Clint Eastwood Western Icon Collection (High
Plains Drifter/Joe Kidd/Two Mules For Sister Sara, Universal
DVD-Video)
Picture:
B- Sound: C+ Extras: C- Films:
High Plains Drifter (1973) B
Joe Kidd (1972) B-
Two Mules For Sister Sara (1969) C-
Universal
has decided to issue three of Clint Eastwood early Hollywood Westerns as The Clint Eastwood Western Icon Collection
and it is the kind of set Meat Loaf could sing about, as two out of three here
are very good. High Plains Drifter (1973) is about an unnamed cowboy (Eastwood)
who comes to a small town to cause havoc and all kinds of trouble. However, the town itself is evil making the
view question who are the lesser of two evils and does the stranger have a
darker secret? Verna Bloom, Geoffrey
Lewis and John Hillerman also star, while Ernest Tidyman’s screenplay is tight.
Joe Kidd (1972) has Eastwood as the title
expert gunfighter suddenly hired to settle a border dispute on behalf of some
U.S. land owners, et al, but when he sees what is really going on and gets
involved with a female amongst the rebels, he has some serious choices to make. Robert Duvall, John Saxon, Don Shroud and
Dick Van Patten also star.
Two Mules For Sister Sara (1969) was a big star production
with Shirley MacLean as a nun and Eastwood joining her in a disappointing romp
about rebels and fighting the establishment in this comedy that simply
backfires. The Mexican locations are a
plus.
The
anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image on all three films look good and were shot
in real anamorphic Panavision. All made
at a peak time for film release prints, all three were originally issued in
three-strip dye-transfer Technicolor prints and though these prints are not
that great all the time, they have their moments. Sara
was lensed by veteran Director of Photography Gabriel Figueroa (Night Of The Iguana) and was even shown
in 70mm blow-ups upon its original theatrical run, while longtime Eastwood
cinematography Bruce Surtees (who began shooting with Eastwood and Don Siegel
in 1971, as well as on films like The
Outfit, Lenny and Night Moves) does an amazing job in
taking lessons learned from the Sergio Leone/Tonino Delli Colli westerns
Eastwood usually starred in. Can’t wait
to see these in HD-DVD.
The Dolby
Digital 2.0 Mono is sufficient, continuing Universal’s policy of keeping
monophonic Eastwood films mono, while Warner has upgraded a few of his films to
5.1. Sara was a 6-track magnetic stereo
film in 70mm prints, so why Universal does not use those tracks is a mystery, unless
they are lost? Especially with a score
by Ennio Morricone, it would make he film more interesting and watchable. Kidd
was scored by the great Lalo Schifrin, while Drifter was scored very effectively by Dee Barton. The only extra
on each film is the original theatrical trailer, though the serious Westerns
call for special editions.
- Nicholas Sheffo