For a Fistful of Diamonds (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)It starts out kinda slow, but the ending has a really cool twist to it! Great movie to watch with a date or drinking with the buddies and making fun of it

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A briefcase loaded with diamonds goes missing in the middle of the desert… And the Mob wants it back. On the hunt for the diamonds is an escaped murderer. But so are his ex-girlfriend and her new lover. Hot on their heels is FBI agent Franco Valle, whose mission is to stop them and recover the briefcase.

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Dirty Harry Ultimate Collector's Edition (Dirty Harry / Magnum Force / The Enforcer / Sudden Impact / The Dead Pool) (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)Warner Home Video has announced the details of new releases of all five Dirty Harry movies with new special features. They'll all be in their original widescreen formats only.
They will be available on standard DVD in this 7-disc Ultimate Collector's Edition, or separately in Special or Deluxe editions. ("Special" is better than "deluxe" here--only Dirty Harry gets a 2-disc Special Edition, the others will all be on single discs, but all will have new special features.) Links for the separate DVDs are below.
They'll also be on Blu-ray in a 5-disc Ultimate Collector's Edition. Only the Dirty Harry Special Edition will be available separately on Blu-ray. The other four movies will only be available on Blu-ray as part of the complete set. (They won't be available in HD, which Warner officially discontinues at the end of May.)
Assuming the transfers are good (update: everyone says the transfers are good, better than the old ones), this looks like an excellent set. Whether those with older DVD releases will want to upgrade will be a matter of personal preference, but I personally find the new commentaries and features very attractive.
Here's a bit about each film and the special features, contained in both the separate releases and the sets. The Ultimate Editions will also include some additional features, listed further below.
Dirty Harry Special Edition
Dirty Harry is generally regarded as a classic, the beginning of a second larger-than-life persona for Clint Eastwood (after The Man with No Name). It's the source of the famous "Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?" (The actual quote is "... you've got to ask yourself a question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?" but the original doesn't quote as well out of context.)
Tough cop "Dirty" Harry Callahan has his own simple, commonsense rules for dealing with crime, based on a strong sense of right and wrong and an impatience with needless details and constraints. The latter gets him into continual trouble with the system which, as portrayed in the movie, is more about politics and bureaucracy than doing what needs to be done. This reflected well the frustrations and fears of Americans in the '70s that criminals were taking over the streets and that the law was powerless to stop them because the "criminal-coddling" courts were holding them back. I personally value the Fourth Amendment and other such niceties and shiver to think of some of the political and moral ramifications of this movie (some of which are still very much with us), but whatever one's politics, Dirty Harry is very effective as a police-action thriller, largely because of Eastwood's unique persona. It's hard not to admire and root for him even if you think he's not always right. There are also the standard gunfights and car chases, and high suspense, all well done.
In the films that followed in the series, Harry became a somewhat more balanced, complex or confusing character, depending on your point of view, coming down clearly on the side of the law against rogue vigilante cops, for example, and learning to appreciate a female cop as a partner, but the basic idea of Harry standing strong despite the corrupt, wimpy system remained.
I'm pleased to see that some of the new special features in the set deal with the "issues" raised by the Dirty Harry films. I look forward to seeing what others make of them.
The special features:
-- new commentary by filmmaker and Eastwood associate/biographer Richard Schickel
-- new featurette "The Long Shadow of Dirty Harry," on the influence and legacy of Dirty Harry
-- "Dirty Harry: The Original," with Clint Eastwood and the film's creators looking back at the creation of the Dirty Harry character
-- "Dirty Harry's Way," a promotional short focusing on the toughness of the movie's main character
-- interview gallery, with Patricia Clarkson, Joel Cox, Clint Eastwood, Hal Holbrook, Evan Kim, John Milius, Ted Post, Andy Robinson, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Robert Urich
-- "Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso," a 1993 TV program on his life and career, including scenes from his work and interviews with friends, fellow actors and crew members
