Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8838 in DVD
• Released on: 1999-03-30
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, French
• Dimensions: 1.20 pounds
• Running time: 109 minutes

From Amazon.com
Clint Eastwood is a down-and-out cop who is sent on a routine mission to pick up a witness and deliver her to the Phoenix courthouse. Sounds easy until he realizes he's been set up by the man who gave him this simple assignment. The interplay between Eastwood and the witness, a clever prostitute played by the actor's former girlfriend, Sondra Locke, is tough and playful. They obviously had strong chemistry. The story is highly implausible at times, but the action sequences are satisfying. Eastwood directs The Gauntlet very much in the style of his Academy Award-winning Western Unforgiven. Although the body count is surprisingly low for an Eastwood action film, a house, several cars, and a large bus get shot through with more holes than a big wheel of Swiss cheese. For Eastwood fans, this is the laconic hero at his prime. --Richard Natale

Chronique amazon.fr
Avec L'Épreuve de force, Clint Eastwood retourne sur les traces de l'inspecteur Harry. Mais il le fait glisser vers une ombre plus misérable : Ben Shockley est un Harry que le scénario d'Eastwood prive de ses attributs légendaires. Shockley n'a ni le Magnum 44, ni le cynisme, ni l'intelligence, ni l'instinct, ni la révolte de son célèbre aîné… et en fin de compte c'est lui que l'on poursuit et que l'on veut supprimer. Au cours de ce qui ressemble à un véritable parcours initiatique, il est soumis à un rituel de la violence qu'il accepte avec un masochisme jubilatoire. Dans L'Épreuve de force, la démesure des scènes d'action parodie l'invincibilité du héros qu'Eastwood a souvent incarné. Cependant, elles restent d'une efficacité redoutable grâce à une mise en scène énergique. L'Épreuve de force compte parmi les nombreux succès de son auteur

Review
In addition to working well as an Eastwood actioner, The Gauntlet should probably serve as ground zero for any study of his films' attitude toward women. Eastwood's hard-living, success-starved cop begins the film as an unrepentant sexist, but after being saddled with an antagonist/love interest Sondra Locke, who more than holds her own against him, he leaves the film with an adjusted attitude. That Locke plays a no-nonsense, tough-as-nails, world-weary prostitute only makes his progress that much more curious. It's these sort of difficult to disentangle, seemingly contradictory politics that make even Eastwood's least ambitious films -- of which Gauntlet is certainly one -- rewarding viewing. This attitude toward women in particular has caused him to be reviled as a sexist and lauded as a feminist; whichever way you choose to look at it, The Gauntlet makes for gripping, if familiar, viewing. Eastwood's character's gutter integrity may be imported from the Dirty Harry series, but his deliberately paced direction -- in addition to matching the open spaces of his Southwestern setting -- allows him to explore the details of the persona to a greater extent in a film that's as interesting as much for what's in its margins as for what happens in center stage. ~ Keith Phipps, All Movie Guide

Customer Reviews

The Cop and The Pro....
This review refers to the Warner Bros. DVD edition of "The Gauntlet"....

From the moment Ben Shockley(Clint Eastwood)steps out of his car and an empty booze bottle falls out, we know this is not the usual "Dirty Harry" character we'd been used to up to now. Ben is a cop who's chances for greatness seem to be fading with him.
Eastwood directs as well as stars in this film and we see his brillant directoral style taking hold here.

The Phoenix P.D. seem to be scraping the bottom of the barrel when they assign Shockley the job of escorting Gus Malley, a seemingly unimportant witness from Las Vegas back to Phoenix for a trial. Ben's been looking for his big break on a big case and it doesn't look like this will be it with this guy. Upon arriving in Las Vegas, Ben discovers that Gus is no guy. Gus Malley(Sondra Locke), is a local prostitute and unwilling partcipant in the journey back as well. This is not "a hooker with a heart story" though, this pro is as hard edged as they come, but she does have a brain!

The action starts as soon as they leave the jail. Someone is going to make sure that these two never make it to trial. Vegas is even giving odds against them. Everyone's after them..the mob, the cops, they even made the mistake of angering a group of bikers along the route and they're out for revenge as well. They hardly know who to trust, as they get shot at from all angles, cars blow up, they are set up and beat up. What Gus knows can cost them their lives, but Shockley is now determined to bring his prisoner in at all costs and rises to the occassion and must break through an impassable barrier set-up to keep him at bay.

