DVD Reviews

Clint Eastwood: 35 Films 35 Years at Warner Bros. – DVD Review

By Jeff Swindoll Feb 17, 2010, 13:53 GMT

Hollywood icon and legend Clint Eastwood has touched generations of filmgoers for over half a century. In honor of Eastwood\'s longstanding 35-year relationship with Warner Bros through Malpaso Productions, WHV is releasing this definitive DVD collection containing 34 classic Clint Eastwood films from the Warner library and highlighting the breadth and depth of his work -- from Where Eagles Dare through Gran Torino. Included are his “Dirty Harry” movies, Best ...more

Clint Eastwood has been a Warner Brothers staple for 35 years and this new box set celebrates that fact.  He started at the studio with 1968’s Where Eagles Dare and recently completed his 36th film for the studio, Invictus. 

Invictus hasn’t made it onto home video just yet so it is absent from this set. 

What you do get is a nineteen disc set that contains Where Eagles Dare, Kelly's Heroes, Dirty Harry, Magnum Force, The Enforcer, The Outlaw Josey Wales, The Gauntlet, Every Which Way But Loose, Bronco Billy, Any Which Way You Can, Honkytonk Man, Firefox, Sudden Impact, City Heat, Tightrope, Pale Rider, Heartbreak Ridge, Bird, The Dead Pool, Pink Cadillac, White Hunter, Black Heart, The Rookie, Unforgiven, A Perfect World, The Bridges Of Madison County, Absolute Power, Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil, True Crime, Space Cowboys, Blood Work, Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Letters From Iwo Jima, and Gran Torino.

I can’t comment on the quality of those discs as I was only sent a press release and a sampling of what was new to the set.  I assume that the discs contain whatever their previous DVD incarnations had on them.  Missing is Play Misty for Me, Eastwood’s directorial debut that was shot for Universal, and Flags of Our Fathers, that he shot for Dreamworks. 

What is new to the set is a 24 page book from film critic, historian, and Eastwood pal Richard Schickel that has excerpts from his book Clint: A Retrospective, due out in March of this year. 

We’re also given a tease of sorts in that Schickel has cut together a short version (22 minutes) of his upcoming longer documentary The Eastwood Factor.  What I saw of this only made me hunger for the whole meal as Eastwood strolls around the Warner lot and gives us first hand detail on his career and time at Warner Brothers.

This short glimpse only made me want to see the whole thing and for a retail value of $180 I would’ve hoped that you would’ve gotten it all (again I was only set this on disc, not the set, but even Schickel says that it’s a shorter version of his upcoming work). 

My initial question was as to whether these titles were re-mastered in any way (such as if any were released without 16x9 enhancement has that been corrected) and which older versions were included (Bridges of Madison County was only released in fullscreen initially and only recently has had a letterboxed version come out – which one is in this set?). 

The other problem that might arise is that if you’re an Eastwood fan than more-than-likely you already have all of these films already.  If this had been a Blu-ray set, I’d have an easier time recommending it. You’ll have to make a judgment call if you want to spend the dollars to get it or not. 

Sight unseen, I’d have to recommend a pass for the Eastwood fan.  However, if you’re looking for an instant collection of the star then this set might be for you.

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