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(More customer reviews)Clint Eastwood is a living legend who is still just as popular today as he was 50 years ago, with films he's directed and/or starred in that have frequently received much acclaim from critics and fans alike.
To celebrate Mr. Eastwood's legacy, Warner Brothers, the studio Clint has worked with the most in Hollywood, released a career spanning DVD box set entitled: Clint Eastwood: 35 Films 35 Years at Warner Bros.. What a lot fans wanted to know was "What about Blu-Ray?" Warner Brothers has responded with this 10 disc Blu-Ray collection, which picks some of the actor's best efforts along with a couple of wonderful films he did not star in, but directed.
Gran Torino (2008) 116 min Rated R - the story of Walt Kowalksi, a man who has recently lost his wife and befriends a young Vietnamese boy, who he teaches to become a man. This is currently Eastwood's last performance on screen, and easily one of his finest. The disc is exactly the same as the previous stand alone release. Extras include a nice 20 minute segment entitled "The Eastwood Way" which focuses on Clint's filmmaking process, along with 2 other featurettes: "Manning the Wheel" & "Gran Tornino: More Than a Car," which are okay, but not as much fun as the other one. No theatrical trailer is included. 1080p HD 16X9 Widescreen aspect ratio 2:40.1 Dolby TrueHD in English 5.1, Dolby Digital in English 5.1, French 5.1, & Spanish 5.1
Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) 140 min Rated R - WWII as shown through the eyes of Japanese soldiers. This is considered the companion film to Eastwood's other epic WWII movie, Flags of Our Fathers and was shot using original Japanese dialogue with English subtitles. The Blu-ray includes a number of bonus features, including "Red Sun, Black Sand: The Making of Letters from Iwo Jima," a fascinating account of how the film was made, as well as a number of other interesting featurettes such as "The Faces of Combat," which focuses on the cast of the film, "Images From the Frontlines," which highlights the photography of the film, as well as the World Premiere coverage of the film from Budo-kan in Tokyo and the original press conference footage in 2006. The original theatrical trailer, without English subtitles, is also included. 1080p HD 16X9 Widescreen aspect ratio 2:40.1 Dolby TrueHD in Japanese 5.1 & Dolby Digital in Japanese 5.1
Million Dollar Baby (2004) 132 min Rated PG-13 - Clint plays Frankie Dunn, a boxing trainer who refuses to teach girls the art of the sport, that is, until Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) walks into his life. Morgan Freeman rounds out the outstanding performances in this Best Picture Oscar winner. Extras include the James Lipton Roundtable interview with all three actors, a discussion segment with boxer turned actress, Lucia Rijker, entitled "Born To Fight," and a behind the scenes featurette with the producers. The original theatrical trailer, although stated as being included on the back of the case, is in fact not included. 1080p HD 16X9 Widescreen aspect ratio 2:40.1 Dolby Digital in English 5.1 & French 5.1Mystic River (2003) 138 min Rated R - Eastwood directs this story of three friends from Boston (Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, & Kevin Bacon) who reunite years later due to a past crime and a current death. Extras include an audio commentary track with Tim Robbins & Kevin Bacon, the Charlie Rose interviews with Clint Eastwood, Tim Robbins & Kevin Bacon, the featurette entitled "Mystic River: From Page to Screen" which chronicles bringing the book to life on film, and author Dennis Lehane tours the original Boston neighborhood for which his book is based on. The original teaser trailer and theatrical trailer are also included. DTS-HD Master Audio in English 5.1 & Dolby Digital in French 5.1 & Spanish (both Castilian 5.1 and Latin 2.0)
Unforgiven (1992) 131 min Rated R - Eastwood plays William Munney, a down on his luck pig farmer, who was once a cold blooded killer, and is now hired to kill two men responsible for cutting up a prostitute. Extras include audio commentary with Eastwood biographer, Richard Schickel, along with 4 enjoyable documentaries ("All on Accounta Pullin' a Trigger," "Eastwood & Co,: Making Unforgiven," "Eastwood...a Star," & "Eastwood on Eastwood"), the classic Maverick episode "Duel at Sundown," with Eastwood guest starring, and the original theatrical trailer. Dolby Digital in English 5.1, French 2.0, & Spanish 2.0
