Monday, 30 June 2014

Clint Eastwood Universal Blu Ray Box Set Released in August

Instead of going into detail on
this release, I have chosen to paste a comment which I left on Amazon today -
I believe it explains my thoughts. Whilst I am of course happy to see these
fantastic titles released (the Universal period for me - is just gold dust) I
still have some major issues regarding their content. I can't help but fear
they may not of been treated with the respect they deserve -

On paper this looks good - I just
wonder though how the extras will be - this seems to be the ideal opportunity
for Universal to do it properly.... but I'm not holding my breath. I hope they
would of tracked down Clint's featurette THE STORYTELLER filmed in 1971, during
the making of The Beguiled, The Storyteller is the first Documentary short ever
directed by Eastwood. Shot in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, under the Malpaso
Production Company, it has a running time of 12 minutes. There is also another
featurette made during High Plains Drifter - A MAN NAMED EASTWOOD - another
essential piece that should be included in this package...Radio spots,
Trailers, TV spots??? Anyone know if there are any commentaries included? There
are plenty of Eastwood experts around... authors, biographers? Any stills
galleries? I know there is an open ended interview with both Eastwood and
MacLaine recorded during the making of TWO MULES FOR SISTER SARA - I know
because I have it... Is this to be included? I've never reviewed anything here
prior to its release, so I will give it 5 stars simply because I support the
release of these movies on the Blu Ray format (Eiger should look wonderful).
But, without sounding like a broken record, I know Universal can be lazy. I
fear this collection will not feature (other than probably a standard trailer)
any of the above extras - but its about time they should. Fans have spent
generously over the decades - the Video Cassette - the Laserdisc - the DVD... they're a
loyal bunch. I've always looked upon the Blu ray format as a representation of
quality - not just in terms of its spec - but also in terms content - the high end
choice. However, I think a lot of the studios now just use it as a common
dumping ground - another outlet in order to recycle - and with little
consideration as to what makes the format something special. It's a shame - and
probably another chance gone missing - I guess we'll just have to wait and see.