Dirty Indiana Bond
Added 10/20/2009
If this is not one of the silliest, over the top, unintentionally (or maybe intentionally) hilarious movies ever - with or without Clint Eastwood in front and behind the camera, then I don't know which one is. So, Clint does Indiana Bond, teaches Art in the college, collects priceless paintings of the Artists no less than El Greco, Pissarro, and such, is an accomplished mountain climber, and on the side moonlights as an assassin for C2, an international spy organization led by an ex-Nazi albino villain known as Mr. Dragon. By the time, the movie starts, Dr. Jonathan Hemlock (Eastwood) is retired from C2 but like so many retired secret agents, just when he thought he was out, they pulled him back in. His former employer, terrifying Mr. Dragon who has to stay all the time in almost complete darkness due to his condition, orders him to perform a "sanction" meaning to kill a man who had killed a friend and a former colleague of Hemlock with C2. To complete the mission, Dr. Hemlock has to participate in the attempt to climb one of the most dangerous mountains in Swiss Alps, the North face of Eiger - thus the title of the film, The Eiger Sanction. While preparing for the mission, Hemlock would go to train in Arizona at a mountain resort run by a close friend, Ben Bowman. The Arizona sequence allowed Eastwood the director to make some truly magnificent and stunning shots of Monument Valley. The shoot of Eastwood and George Kennedy on top of the "Totem Pole" is a real spectacle and a symbol of masculinity that Eastwood has been the embodiment of. Besides being breathtakingly beautiful, it has historic significance - it was the last time anyone was allowed to climb to "Totem Pole".
The second half of the film takes place in Alps and covers the preparations of the international group of four famous climbers from France, Germany, Austria, and USA (Dr. Hemlock) for the ascent to Eiger and the dramatic climb. To make the matter even more difficult for Hemlock, one of three mountaineers is the target of The Eiger Sanction, and that's all he knows. The name of his future victim was not revealed to him by his bosses at C2.
Even with the laughable dialogs, one-liners, and way over the top villains, The Eiger Sanction is an entertaining movie which has a lot to enjoy. First of all, during his long career, Clint Eastwood has always been a strong presence at the screen. Back in 1975, at the age of 45, he looked great, and the lustful interest in him from the beautiful exotic girls in the best traditions of the Bond's movies is fully justified. Eastwood did all his stunts in the film. All climbing was real, and if anything, the film will be remembered for truly astounding scenes of the ascent to the North Face of treacherous Eiger and dramatic descent. I also should admit that the twist in the end was if not unpredictable but satisfying in the way it put the pieces of puzzle together.
The music that was written for the film by John Williams, and plays in the opening and closing sequences, deserves special mention.
3-3.5/5
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Poor quality DVD
Added 8/17/2009
This is one of my all time favorite movies but the picture quality on this particular DVD from Amazon is horrible - dark and grainy. I wish I had returned it when I had a chance. What a terrible thing to do to such a good movie!
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Dated but still exciting in places
Added 7/19/2009
Eastwood directs and stars in this unsubtle but still interesting mid 70's thriller. He is a retired assassin for a government agency, who is persuaded out of his art loving retirement for one last job. He, apparently, is also a retired rock climber, and therefore the only man for the job since his mark is one of a group of climbers about to climb the Eiger... but which climber is it..? We don't know. Well, in truth the whodunit is fairly easy to see early on, and the first hour is pretty mediocre 70's fayre.. It's once the climbing starts the tension starts racking up, thanks to Clint's insistence on both acting and directing on location and doing the stunts for real. Sadly, this was to lead to the death of one of the stuntmen climbers, who ironically had previously successfully climbed the Eiger.
Nobody really seems to be taking this seriously, least of all Clint as either actor or director, as the `plot' develops with many a 70's cliché.. girls with afros jumping into bed at the drop of a hat, random nudity, horribly stereotyped camp gay bad guy (who actually names his dog `faggot' in case you don't get the `subtle' clues) and George Kennedy, just to name a few. Eastwood forgets the slack first half once we get to the Eiger in the final section of the movie, and it's the tense climbing scenes rather than any intrigue or 70's styling you will probably remember after the lights come up. Also worth a note is a John Williams score which more than passes muster in setting the scene for that real 70's thriller feel...
