The Eiger Sanction

Summary

“Here’s to the selfish killer and the patriotic whore.”

I have been a fan of Clint Eastwood since I was a little boy. Whether watching him as the Man with No Name in the Sergio Leone films, or alongside Richard Burton in Where Eagles Dare, or as policeman Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry, Eastwood was a constant fixture in our household as I was growing up. As I have grown older my affection for Eastwood as an actor and filmmaker has not been diminished. When I saw that Kino Lorber would be releasing numerous films that Eastwood had made with Universal Pictures featuring fresh scans for their transfers, I couldn’t resist picking up those releases. I have been working my way through these releases slowly and have enjoyed viewing many of these films for the very first time. The other night I viewed Eastwood’s high altitude espionage thriller The Eiger Sanction.

As the film begins, a man receives a microfilm. He makes his way to a secluded room, but he is followed. He swallows the microfilm, but a killer slits his throat and retrieves it. Dr. Jonathan Hemlock (Clint Eastwood,) an art historian and mountain climber, talks to his students. It is the class before the final exam. Jonathan is propositioned by a student who wants her grade raised. He refuses her advances. When Jonathan makes his way to his office, Mr. Pope has his feet on his desk. There is no love lost between the two men. Pope has come to recruit Hemlock for Mr. Dragon. It turns out that Hemlock has been a spy for Mr. Dragon’s organization in the past. Mr. Dragon is a full albino and oversees a secret organization that coordinates assassinations and espionage. Hemlock has intentionally stepped away from his prior life as an assassin, but he agrees to take a job where he would hit the killer in Zurich as long as he can collect twenty grand and a letter from the IRS promising not to tax his collection of paintings (Pizarro, Picasso, Matisse) that have been gained over time via numerous gigs. After successfully performing the hit, Hemlock meets a sassy stewardess named Jemimah Brown (Vonetta McGee) and they hit it off. When they land he shows her his painting collection and then they sleep together. The next morning she leaves a note telling him to contact Mr. Dragon. She has stolen all of his money from his safe along with the IRS statement clearing the paintings. Dragon offers Hemlock another twenty thousand dollar job to track down and sanction one of the murderers of Henry Bock – a friend from his past. The murderer is a mountain climber. They have reliable information that the man he needs to kill is planning to climb the north face of the Eiger mountain in Switzerland. Hemlock must join the climbing expedition and identify and kill the villain – which may be a German, French, or Austrian. Jemimah Brown fills in Hemlock on the danger posed by the microfilm. The microfilm contains information that could cause germ warfare. Hemlock joins his friend Ben Bowman (George Kennedy) at his climbing camp to prepare himself for climbing the Eiger mountain to perform his sanction.

The Eiger Sanction presents a mixed bag entertainment. The plot itself is a little too ridiculous to be taken seriously, but the final third of the film that takes place on the mountain is a triumph of spectacle over substance. The mountain climbing sequences are very well done. The fact that most of the climbing shots are performed by Eastwood and the other actors enlisted to portray climbers makes the sequences even more impressive. There is a very real sense of danger in the film because the actors are actually performing stunts in high elevations. The film delivers on what it promises on the poster in these moments.

That said, there are some problematic aspects to the film that should be highlighted. I think it would be safe to say that this film represents a form of Ethnic tourism. Hemlock’s sexual conquests contain a Native American woman and a Black woman who both inexplicably are attracted to him. I had trouble with these aspects while watching the film. I think that if these characters had been written better, these exotic love interests could have been done in a progressive way that could have been meaningful. Unfortunately, the Native American love interest never says any dialogue and the black love interest is named Jemimah Brown. Draw your own conclusions on if that is progressive or not. On top of this issue, the film also has a homosexual character named Miles, played by Jack Cassidy, who inexplicably owns a dog named faggot. I think that modern audiences will find themselves slightly uncomfortable with all the issues I just mentioned.

The film was the fourth film directed by Clint Eastwood and continued to show his abilities behind the camera developing. The film has a strong sense of place and does a great job of highlighting the Swiss mountains. Cinematographer Frank Stanley worked with Eastwood to shoot the film in wide angled lenses that capture a good amount of detail. The Eiger Sanction is definitely an attractive picture for the last third of the film. I also really enjoyed the score by John Williams which relies on some well placed harpsichord. This score has hints of Italian compositions for film from the time and is very nicely done.

Overall, The Eiger Sanction is not the best of Eastwood’s output for Universal Pictures, but it still delivers enough visually exciting settings to recommend to diehard fans of Eastwood. Fans of the film will definitely be encouraged to check out the Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.

Video

This transfer of The Eiger Sanction in 1920x1080p with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 looks pretty good. Universal released the film as a stand-alone disc and within their Clint Eastwood: The Universal Pictures 7-Movie Collection box set in 2015. The opening shots are pretty soft – and many scenes in the film are soft – but the film jumps in clarity as it reaches the second half featuring panoramic views of desserts and Swiss mountains. The cinematography by Frank Stanley needed the extra detail provided on this release to be properly enjoyed. The Blu-ray presentation by Kino Lorber from a new 2K scan is a big leap in quality from the prior presentation, so fans would be encouraged to upgrade.

Audio

The Eiger Sanction features a well done DTS-HD MA 2.0 track. Dialogue is clear and the score by John Williams gets a nice boost from the track. Obviously the sound field is limited, but there was not any notable hiss or any other issues to distract from the film.

Supplements:

• Interview with Reiner Schone – actor Reiner Schone discusses working on The Eiger Sanction, the training for the climbing sequences, and the tragic death of David Knowles (which brings a tear to his eyes.) A good interview.
• Interview with Heidi Bruhl – in this archival interview, actress Heidi Bruhl talks with interviewer Pepe Ludmir who interviews her in both Spanish and English next to a swimming pool. This is an interesting piece due to the interview format.
• Promotional Reel
• Gallery
• Trailer
• TV Spots
• Radio Spots
• Audio Commentary by critic Nick Pinkerton.

Overall Scores:

Video – 4/5

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 3/5

Overall – 3.5/5

The Eiger Sanction is not Eastwood’s finest moment from his Universal Pictures films, but the final third of the film succeeds in delivering some high flying action sequences in the Swiss Alps that are really impressive. The plot of the film leaves something to be desired, especially the romantic elements of the film that feel like ethnic tourism when viewed today. The new Blu-ray by Kino Lorber features a new transfer that is a substantial upgrade visually from the prior release from Universal Pictures. The film is best enjoyed with the added visual detail of this release, so fans would be advised to upgrade. Newcomers to the film may be advised to rent the film prior to a purchase.