In celebration of their 90th Anniversary, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment released the Clint Eastwood 20 Film Collection on Blu-Ray this week. Included here are, as the title says, 20 of Eastwood’s films as well as two excellent documentaries: Eastwood Factor and Eastwood Directs: The Untold Story. Additionally, the set also comes with a nice little hardcover book that looks back at the filmmaker’s illustrious career.
With five Academy Awards under his belt and over $2 billion at the domestic box office, the man is no doubt a legend and with this new Blu-Ray box set, there’s no better time than now to celebrate Clint Eastwood and the impact that he has had on the film world.
Though not the greatest selection, here are the 20 films that you’ll receive. Now, remember, this is a Warner Bros. release, meaning it was released to honour the actor/director’s relationship with the studio. Seeing as films like The Man With No Name Trilogy, Escape From Alcatraz, Flags of Our Fathers, Changeling and a few other classic Eastwood flicks were made outside his relationship with Warner Bros., that explains their absence.
Still, there are some excellent movies included here and though the box set does include a few duds, overall it’s a solid 20 films that include something for everyone.
Check out the full list below:
- Dirty Harry
- Every Which Way But Loose
- Firefox
- The Gauntlet
- Gran Torino
- Heartbreak Ridge
- Hereafter
- Invictus
- J. Edgar
- Letters from Iwo Jima
- Magnum Force
- Million Dollar Baby
- Mystic River
- The Outlaw Josey Wales
- Pale Rider
- A Perfect World
- Space Cowboys
- Sudden Impact
- Trouble with the Curve
- Unforgiven
I won’t bore you by offering a full review on each title but if you’re familiar with Clint Eastwood, then most of these films should stick out to you. There’s the classics like Dirty Harry, Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby and then there’s some absolute stinkers like J. Edgar, Hereafter and Space Cowboys.
Like I said above, it’s not a pretty good mix, and the good does outweigh the bad, it’s just unfortunate that the box set had to work within the confines of the Eastwood/Warner Bros. relationship as it means that we miss out on some of Clint’s best work. Still, you can’t win them all and for what you’re getting here, it’s hard to complain.
When it comes to video, audio and special features, these are all the exact same discs as you would have seen during each individual film’s initial Blu-Ray release. Meaning, if you already own one of these films on Blu-Ray, then you’re getting the exact same disc here, video, audio, special features and all. There’s nothing different.
Now, there are two bonus documentaries included. One of which, The Eastwood Factor, has been out for a few years. It was directed by film documentarian and Emmy Award-nominee Richard Schickel and is truly an inspiring watch. Offering a fascinating look at the relationship between Eastwood and Warner Bros., the documentary runs for 88 minutes and gives us a highly informative look the filmmaker and his time working with the studio.
The other documentary included here, Eastwood Directs: The Untold Story, looks at Clint Eastwood the director. It focuses on his directorial style and shines a light on why it’s unique and very successful. With participation from colleagues like Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman, among others, we get a true insight into how Eastwood operates as a filmmaker and why the results are almost always so impressive.
Overall, the Clint Eastwood 20 Film Collection Blu-Ray is difficult to go wrong with, granted you like the man, of course. And really, what’s not to like about Clint Eastwood. He’s a true cinema icon and though he has made some stinkers in the past, who hasn’t? His positive contributions far outweigh his negatives ones and this box set is an excellent tribute to the extremely successful relationship between himself and Warner Bros.
Pick it up as a gift for your dad this Father’s Day, or simply purchase it for yourself. Either way, this is a fantastic addition to any Blu-Ray collection and a fitting tribute to the legend that is Mr. Clint Eastwood.
Amazon currently has the Blu-Ray for $90.86, a great price just in time for Father’s Day. So if you’re interested in picking it up, head on over there to do so.