Truthfully, Eastwood's indefatigable screen charisma makes this a 4 star movie, despite trying to convincingly play a `womanising-art-lecturer-retired-assassin-rock-climber `, which isn't a part one imagines one is asked to do very often.. However the very poor transfer - which is so bad in places you could be forgiven for thinking you were watching a pirated copy - knocks a star off. It's in widescreen at least, but non anamorphic (meaning it's not designed for modern widescreen TV's and will appear as a letterbox in the middle of the screen, requiring some zooming in to fill out your screen), frequently washed out colours despite the gorgeous locales, and full of other imperfections. Watch the movie, the end is worth it - just try and find the remastered version which is out there somewhere..
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DVD- The Eiger Sanction
Added 4/20/2009
If you like Clint, you'll like this movie. The dvd itself I received smelled a bit smokey (like it was in a warehouse fire) but looked and played fine.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Good Clint but horrendous DVD mastering. BUDGET TRANSFER TO SAY THE LEAST!
Added 1/15/2009
I am reviewing the actual dvd quaility..Horrendous! No remastering for the digital domain whatsoever. I wish they would re-release this. Picture is full of artifacts and the signal strenght is weak..it's disrespectful to the DVD format! It's like watching a VHS version!
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ENTERTAINING BUDDY FLICK WITH A GREAT CAST!
Added 7/12/2009
It's hard to believe I missed this film back when it was released in the early 70's. A young Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges meet up and become fast friends in this well paced lighthearted comedic crime drama.
The two outlaws steal cars, rob banks, score chicks and outsmart the cops in this off beat buddy road adventure. The supporting cast including George Kennedy, Geoffrey Lewis and Gary Busey keep this one full of fun and action.
Bridges was nominated for best supporting actor in this film, I'm not so sure it's worthy, but it is an excellent fun performance. I do know some women would kill for his legs! lol.......you'll just have to see this film to know what I'm referring to.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Nice light entertainment that will conjure up a thunderous applause...
Added 1/23/2009
There really is a lot of enjoy about this movie, a fast paced and well executed caper movie that has some well developed characters and some very fine acting. I love me some Jeff Bridges, an actor I find to be at the head of the pack, so tagging his name to anything will get my attention. I had just seen `The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' for the first time and so the idea of another Eastwood picture was actually welcomed (I don't find him the greatest actor, but some of his movies are rather enjoyable).
Overall `Thunderbolt and Lightfoot' is a very entertaining film.
The film tells the story of former thief turned preacher who is on the run from his former business partners who think he has the stolen loot from their last robbery. While fleeing gunshots he runs into Lightfoot, a free spirited young man who has a way with the ladies and his mind set on learning a thing or two from Thunderbolt. When they finally meet up with Thunderbolt's previous partners they decide to all go into a dangerous robbery together only to have their plans botched as the job takes a turn for the worse.
The film is crafted rather well, with smart dialog and interesting character development, and surprisingly some sentimentality I didn't expect; especially as the film draws to a close.
The acting is the films biggest highlight; both Eastwood and Bridges pulling out superb performances. I'm a little baffled at the Oscar nomination for Bridges, not because it wasn't deserved but because it fell in the supporting category. He feels like a total co-lead, but maybe I'm wrong. I don't always have the best judgment when it comes to category placement. He steals the show, that is for sure, giving Lightfoot such natural charm and spunk. I loved every minute of his performance. Eastwood was effectively somber, as he is almost always, but there is an added layer of humanity here that I don't often see in him.
George Kennedy is a tad over the top here, but whatever.
I was shocked to see that this came from Michael Cimino for it just doesn't feel like it, but I guess not every movie can be as dominating as `The Deer Hunter'. This is a great little popcorn film. It is nothing spectacular, but it is truly entertaining and is a film you won't regret spending the time and or money to watch.
So maybe the applause won't be `thunderous', but really, I liked the pun.
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Classic Clint
Added 12/10/2008
Hadn't seen this for years and saw it mentioned on a Eastwood TV tribute so I bought it. What a great trip down memory lane. Classic early Clint with great performances from the other actors. Felt like I was up watching the Million Dollar Movie at 2am.
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