Kino Lorber releases 3 more from Clint Eastwood

Three of Clint Eastwood films of the 1970s have been released on blu ray by Kino Lorber in new restorations with a wealth of special features. These are from during a period where Eastwood was emerging as a major film star, and beginning to extend beyond acting and explore directing. The movies, which are sold separately, are as follows:

THE BEGUILED

Some of Clint Eastwood’s best work was in collaboration with director Don Siegel, as evidenced by the creepily offbeat project. Eastwood play a wounded Civil War soldier on the side of the Union, is taken in and care for at a girls’ school by the headmistress and some students. As his health improves, levels of paranoia and sexual tension consume him. The Beguiled was pretty shocking for its time, and because it was marketed as a typical Eastwood vehicle, moviegoers were confused by its being quite different than the norm. It hold up as one of Eastwood’s and Siegel’s boldest collaborations. The Kino blu ray is a new 2K Master with special features that include a commentary by the always brilliant Kat Ellinger, a new interview with actress Melody Scott Thomas, and a documentary featurette. It is available at this link: BEGUILED

PLAY MISTY FOR ME

Clint Eastwood told his biographer Marc Eliot for the book American Rebel: The Life of Clint Eastwood: “After seventeen years of bouncing my head against the wall, hanging around sets, maybe influencing certain camera set-ups with my own opinions, watching actors go through all kinds of hell without any help, and working with both good directors and bad ones, I reached the point where I was ready to make my own pictures. I stored away all the mistakes I made and saved up all the good things I learned, and now I know enough to control my own projects and get what I want out of actors.” Play Misty For Me is one of the first films to do with stalking, with Eastwood as a DJ who is troubled by an unstable fan. Don Siegel was on the set for most of the filming, and even makes an on-screen cameo. Eastwood brought the film in under budget and ahead of schedule, and it grossed over $10 million at the box office, while receiving praise from critics. The Kino blu ray is a new 2K Master with commentary by Tim Lucas, a video essay by Howard S. Berger, and a new interview with actress Donna mills, as well as two documentaries and several promotional items. It is available at this link: MISTY

THE EIGER SANCTION

Clint Eastwood is back in the director’s chair for this thriller in which he plays a former government assassin who is now living the quiet life of a college art professor. He is pulled back into his old job to avenge a friend’s murder, because the case needs the talents of a skilled mountain climber. This taut, thrilling, and suspenseful film was a dangerous shoot, and at leat one man (body double David Knowles) was killed in a rock fall. Kino’s blu ray is a new 2K Master the features an audio commentary by Nick Pinkerton, an new interview with actor Reiner Schöne, an archival interview with actress Heidi Brühl, and several promotional items. It is available at this link: EIGER

All three of these films are highly recommended, each looking and sounding better than any previous released.