Warner Bros. | 2010 | 88 mins. | Not Rated
Clint Eastwood turned 80 this past Monday. To celebrate the occasion, Fox released some of his early films on Blu-ray; Hang ‘em High and The Man With No Name Trilogy, which consists of three spaghetti westerns—A Fistful of Dollars, A Few Dollars More, and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly—directed by Sergio Leone. However, its Warner Brother’s the studio Eastwood has called home for the last 35 years, that has commemorated Clint’s birthday the most; they got the ball rolling with the release of 35 Films 35 Years at Warner Bros. back in February, and now they’ve released The Eastwood Factor (Extended Edition) which made its broadcast debut on May 31, 2010 courtesy of Turner Classic Movies.
Directed by Time magazine film critic and documentarian Richard Schickel, a truncated 20-minute version of the film was included with 35 Films 35 Years box set; presented here is the full 90-minute film as seen on TCM. While the truncated version gives viewers a look at Eastwood, through Schickel’s eyes (they’ve been friends for many years, so it’s an informed one), the extended version widens the net to include much on how Eastwood and the narrator, Morgan Freeman have developed such a strong working relationship, and further, allows Clint to reflect on his own experiences.
Things begin with Clint undertaking his 29th directorial effort, Invictus. As the narrator, Morgan Freeman explains, “I developed the project and brought it to Clint.” The scene cuts to Eastwood sitting in a chair at home. “He just calls me up one day, and says, ‘I have a really good I’d love you to direct’. Whenever somebody calls you up and says ‘I have a really good script’ you always go, ‘Okay… We’ll be the judge of that.’ I read it. I called him back and said, ‘It is a really good script. And yes. I’ll do it.’ This element of his history [Nelson Mandela] I don’t think people are that familiar with.”
Beyond Invictus, The Eastwood Factor delves into some of Eastwood’s most complex films. Among them are Dirty Harry, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Gran Torino (2008), Flags of Our Fathers (2006), and an in-depth look at the 2006 film Letters from Iwo Jima.
I don’t want to share what Clint says about Letters from Iwo Jima here, as I don’t want to spoil the experience for those that might not have had a chance to see The Eastwood Factor yet. Suffice to say, the actor shares some extremely interesting thoughts, and it may change the way you think about the film.
Clint has long been known to zealously guard his private life; and while there’s still a limit to what he will talk about, the actor is surprisingly forthcoming on some aspects of his personal life. The actor discusses his life in Carmel, California. This is where he’s made his home, doesn’t feel encumbered by celebrity and can take his wife to dinner, his kids to the movies. He shows us Mission Ranch, the hotel/restaurant he owns and the Tehama Golf Course, which he built. He also talks about his father, what he learned from him; that a man can be gentle and respectful and still be strong.
Along the way, Eastwood takes us on a tour of the Warner Bros backlot, and we are given a look at various costumes he wore in famous films. As he did with Gary Cooper: American Life, American Legend (1991), and Minnelli on Minnelli: Liza Remembers Vincente (1987) among others, Richard Schickel has provided a interesting and introspective view of an artist that has had an immeasurable impact on the history of motion pictures.
Not only is The Eastwood Factor highly recommended viewing material for the millions of Clint Eastwood fans out there, but this is the kind of film that will likely be shown in film classes for years to come. Both Eastwood and Morgan Freeman offer thoughts that could be of use to generations of filmmakers and historians alike.
The video is presented in a 4:3 aspect ratio with letterboxing applied. All of the newly shot material of Eastwood on the Warner backlot is presented in a letterboxed 16:9 format. The copious film clips are presented in a seemingly random hodgepodge of original aspect ratios and 4:3 panned and scanned video. I had to manually force my DVD player into “Video” mode to prevent aliasing from occurring, so it appears as though there may be an error in the MPEG encoding.
The only audio option is an English Dolby Digital 5.1 track. The mix remains strongly rooted in the front channels, although I did notice some surround activity during a few of the film clips. While the mix is nothing particularly special, it does a solid job with the material.
No special features are included.
Clip from the Extended Version:
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