The Eiger Sanction
![Watch film The Eiger Sanction — The Eiger Sanction (1975) Original Trailer [FHD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bWgOoLeQa2Y/sddefault.jpg)
Short description
Jonathan Hemlock is an art history professor and collector whose expensive hobby has been funded by work as a professional assassin for a shadowy government office. Having tried to leave that life behind, he is pressured into taking on another assignment: he must identify which member of a climbing party is a foreign agent and eliminate the target. The mission takes him to the north face of the Eiger in the Swiss Alps. The film is based on Trevanian's novel.
Clint Eastwood directed and stars, in the fourth of the 40 films he has directed, following Breezy and preceding The Outlaw Josey Wales. George Kennedy, Vonetta McGee, Jack Cassidy, Heidi Brühl and Thayer David are among the cast, and the screenplay is credited to Warren Murphy, Trevanian and Hal Dresner. Robert Daley produced, and Universal Pictures, Malpaso Productions and Jennings Lang Productions were behind the film.
Released in May 1975, the film runs 129 minutes. It had a budget of 9 million US dollars and took 14 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.4 out of 10 from 21,698 votes, while on TMDB it has 6.1 from 469 votes. A critics' rating of 6.4 from 21 reviews puts critical and audience responses roughly in line.
What's left behind the scenes
- During filming, a climber assisting the stunt performers died in a collapse.
- After filming concluded, Clint Eastwood accused Universal's management of incorrect marketing policies and subsequently moved to Warner Bros.
- Clint Eastwood performed all the stunts himself, including the scene where his character cuts his own rope at a height of 305 meters. The only stunt he didn't perform himself, and where a dummy was used, was the scene of falling from a height of 762 meters.
- This was the last time anyone was officially allowed to climb the 'Totem Pole' rock formation in Monument Valley, Arizona. In exchange for permission, the film crew had to clean the 'Totem Pole' of bolts with rings and hooks left in the rock by climbers over many preceding years after filming. Since then, several illegal attempts to climb have been made, and such activity has been declared illegal by the Navajo Nation Council.
- Before he was appointed director of the film, Clint Eastwood asked Don Siegel (1912-1991) to direct it, as he believed he would not be able to handle directing a film with so many dangerous stunts. He agreed to direct it himself only after a long conversation with Siegel.
- In preparation for filming, Clint Eastwood took a three-day mountaineering course in Yosemite National Park, and then trained independently for several more months.
- After the death of climber and guide David Knowles (1947-1974), Clint Eastwood seriously considered abandoning the project. He decided to continue only so that Knowles' death would not be in vain. During the filming of the climbing scenes, several accidents occurred, resulting in injuries that were simply hidden from the press.
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