It's edge of your seat drama, thrills, and fun, as Gus and Ben trade quips and get in a little romance(we couldn't expect any different with Eastwood and Locke)along the way.As usual Clint surrounds himself with the finest talent. Pat Hingle, William Prince, and Bill Mckinney turn in excellent performances as well as Eastwood and Locke. There's also a terrific jazzy score by Jerry Fielding.

The film made in 1977 looks great on this DVD transfer. It is in a widescreen on a dual layer format. The picture looks good. Clear and sharp with good color. There was occasionally a little purplish tint in places, but it didn't take away from the enjoyment of the film. The soundtrack remastered in the 5.1 Dolby Stereo was also good. The music sounded great and the dialouge always crisp. Not too much in the way of bonus material if that's what you're looking for, there's a filmography on Eastwood(his was the only one I was able to access) and a theatrical trailer. It may be viewed in French(Mono) and also has subtitles in English and French as well. You can bet on this one!

5 stars to a great Eastwood action film that can be watched again and again.

Get the Popcorn ready for this one and enjoy.....Laurie

Weak crime drama
There are a lot of good Clint Eastwood movies out there, but this is not one of them. Instead, this is one of the weakest of his seventies crime drama movies, an ineptly written and generally boring movie.

Eastwood plays Shockley, a Phoenix cop assigned to extradite a prostitute from Las Vegas. As a bit of silliness right off the bat, it turns out that there is even a wager at the sports books that he will not make it back to Phoenix alive. From that point on, the dumbness continues, with Shockley blindly going from one trap to another, hardly piecing anything together without being led by the hand. On the other hand, all the other cops are equally dumb, willing to shoot first and ask questions later.

There are lots of bullets flying in this movie, but interestingly, Eastwood does not fire a single one at a person. Instead, he shoots doorknobs and motorcycles. Actually, Eastwood doesn't get more than a few punches in; those expecting Eastwood kicking butt will be sorely disappointed.

This movie is strictly for Eastwood fans only; all others should go elsewhere for a good crime movie.

Nag, nag, nag...
At this point in his career, Clint Eastwood was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. With his own production company (Malpaso), Eastwood had firm control over the projects he became involved with. His choice as a follow up to The Enforcer, the third Dirty Harry film, was The Gauntlet. This cartoonish adventure, directed by Eastwood, features a poorly written story, huge doses of excessive violence, and bad dialog with liberal doses of profanity. It is another opportunity for Clint to operate against overpowering odds, and team with then girl friend, Sondra Locke, for the first of several films in which they would star together.

Once again Clint is a cop. Ben Shockley, one of Phoenix's finest, is assigned to bring back a prisoner being held in a Las Vegas jail, to testify. Sondra Locke is the prisoner, her character Gus Mally is a prostitute, who happened to have as a client, a certain high police official with usual sexual preferences. This apparently, is sufficient reason to want her dead.

The story is a simple double cross, as forces behind the scenes manipulate various agencies of law enforcement, to turn against Shockley and his tough-talking prisoner, to prevent her from testifying. The pair is forced to make their way from Nevada back to Phoenix via a circuitous route, evading the forces of the law and other dangers.

Excessive gunfire is the featured event several times. The first time, enthusiastic Vegas cops destroy a house, while Shockley and Mally barely scurry to safety in a most implausible manner. Then a police car is thoroughly ventilated. The final and most outrageous example is the film's finale, in which Shockley drives a tour bus through a "gauntlet" of police, lined up on both sides of the street. The film's ending is an unbelievable, extended exercise in gratuitous excess. Shots are fired at close range, and the crowd of police officers behave like zombies. Violence just for violence sake can have a purpose, but this is pretty dreadful. Calling this bad writing, is a gross understatement.

Throw logic totally out the window, go along for the ride, and you can still be entertained. Although the plotting is spotty, and the dialog unpolished, there are some decent action scenes, particularly when Shockley takes to a motorcycle, and is chased by a chopper. Clint's quiet macho swagger, contrasts with the free spirited, and spunky Locke. Their relationship, both on and off screen, is really at the heart of this movie. Romance, Eastwood style, has its rough edges, and is at times almost painfully awkward. Warts and all, this film was done per Eastwood's specifications.

Though part of the "Clint Eastwood Collection", the DVD offers only a trailer as an extra. From here, the collaboration with Sondra Locke would continue for several more films, as Eastwood's career took a turn. The Gauntlet, Clint's last true action film in the 70's, is far from his best work, and is best suited to his true fans, and those who appreciate excessive gunfire