Scarecrow suggests ... 'The Eiger Sanction' and other suspenseful mountaineering movies

"North Face" takes place on the Eiger (a peak in the Swiss Alps about 1,400 feet shorter than Mount Rainier), so we begin with another film set on the same mountain. Clint Eastwood stars in "The Eiger Sanction" (1975), as an art professor with a secret assassin past. His former organization, run by an ex-Nazi, blackmails him to perform one last job — to kill a member of a group of climbers attempting Eiger — but he isn't told which one. The resulting levels of suspicion and paranoia build to a dramatic climax on the mountain. Eastwood also directed the film and performed all of his own climbing stunts.

In "Cliffhanger" (1993), Sylvester Stallone plays mountain rescue worker Gabe Walker, who while on a climb with a group of friends is involved in a tragic accident that leads to the death of his best friend's girlfriend. Wracked with guilt, he's determined to leave the mountain behind when a distress signal comes in from a plane crashed up in the mountains. The disaster is mainly the fault of a group of murderous thieves led by John Lithgow, who hijacked the plane that contained $100 million in three suitcases that are now strewn about the snow. Gabe is roped in to help, and all heck breaks loose. The film is full of absurd physical feats and violence. In a favorite scene, Stallone is fighting Leon (one of the bad guys) inside a cave. Leon wants Sly to reveal the location of the cash. When Sly refuses, Leon threatens to kill his girlfriend (Janine Turner from "Northern Exposure"). In response, Sly lifts him up over his head and impales him on a stalactite. There's a lot of blood and some great gory shots of the guy getting spiked. "Cliffhanger" is a good example of the late '80s, early '90s style of studio action. In fact, you could call it "Die Hard on a Mountain." Its director, Renny Harlin, also made "Die Hard 2."

For more straight-up mountain action there's 1991's "K2," a British film about two thrill seeking friends who face their ultimate challenge on the world's second highest peak. "Vertical Limit" (2000) stars Chris O'Donnell and Robin Tunney as Peter and Annie Garrett, siblings whose father sacrificed his life to save theirs while they were all out on a climb. A few years later, Peter has given up climbing while Annie has become a world class expert ready to attempt K2. When her expedition goes awry, Peter mounts a dangerous rescue mission to save his sister.

Disney's live action film "Third Man on the Mountain" (1959) is a more family-friendly tale of man vs. mountain. Set in a small town in the Swiss Alps, it tells the tale of a young man whose father died while attempting to climb a nearby peak called The Citadel. While most people have since been scared of attempting another ascent, Rudi Matt is transfixed by the mountain and becomes increasingly determined to reach its summit. Despite his family's objections, Rudi recruits allies, practices his skills and then sets off for a lesson learning trip up the mountain. It was this movie and its picturesque alpine setting that inspired Walt Disney to create Disneyland's Matterhorn Bobsleds ride.

"The White Hell of Pitz Palu" (1929) is a silent mountain adventure starring future film director Leni Riefenstahl. It starts out similarly to "Cliffhanger" with a female climber falling to her death. The tragedy is blamed on her husband's negligence. Ten years later, a newlywed couple sets out to climb the mountain and run into the husband, who's searching for the slopes convinced his wife is still alive. G.W. Pabst directed the film, which features breathtaking cinematography and some hair raising dangerous situations. It's also one of the films playing at the movie theater in Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds."

"Touching The Void" (2003) is a harrowing, real-life account of the dangers faced by those who dare to climb. The documentary tells the story of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, two friends who in 1985 set out to climb the steep western face of Siula Grande in the Andes Mountains. They're successful, but the descent turns tragic when Simpson falls, badly breaking his leg. What follows is an incredible, gut wrenching story of survival. Director Kevin Macdonald meticulously puts together the events using both actor re-enactments and interviews with Simpson and Yates themselves.

Contributed by Scarecrow Video, 5030 Roosevelt Way N.E., Seattle; 206-524-8554 or www.scarecrow.com