The Eiger Sanction, Clint Eastwood’s distinctly antiheroic take on the spy thriller, is coming to 4K Blu-ray. Kino Lorber will release the film on November 5.
The two-disc set will feature a new Dolby Vision master, taken from a scan of the film’s original 35mm negative. It will also come packed with special features, including audio commentaries by film historian Justin Humphreys and film critic Nick Pinkerton; interviews with actors Reiner Schöne and Heidi Brühl; vintage promotional material; and radio ads, TV spots, and theatrical trailers. The announcement comes on the heels of two other Eastwood films being released on 4K by Kino Lorber, coinciding with the release of his purported last film, Juror No. 2, this fall; Two Mules for Sister Sara and Play Misty for Me will also hit 4K in November. The Eiger Sanction will retail for $26.57, and can be preordered now on KinoLorber.com.
What Is ‘The Eiger Sanction’ About?
Eastwood directs and stars in The Eiger Sanction as Jonathan Hemlock, an art professor and retired mountaineer with an occasional sideline as an assassin for the covert organization C-2. When one of his former colleagues is killed, Hemlock is pulled back into action by C-2 director Dragon (Thayer David as a wheezing ex-Nazi with albinism). His mission: find the assassin and “sanction” him on an expedition to climb the Eiger, a particularly deadly mountain in the Swiss Alps.
The catch, however, is that C-2 doesn’t know which of the men in the expedition is the assassin. Hemlock will need to figure out who the real target is even as he ascends the treacherous north face of the Eiger; and before that, he’ll need to get in shape with his old climbing buddy (George Kennedy), outfox a seductive C-2 spy (Vonetta McKee), and deal with a snide hired killer (Jack Cassidy). Unlike many of Eastwood’s other shoots, filming The Eiger Sanction was difficult and perilous, with Eastwood doing many of his own climbing stunts; one stunt climber, David Knowles, was killed in an accident during the shoot. Ultimately, the film was a moderate financial success; critics praised the stunts, the climbing scenes and John Williams’ score, but found the plot and characters outlandish.
The Eiger Sanction was based on a novel by the author Trevanian, who like contemporary critics did not care for the film. Trevanian’s later novel, the assassin thriller Shibumi, is currently in development with John Wick’s Chad Stahelski attached to direct.
The Eiger Sanction will be released on 4K Blu-ray on November 5, 2024. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.