue responsible for the murder of a former field colleague. Vonetta McGee is Jemima Brown, a "patriotic whore" who works for Dragon, falling in love with Hemlock in an interesting interracial love affair. I think it's all about what you enter the film expecting from it. If you looking for phenomenal mountain climbing sequences, this delivers the goods, but I suggest searching elsewhere for a strong spy story..if you want both, try For Your Eyes Only.
The incredible difficulty for shooting the scenes up the Eiger at the end shows and you can tell Eastwood took great strides getting the most out of the setting. As the four climbers make their way up, I enjoyed how the young lead climber pokes and jabs at Hemlock for his failure to successfully scale the Eiger because this ridicule will come back to haunt him when a decision to continue despite evidence of potential disaster leads to devastating consequences.