The Eiger Sanction, both directed\u00a0by\u00a0and starring Clint Eastwood, is one of those tacky classic action movies from the\u00a0mid\u00a01970\u2019s. I chose this movie because I was looking for something clich\u00e9 and cheesy,\u00a0and\u00a0in that endeavor,\u00a0I succeeded. It was quite humorous each time there was a widely thrown punch followed by a poorly placed yet over exaggerated punching sound. Of course Eastwood does not hesitate to hit any man who\u00a0dares to stand in front of him. Eastwood plays his normal\u00a0role of a womanizing, hard-hitting, politically\u00a0incorrect badass.<\/p>\n
The Eiger Sanction is\u00a0the story of\u00a0Dr.\u00a0Jonathan Hemlock, played by Clint Eastwood, who is\u00a0a\u00a0fine arts professor and a\u00a0retired government assassin. Hemlock also\u00a0happens to be a\u00a0world-class climber.\u00a0At first glance it would seem that this is\u00a0the\u00a0most cultured\u00a0and\u00a0well-developed\u00a0character that Clint Eastwood has portrayed, but\u00a0further dialogue\u00a0quickly puts this notion to rest. This movie is full of\u00a0classic Eastwood\u00a0one-liners:\u00a0\u201cDon\u2019t call me buddy, pal or sweetheart\u201d.<\/p>\n
Hemlock\u00a0is strong armed into returning\u00a0from retirement for one last mission. The mission requires Hemlock to\u00a0kill, or sanction as it is referred too,\u00a0the target\u00a0during an international expedition of\u00a0the north face of the Eiger, which Eastwood had twice\u00a0previously\u00a0failed\u00a0to conquer.\u00a0The sanction is\u00a0unknown;\u00a0all Hemlock has to go on, is that the man walks with a limp.\u00a0To prepare for\u00a0the\u00a0climb, Hemlock travels to Arizona to an old friend\u2019s resort and\u00a0climbing school.\u00a0After he is in working condition he travels to the Eiger to kill the man with the limp.\u00a0While on the Eiger, tragedy strikes. A storm hits the north face from the south and complicates the expedition. (Spoil alert) All three of Hemlock\u2019s companions die and he no longer has to figure out which one\u00a0to kill.<\/p>\n
Without supplemental research it is easy to tell that the movie is shot on location. There does not appear to be a green screen, and the mountains look correct.\u00a0Impressively, the movie was filmed on site in each of the locations, in Arizona and on the Eiger itself\u00a0in\u00a0Grindenwald, Switzerland.\u00a0Eastwood also did all of his own stunts. To prepare for the film, he went to Yosemite National Park and took a climbing course.<\/p>\n
While\u00a0training\u00a0in Arizona,\u00a0Eastwood\u2019s character\u2019s\u00a0final test before traveling to the Eiger\u00a0is to climb\u00a0the Totem Pole in Monument Valley, Arizona. The Totem Pole\u00a0is an actual\u00a0sacred site for the Navajo Nation.\u00a0According to an article published\u00a0in the Tea Party Tribune, the Navajo Nation agreed to allow the studio to use the location, in return, the crew had to remove the rock climbing equipment that had accumulated over time. Apparently, the crew flew\u00a0their equipment to the top by helicopter, but Eastwood actually made that difficult climb.<\/p>\n
I\u00a0also\u00a0chose this movie because I was hoping it would remind me of Heinrich Harrer. In many ways it did,\u00a0but the movie mostly reminded me\u00a0of Susan Schrepfers article\u00a0concerning\u00a0masculinity in mountaineering. It is no surprise that Clint Eastwood would play the role of a man that embodies masculinity on the mountain.<\/p>\n
The While\u00a0Hemlock\u00a0is training in Arizona,\u00a0he is surrounded by beautiful women and has no problem attracting them. He is particularly infatuated with his highly attractive,\u00a0yet stoic Native American climbing partner named George, played by Brenda Venus. It was this woman\u2019s\u00a0sex appeal\u00a0that\u00a0got\u00a0Hemlock\u00a0to train\u00a0as\u00a0hard\u00a0as he did. As\u00a0Hemlock\u00a0struggles to reach the top of a rock face,\u00a0George\u00a0slips off her\u00a0top, exposing her\u00a0bare\u00a0breasts. This gives\u00a0Hemlock\u00a0the motivation he needed to\u00a0summit. Hemlock\u00a0assumed that after his various sexual advances,\u00a0he was finally going to get lucky. Sadly, it was a rouse to force\u00a0Hemlock into working harder. George\u00a0puts her shirt back on and starts her decent\u00a0before Hemlock has the chance\u00a0to reach her.<\/p>\n
To further exemplify masculinity, one of the main obstacles for Hemlock was the overly flamboyant antagonist, Miles. This obviously homosexual man has a little dog that goes by the name \u201cFaggot\u201d. This dog also plays the part of a homosexual by repeatedly humping Hemlocks leg.\u00a0Eastwood\u2019s character does not hide his homophobia and makes every attempt to degrade Miles. The dialogue between these two shows that one of the underlying themes\u00a0is that mountaineering is for manly men, doing manly things.<\/p>\n
Not only did The Eiger Sanction elevate\u00a0masculinity, it also\u00a0made sure to deflate any feminist that would attack the issue. While\u00a0Hemlock\u00a0is attempting the Eiger, his\u00a0trainer, Ben Bowmen,\u00a0is watching from a telescope below. A female journalist\u00a0approaches\u00a0him\u00a0and asks\u00a0why do they climb;\u00a0\u201care they trying to prove their manhood or\u00a0is it more of a matter of compensating for inferiority complex?\u201d.\u00a0To this, Bowmen\u00a0simply\u00a0replies,\u00a0\u201cLady,\u00a0why\u00a0don\u2019t you just go get yourself screwed, it will do you a lot of good\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0It is\u00a0amusing\u00a0that the writers of the script were aware of the\u00a0dialogue\u00a0of masculinity surrounding mountaineering that\u00a0they\u00a0and sought to nip the notion in the bud.<\/p>\n
Even though the movie is highly entertaining, there are\u00a0two\u00a0factions that did not make sense, nor did they further progress the story line. First, Hemlock\u2019s\u00a0boss,\u00a0whom is subtly named Dragon, appears to be kept alive by artificial means. I assume this was an attempt to show that Dragon, in his old age, is so wealthy that he has found ways to cheat death.\u00a0The second is the fact that Hemlock has a collection of rare fine paintings. The paintings are mentioned often, but it is not clear what their purpose is to the story. In total the movie is excellent, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys comically hyper masculine, yet authentic action movies.<\/p>\n
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The Eiger Sanction, both directed\u00a0by\u00a0and starring Clint Eastwood, is one of those tacky classic action movies from the\u00a0mid\u00a01970\u2019s. I chose this movie because I was looking for something clich\u00e9 and cheesy,\u00a0and\u00a0in that endeavor,\u00a0I succeeded. It was quite humorous each time there was a widely thrown punch followed by a poorly placed yet over exaggerated punching…<\/p>\n