Clint Eastwood: American Icon Collection (Universal DVD)
Average
Picture: C-
Average
Sound: C-
Extras: C
Films:
Play Misty For Me (1971): B-
The Eiger Sanction (1975): C+
Coogan’s Bluff (1968): C+
The Beguiled (1971): B
The title
of this collection, “American Icon,” could not be more apt. American culture has developed its own
mythology based on the values of independence and self-determination, which are
inevitably tempered to support community and the status quo. These values are inextricably entwined with
the parallel mythology of masculinity, and there is no more pure expression of
that masculinity than the star persona of Clint Eastwood. Beginning with his western roles in the 1960s
all the way to his current series of “angry old man” films, Eastwood has played
over 60 roles, directed around 30 features, and instilled every single one of
them with an undeniable American-ness.
This
collection of four films made between 1968 and 1975, represents the period in
Eastwood’s career when he was transitioning from actor to filmmaker and
establishing his depth as an artist. The first film chronologically, made in
1968 (but listed third in the collection), is Coogan’s Bluff. Directed by
Don Siegel, this small-town-cop-comes-to-the-big-city action movie presages the
transition Eastwood himself was about to experience, not just from actor to
director, but also from old west cowboy to contemporary cop. Beginning in John Ford’s legendary Monument
Valley, the film takes Eastwood’s character to New York City where his
straight-forward small-town values clash with the bureaucracy of modern law
enforcement. This transition for Eastwood signals the coming of a future
project with Don Siegel, Dirty Harry.
The last
film in the collection, made in 1970, is yet another film directed by Don
Siegel. The Beguiled is arguably the best film in this collection, but
undeniably the most dramatic, the most cinematic, and the most emotional. Eastwood plays a wounded Union soldier during
the Civil War who is taken in by a southern girl’s boarding school. The psychosexual drama slowly swells to a
climax as Eastwood’s character, at once victim and victimizer, navigates and
manipulates the intrigue stirred by his arrival at the school.
Released
in 1971, Play Misty for Me is the first
in the collection and Eastwood’s first project as director, spurred on by
Siegel’s encouragement (who also has a supporting role). This film is the prototypical story of a
violently obsessed lover, which would lead to a long line of similar films including
Fatal Attraction. The wronged woman in this case is played by
Jessica Walter, who will go on much later to play Lucille Bluth in the cult
show Arrested Development. Play
Misty for Me is a masterfully made and entertainingly disturbing first
directorial effort by Eastwood.
Made last
in 1975, and featured second in the collection is Eastwood’s starring and
directorial vehicle, The Eiger Sanction.
An all-American spy film, this movie
brings together the winning combination of assassination, mountain climbing,
art appreciation, and albinos. Riding on
the heels of the Bond series, this movie falls short in a lot of ways, but
somehow it all comes together into a purely entertaining experience.
Together
these movies embody the American public’s collective consciousness in the era
during which they were made, for better or for worse. Each film contains at least one character,
line, or situation that is bound to offend someone in a modern audience. The
Eiger Sanction has a black government agent named Jemima Brown and a tiny
dog named Faggot. In the production
notes for The Beguiled, Don Siegel
is quoted saying that the film is entirely about a woman’s capacity for
treachery and deceit. The list goes on. But those were the opinions prevalent at the
time. It is important to consider these
films as artifacts of a historical period and take each with a grain of salt.
The
picture and sound quality on the discs is about even across the board. The picture (all in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio with
the exception of The Eiger Sanction
in 2.35:1) bears the unmistakable look of film that has been sitting on a shelf
for close to 40 years. While the
collection is supposedly digitally remastered, all the films have a grainy look
to them that varies from scene to scene. The plus side is that the color on most of the
films does look rather good. The audio
is fairly rendered in Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono in all four films.
The
extras for each film are wildly inconsistent. The
Eiger Sanction and The Beguiled
only have production notes and Coogan’s
Bluff has no extra features at all. Meanwhile,
Play Misty for Me has production
notes, three photo montages, and three mini documentaries consisting of
interviews cut together, one of which runs over 50 minutes long.
Each of
these films is at the least entertaining, and at the best great art. Either way, they are all worth seeing, and the
collection as a whole is representative of a moment in American cinema and
culture. Clint Eastwood is truly an icon
of American mythology, and while his films will not give you an accurate
picture of the reality of American life, they will show you exactly how America
sees itself.
- Matthew Carrick