-- trailer gallery: Dirty Harry, Magnum Force, The Enforcer, Sudden Impact and The Dead Pool
Magnum Force Deluxe Edition
As the sequel to a classic film, it suffers some from the let-downs typical of sequels, but it's still Clint Eastwood being a tough guy, which is enough to carry the merely average plot and script and make it good entertainment for Eastwood fans. I'd say that applies to all four sequels.
In this installment, Harry, the cop frustrated by the rules that hold him back, shows he has his limits when he goes up against wicked vigilante cops killing criminals without any due process. As in the first movie, there's plenty of action, a car chase, suspense, people getting shot, etc.
Special features:
-- new commentary by director and Magnum Force screenwriter John Milius ("in this gritty, entertaining commentary, legendary Hollywood screenwriter Milius discusses Eastwood, the world of Dirty Harry and the rugged resilience of crime drama in American cinema")
-- new featurette "A Moral Right: The Politics of Dirty Harry," with filmmakers, social scientists and authors on the politics and ethics of the Dirty Harry films
-- "The Hero Cop: Yesterday and Today"
-- trailer gallery
The Enforcer Deluxe Edition
In this installment, Harry, the renegade cop with some old-fashioned attitudes and no desire to be tied up with a partner, gets stuck with a female partner, well played by Tyne Daly. Surprise surprise, he learns to respect and rely on her as they make hamburger of a group of domestic terrorists. As in the first two movies, there's plenty of action, suspense, people getting shot, etc., but with a chase on foot in place of the usual car chase.
Special features:
-- new commentary by Enforcer director James Fargo
-- new featurette "The Business End: Violence in Cinema"
-- "Harry Callahan/Clint Eastwood: Something Special in Films"
-- trailer gallery
Sudden Impact Deluxe Edition
Sudden Impact inspires very mixed reactions, but it's still Clint Eastwood in a classic role, this time with Sondra Locke, his partner in several films and off-screen. Some people hate Locke, but I think she's good with Eastwood. (I liked them even more in the Dirty Harryish Gauntlet and the very un-Dirty-Harry Bronco Billy.)
Harry is on forced leave for being his usual trouble-making self while getting the bad guys, but still finds himself in the middle of a string of murders that he undertakes to stop. As in a couple of the others in the series, this movie includes a story line where extralegal justice is an issue, as Locke's damaged rape victim seeks revenge. With the usual action, shootings, and a high level of violence, with women getting their share.
This one is the source of the famous quote, "Go ahead, make my day." It was directed by Eastwood.
-- new commentary by filmmaker and Eastwood associate/biographer Richard Schickel
-- new featurette "The Evolution of Clint Eastwood," on the film in the context of Eastwood's career as a director
-- trailer gallery
The Dead Pool Deluxe Edition
The Dead Pool was pretty well received, considering its place in the series. It has a convoluted plot about a game in which bets are taken on the deaths of celebrities, including Harry, with young Liam Neeson playing a questionable film director who's playing the game. Issues of the celebrity-enslaved press are mixed with romance as Harry dates a reporter. As always, there's plenty of action, suspense, gun play, and, this time, a unique and hilarious car chase with a very small but dangerous car.
-- new commentary by Dead Pool producer David Valdes and Dead Pool cinematographer Jack N. Green
-- new Featurette "The Craft of Dirty Harry," including the cinematography, editing, music, and production design of the Dirty Harry films
-- trailer gallery
The Ultimate editions will contain all of the above features, plus some:
-- the feature-length documentary Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows (which has been and is available separately)
-- 40+ page hardcover book
-- wallet with metal badge and removable ID card
-- five 5" x 7" lobby poster reproduction cards and an exclusive Ultimate Collector's Edition card
-- "Scorpio: Portrait of a Killer" 19" x 27" map of San Francisco detailing Harry's hunt for the killer in the first film
-- never-before-seen production correspondence
The Out of the Shadows documentary is a substantial bonus (87 minutes) for the Ultimate edition. You can get it separately pretty cheap used, though. There's an Amazon page for it, with reviews, here.

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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) Review

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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.

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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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