Two new box sets are available to own on DVD from 2 June 2010:
CLINT EASTWOOD ACTION COLLECTION
$34.95RRP
Firefox, Heartbreak Ridge,
Kelly’s Heroes, and Where Eagles Dare.
CLINT EASTWOOD DIRECTOR’S COLLECTION:
$44.95
Flags of our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima,
Mystic River and Unforgiven.
Both box sets include The Eastwood Factor,
an intimate short film from Richard Schickel offering a
rare personal look at Eastwood.
A selection of Clint Eastwood titles will also be promoted for a limited time on BLU-RAY and DVD, each with a fresh new look.
A complete list is available at the end of this release.
Four of these titles will also debut on
BLU-RAY for $19.95RRP:
Where Eagles Dare, Absolute Power, Kelly’s Heroes and The Rookie.
Clint Eastwood’s illustrious motion picture career has spanned more than a half century and has touched generations of filmgoers. The filmmaker/actor has won five Academy Awards®, and his films have grossed nearly $2 billion at the domestic box office. Warner Home Video (WHV) will celebrate Eastwood and his 35-year association with the studio through Malpaso Productions with two new box set offerings – action and director’s Collections – plus a range of promoted titles, four of which will debut on Blu-ray for first time ever!
The action collection contains four early Eastwood films from the Warner library and highlights his earlier work – Firefox, Heartbreak Ridge, Kelly’s Heroes, and Where Eagles Dare.
The director’s collection contains four iconic films directed by Eastwood – Flags of our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima, Mystic River and Unforgiven.
Both box sets include The Eastwood Factor, an intimate short film from Time magazine critic and film historian Richard Schickel. The Eastwood Factor presents Eastwood in a way he’s rarely seen – visiting film locations or sites where his movies were created, and on the Warner lot visiting the costume department and Eastwood Scoring Stage, as well as at his home. Eastwood’s candid, intelligent and often humorous interviews about his body of work and the choices he made, along with Schickel’s selection of scenes from his movies (including his upcoming Invictus), results in an up-close and personal portrait of one of the great icons of our era. The end result is a clear reminder of why Eastwood’s career as both a great filmmaker and actor has been so enduring and his work so respected.
“I’ve known Clint for most of the time he’s been at Warner Bros.,” said Schickel. “I was fortunate to be able to wander around the Warner lot with him and hear his reminiscences. To be able to show him in the places where he works and lives and feels most comfortable is, I think, a unique opportunity.”
Select titles will also be available for download via iTunes, Xbox Live and other digital retailers.
The full 288-page book from Richard Schickel, entitled Clint: A Retrospective, will be published at the end of early March by Sterling Publishing Inc. This definitive appraisal contains 325 photographs, meticulously researched from Warner Bros.’ files and other key image archives. It is Schickel’s homage to the actor who, Schickel says, has most inspired him as a critic over the years. Eastwood himself provides an introduction. A 20-minute version of the full-length documentary will accompany the book, which will also be released in all English-speaking territories overseas.
In making the announcement, Jeff Baker, WHV’s Executive VP and General Manager, Theatrical Catalogue said, “There is not much you can say that hasn’t already been said about this amazingly talented man. We are so proud to have had such a longstanding association with Clint, and we’re delighted to be releasing these collections so both loyal fans and those newly discovering Clint can enjoy his wonderful body of work.”
Eastwood’s relationship with Warner Bros. began in 1975 with the signing of a long-term pact, and Eastwood’s Malpaso Productions moved onto the studio’s storied lot. Among the many awards the actor/filmmaker has received for his work are four Oscars® and 11 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director Academy Award® wins for Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby, both of which were made at Warner Bros. Eastwood has also received five Golden Globes®, countless critics association accolades and Lifetime Achievement awards from, among others, the Directors Guild of America, Screen Actors Guild, the American Film Institute and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (Cecil B. DeMille Award). In addition, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented him with the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. Recently, Eastwood was made a commander in the prestigious French Legion of Honor (Légion d’honneur), cited for his “body of work, his longevity and his ability to delight audiences around the globe.”
Early in his career, Eastwood starred as the “Man with No Name” in A Fistful of Dollars, his first “spaghetti western,” which was a box office success and drew attention to the young actor. Additional roles followed, including the role of Harry Callahan in five “Dirty Harry” films, beginning in 1971. That same year, he made his directorial debut with Play Misty for Me. Other noted Eastwood films include the Charlie Parker biography Bird; The Bridges of Madison County; In the Line of Fire; Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil; White Hunter, Black Heart; Absolute Power; Space Cowboys; Mystic River; Flags of Our Fathers; Letters from Iwo Jima; and, most recently, Gran Torino. His newest film, Invictus, stars Oscar® winners Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon in the inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela joined forces with Francois Pienaar, captain of South Africa’s rugby team, to help unite their country.