The Rookie (1990) 121 min Rated R - Buddy cop film with Charlie Sheen as the Rookie police officer who teams up with veteran cop, played by Eastwood, to stop the bad guys, played by Raul Julia & Sonia Bragga. I'm guessing this film was included to cash in on the recent popularity with Charlie Sheen. A fun film, but not a classic. A vintage featurette entitled "Clint, The Rookie & Me" is stated, on the back of the case, to be included, when in fact it is not. The original theatrical trailer is included. DTS-HD MA English 5.1, Dolby Digital French 2S & Spanish 2.0 (both Castilian & Latin)
Absolute Power (1997) 121 min Rated R - Eastwood plays Luther Whitney, a cat burgler who stumbles onto the unimaginable...the murder of a woman at the hands of the president of the United States. Gene Hackman and Ed Harris costar. No extras are included. The back of the case states the the original theatrical trailer is on the disc, but it is not. DTS-HD MA English 5.1, Dolby Digital French 5.1 & Spanish (both Castilian 5.1 and Latin 2.0)
Dirty Harry (1971) 102 min Rated R - Eastwood's first starring film with Warner Brothers, as Detective "Dirty" Harry Calahan, a cop, who plays by his own rules, that's out to stop a psychopath known as Scorpio (played perfectly by Andy Robinson) from murdering helpless victims. A true classic in every sense of the word. Extras include an audio commentary with Eastwood biographer Richard Schilckel, 2 featurettes, "Dirty Harry's Way," & "Dirty Harry: The Original, an interview gallery, along with 3 documentaries: "The Long Shadow of Dirty Harry," Clint Eastwood: The Man From Malpaso, & "Clint Eastwood: Out of The Shadows." The original theatrical trailer is included along with trailers to all 4 Dirty Harry sequels. Dolby Tru-HD English 5.1, Dolby Digital English 5.1, French 1.0 & Spanish 1.0 (both Castilian & Latin)
Kelly's Heroes (1970) 143 min Rated PG (originally released by MGM)- A team of US soldiers, headed by Eastwood's Kelly, attempt to go behind enemy lines, in Nazi run Germany, to seize the fuhrer's gold treasure. A classic ensemble cast motion picture, with Telly Savalas, Don Rickles, Carrol O'Connor, and Donald Sutherland in a scene stealing performance. The original theatrical trailer is included. DTS-HD MA English 5.1, Dolby Digital French 1.0 & Spanish 2.0
Where Eagles Dare (1968) 155 min Rated PG (originally released by MGM)- Another WWII tour de force, directed by Brian Hutton (Kelly's Heroes) with Eastwood teaming up with Richard Burton to rescue a US general from behind enemy lines in Germany. But is that really the whole plan? Extras include the vintage featurette "On Location: Where Eagles Dare," and the original theatrical trailer. DTS-HD MA English 5.1, Dolby Digital French 2.0 & Spanish (Castilian 2.0 & Latin 1.0)
I really enjoyed this set of Eastwood films all together in one collection. The picture quality was quite good, especially on the newer releases. Some fans may be disappointed by the older Blu-ray releases on this set, like "Unforgiven," which weren't given better picture & audio upgrades like the later Blu-rays with their True-HD Master Audio tracks.
I was a little disappointed that some of the special features were missing too, like the vintage featurette from "The Rookie," and the trailers to "Absolute Power" & "Million Dollar Baby." It was nice to have "Letters from Iwo Jima" included with this set, but disappointing that "Flags of Our Fathers" was not also included, as the two films go perfectly together. I love "Dirty Harry," as most Eastwood fans do, but it has already been previously released on Blu-ray 4 times. Surely another classic like "The Outlaw Josey Wales," or "Heartbreak Ridge" could have been included instead.
All in all, the films are good and the quality is good enough, but still could have been better. I sincerely hope that this box set collection sells well enough for Warner Brothers to warrant coming out with a "Volume 2" and subsequent future volumes after that, so we can have all of Clint's WB films in a 5 box sets collection instead of having to buy them all individually. For what you pay, this is a pretty good deal. Check it out. You'll be glad you did.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Clint Eastwood Collection (Absolute Power / Dirty Harry / Gran Torino / Kelly's Heroes / Letters from Iwo Jima / Million Dollar Baby / Mystic River / The Rookie / Unforgiven / Where Eagles Dare) (2010)
Includes Absolute Power, Dirty Harry, Gran Torino, Kelly's Heroes, Letters from Iwo Jima, Million Dollar Baby, Mystic River, The Rookie, Unforgiven, Where Eagles Dare.
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