Rotten Tomatoes
Submit search Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

The Eiger Sanction

Play trailer Poster for The Eiger Sanction R 1975 2h 9m Adventure Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
65% Tomatometer 23 Reviews 54% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Former government assassin Jonathan Hemlock now devotes his time to teaching and collecting paintings, but his quiet life is interrupted when he is persuaded by his former employers to work for them again. Hemlock has to join a crew of explorers on a trip up the Eiger, a treacherous Swiss mountain. Hemlock must simultaneously determine which of his fellow climbers is a Soviet spy, kill his target and scale the deadly peak.
Watch on Fandango Stream Now

Where to Watch

The Eiger Sanction

Critics Reviews

View More
Joe Clay The Times (UK) Aug 8, 2022
The scenery is magnificent and the white-knuckle action well handled... Go to Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Oct 23, 2004
3/4
It has a plot so unlikely and confused that we can't believe it for much more than 15 seconds at a time, but its action sequences are so absorbing and its mountaintop photography so compelling that we don't care. Go to Full Review Eddie Harrison film-authority.com Jul 16, 2026
3/5
...the good stuff in The Eiger Sanction is largely in the star power and photography, which was butchered for the small screen but still looks like a real movie in 2026. Unfortunately some of the attitudes on display have dated… Go to Full Review Brian Orndorf Blu-ray.com Mar 12, 2025
C
Doesn't feature much of a mystery, with Eastwood's dry, unhurried directorial style at odds with the demands of the superspy genre. It's a tepid thriller, best appreciated as a travelogue with periodic bursts of violence. Go to Full Review Steve Warren The Barb (Atlanta) May 9, 2023
A poorly contrived spy story with enough cliches to fill 90 minutes, but not enough to fill the holes in the plot. Go to Full Review Dennis Harvey 48 Hills Dec 4, 2020
There is indeed some great climactic Swiss Alps footage in this espionage tale, but the film runs an awkward gamut from supervillain cartoonishness to straight thriller. Its loutish humor also indulged its maker's (and audience's) worst tendencies... Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
Claudio C @Claudio666 21 hrs ago Wonderful Landscapes (12,673 – 08 Sep 2026) When a man is murdered in Zurich, the retired assassin of the Agency C-2, Dr. Jonathan Hemlock, who is presently an art professor and collector, is forced by his former chief Dragon to kill the killer. When he accomplishes the assignment, Dragon coerces Jonathan to kill another killer and learns that the dead man is his old friend Henri Baq. However, he does not know who the assassin is, only that he limps and will climb the Eiger Mountain. "The Eiger Sanction" (1975) is a film by Clint Eastwood with a reasonable story of espionage. However, the landscapes and the acting make the movie worthwhile watching. In 1975, there was no CGI and Clint Eastwood did not use stunts in most of the scenes. Further, imagine the difficulties to shoot the scenes with the equipment of that time. Last, the word "sanction" means "assassinate" in accordance with the C-2 slang. My vote is seven. Title (Brazil): "Escalado Para Morrer" ("Selected to Die") See more Matthew L @Mattog1 Jun 14, 2026 One of Clints best. Amazing movie. See more Jerod S @jeroduptown Apr 29, 2026 Eastwood is a professor art collector that also climbs mountains? In order to avenge a friends death. It's a pretty dumb plot, but the scenery is good. See more acsdoug D @acsdoug Mar 21, 2026 The climbing scenes are truly impressive. Eastwood and the actors really look like they're on dangerous precipices thousands of feet up. Great photography and a story a bit above average makes for a decent Eastwood vehicle. See more Matthew H @Hendy2013 Feb 18, 2026 Another exciting Clint classic See more Tony S @RT22145614 Feb 7, 2026 A thin plot, but some beautiful mountain climbing scenes. Typical Eastwood character. See more Read all reviews
The Eiger Sanction

My Rating

Read More Read Less WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW POST RATING

Cast & Crew

View All

Clint Eastwood

Director

Clint Eastwood

Dr. Jonathan Hemlock

George Kennedy

Ben Bowman

Vonetta McGee

Jemima Brown

Jack Cassidy

Miles Mellough

Thayer David

Dragon

More Like This

View All
Play Misty for Me 85% 72% Play Misty for Me Watchlist The Enforcer 68% 59% The Enforcer Watchlist Blood Work 52% 40% Blood Work Watchlist Black Sea 81% 58% Black Sea Watchlist Beast 69% 77% Beast Watchlist TRAILER for Beast Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All

The Eiger Sanction

The Eiger Sanction (1975) The Eiger Sanction (1975) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Former government assassin Jonathan Hemlock now devotes his time to teaching and collecting paintings, but his quiet life is interrupted when he is persuaded by his former employers to work for them again. Hemlock has to join a crew of explorers on a trip up the Eiger, a treacherous Swiss mountain. Hemlock must simultaneously determine which of his fellow climbers is a Soviet spy, kill his target and scale the deadly peak.
Director
Clint Eastwood
Producer
Robert Daley
Screenwriter
Hal Dresner, Rod Whitaker
Production Co
Malpaso Company
Rating
R
Genre
Adventure, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
May 18, 2016
Runtime
2h 9m
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
Join The Newsletter Join The Newsletter Cookie Settings