It can be debated if Clint Eastwood is a better at being a movie star or a director. I am of the belief that it is because of his many of years of acting that he became a great director. He was probably shoulder to shoulder with Don Siegel during the production of Dirty Harry. Eastwood has had a great career, and the collaborations he’s made with Warner Bros. is almost unheard of. It’s as if he’s part of the old Hollywood system and he’s been contractually obligated to perform just for the singular studio.
Arriving just two days after Valentine’s Day, on February 16th WB is unveiling the massive box set Clint Eastwood: 35 Films 35 Years at Warner Bros, which documents Eastwood’s work with the studio since establishing his Malpaso Production company on the studio lot back in 1975.
The set includes 34 films, the last of which is Gran Torino. For those wondering his latest, Invictus, will not be included. It will be released separately. Time film critic Richard Schickel, who has directed a number of quality documentaries on Martin Scorsese, Charlie Chaplin, Ron Howard, and Steven Spielberg, has produced a new one on Clint Eastwood entitled The Eastwood Factor. The documentary is a continuation of Schickel’s 1997 doc Eastwood on Eastwood, which was included with the two-disc release of Unforgiven.
This is an ambitious release by Warner Bros., and is really only for the die-hard Clint Eastwood fan in your family. It is by far the largest individual collection for any actor or director to date. The Criterion Collection is ushering out a box set on legendary filmmaker Akira Kurosawa on December 8th, 2009, which features 25 of his films, including his first four (first time ever on DVD), but leaves out such classics as Ran.
And unlike the Kurosawa box, which has a hefty SRP of $400, the Eastwood collection has a price tag of around $180 (currently at Amazon.com it’s price is $126.99).
Also timed with the release of the Eastwood collection is Schickel’s book Clint: A Retrospective that Sterling Publishing will release around March. A 20-minute version of the Eastwood docu from the DVD set will be included with the book.
As a cross-promotion, a 24-page extract from the book will be included in the DVD set, along with studio letters, photographs and other memorabilia.
