The Eiger Sanction

"HIS LIFELINE - held by the assassin he hunted."

1975 2h 9m EN

😐

6.1

MID

🍅

65%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.4

IMDB

★6.1TMDB · 472🍅65%Rotten Tomatoes●61Metacritic★6.4IMDB · 24,289

ActionAdventureDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A classical art professor and collector, who doubles as a professional assassin, is coerced out of retirement to avenge the murder of an old friend.

“HIS LIFELINE - held by the assassin he hunted.”

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Cast

Clint Eastwood
Jonathan Hemlock
George Kennedy
Ben Bowman
Vonetta McGee
Jemima Brown
Jack Cassidy
Miles Mellough
Heidi Brühl
Mrs. Montaigne
Thayer David
Dragon
Reiner Schöne
Freytag
Michael Grimm
Meyer

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Clint Eastwood
Writers: Trevanian, Hal Dresner, Warren Murphy
Languages: English, German
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

51 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, German.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Clint Eastwood, shot by Frank Stanley. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ferris Webster shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Clint Eastwood and George Kennedy and Vonetta McGee carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "HIS LIFELINE - held by the assassin he hunted.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0072926 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Clint Eastwood directs. Frank Stanley behind the camera. John Williams scores. Ferris Webster cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, German.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

151 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, German.
3Directed by Clint Eastwood, shot by Frank Stanley. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by John Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Ferris Webster shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Clint Eastwood and George Kennedy and Vonetta McGee carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "HIS LIFELINE - held by the assassin he hunted.".
8IMDB entry: tt0072926 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 20 themes, including "art collector", "assassin", "based on novel or book", "hitman".

The technical file

Cinematography: Frank Stanley
Original score: John Williams
Editing: Ferris Webster
Makeup / hair: Agnese Panarotto
Runtime: 129 min · 2h 9m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $9,000,000
Box office: $14,200,000
Return: 158% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Eiger Sanction (1975)
Rotten Tomatoes: 65% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 61/100
IMDB rating: 6.4/10 · 24,289 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

1 nomination total

Also by

Clint Eastwood

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2021-10-10
★ 7/10
Dirty Harry climbs a mountain An American art professor (Clint Eastwood) is coerced back into his former occupation as a government assassin for a couple final hits before retirement. One of the gigs involves an international climb of The Eiger, a mountain in Switzerland, so he has to prepare at a resort in Arizona ran by his buddy (George Kennedy). Thayer David plays the head of the secretive organization while Jack Cassidy is on hand as a foppish nemesis in the desert. "The Eiger Sanction” (1975) is a secret agent adventure/thriller that’s not as over-the-top as James Bond. Handheld cameras and special equipment were utilized for the climbing sequences wherein Eastwood did his own stuntwork under risky conditions. A British climber, 26 year-old David Knowles, died on The Eiger while making the film. Climber Chic (Charles) Scott was embittered about nearly everything concerning the shooting of the hazardous climbing scenes and you can read his diatribes online. (The proverbial “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen” applies). The film scores pretty well in the feminine department with Candice Rialson as an art student, Brenda Venus a fitness trainer, Heidi Brühl a dubious wife of one of the climbers and Vonetta McGee a fellow agent. Eastwood was in his prime at the time, the king of cool who effortlessly attracts these ladies. The scenic shots in Monument Valley, Utah and Switzerland are alone worth the price of admission, plus there are several quirkily amusing or engaging bits. Meanwhile the score by John Williams is mostly good, but some of it is incongruous for a secret agent thriller (e.g. the curious mellow piece during the climax & end credits). There’s something odd about the production in general that makes it unique in the Eastwood canon and explains why it’s relatively obscure. The movie runs 2 hours, 8 minutes, and was shot in California (Los Angeles, Universal City and Carmel-by-the-Sea), Arizona (Monument Valley), Utah (Zion National Park) and Switzerland (Zurich, Kleine Scheidegg and Eiger/Bernese Alps). GRADE: B
r96sk2022-01-28
★ 7/10
Strong start, limp finish. I enjoyed the spy elements to <em>'The Eiger Sanction'</em>, sure it's a bit cheesy and could feel like a <a href="https://letterboxd.com/films/in/james-bond-collection/by/release-earliest/size/large/" rel="nofollow">Bond</a> knock-off in parts, but all in all it was cool to see Clint Eastwood in that role. Unfortunately, while I wouldn't say it's bad, the rest of the film focuses on uninteresting - due to how dragged out it is - mountain climbing. It concludes with strong vibes of 1959's <em>'<a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/third-man-on-the-mountain/" rel="nofollow">Third Man on the Mountain</a>'</em>, a Disney film that is filled with mountain climbing. Like that aforementioned production, I didn't dislike what I was seeing but it's just not that intriguing to watch for an extended time. I'm rating this 3* as it's still a solid film, with neat cinematography, but it could've been so much more due to what it sets up initially.
CinemaSerf2024-11-19
★ 6/10
First things first - remember that when this was made, script writers were not noted for much delicacy when it came to the use of some of the more pejorative of descriptors. At times, indeed, the dialogue is positively puerile. Clint Eastwood is an art professor with quite a collection amassed from funds he received from his career as an "official" hit man. His erstwhile boss - the albino "Mr Dragon" coaxes him out of retirement with a large sum of money and the promise that he will get to avenge the death of his old pal. As the title suggests, it has a mountaineering theme as he and his friend "Ben" (George Kennedy) try to find out which member of a climbing team up the Eiger is the culprit. It all takes way too long to get going, this film - and aside from the aforementioned brushes with stereotyping that makes early "James Bond" films look enlightened, there really isn't enough going on. There is some effective altitude photography as they climb, and some sense of peril does creep in towards the end, but for the most part it's all just a little bit wordy and flat.