Eastwood Factor, The (2010)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Ninety-minute documentary on the career of legend Clint Eastwood focuses in on his directorial work at Warner. As with most documentaries by Schickel, he lets the act himself tell the story so we get Eastwood going one-on-one with the camera and discussing his films, his way of shooting things and other bits of trivia including his golf game. This isn't the first time director Schickel has made a film on Eastwood but this one here is certainly the more detailed of the two. If one is looking for something to cover his entire career then you're not going to find it here but if you're looking for something covering his Warner years then you're not going to be disappointed. It goes without saying but films like UNFORGIVEN, MILLION DOLLAR BABY, MYSTIC RIVER and his WW2 double-feature are all covered but you can also hear Eastwood discuss these films on countless other releases. I think the best thing about this documentary is that we get to hear his discuss films like HONKEYTONK MAN, PALE RIDER, FIREFOX, WHITE HUNTER BLACK HEART and BRONCO BILLY. It's interesting hearing the director look back at some of his lesser known works and discuss why he made them and how he feels about them today. The documentary also covers some more interesting grounds including Eastwood taking us on a trip to some of his sets and how they look today. Another trip includes a costume warehouse where many of his most famous outfits remain including stuff from DIRTY HARRY, PALE RIDER and UNFORGIVEN. I thought the documentary did a good job at jumping back and forth through these films, although I'm sure someone is going to have a favorite film that doesn't get talked about as much as he would like. That's just a part of documentaries like this as they're not always going to cover the films you want covered but that just comes with the territory. For the most part this film hits all the right notes and will be a must see for fans of Eastwood.
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Ninety-minute documentary on the career of legend Clint Eastwood focuses in on his directorial work at Warner. As with most documentaries by Schickel, he lets the act himself tell the story so we get Eastwood going one-on-one with the camera and discussing his films, his way of shooting things and other bits of trivia including his golf game. This isn't the first time director Schickel has made a film on Eastwood but this one here is certainly the more detailed of the two. If one is looking for something to cover his entire career then you're not going to find it here but if you're looking for something covering his Warner years then you're not going to be disappointed. It goes without saying but films like UNFORGIVEN, MILLION DOLLAR BABY, MYSTIC RIVER and his WW2 double-feature are all covered but you can also hear Eastwood discuss these films on countless other releases. I think the best thing about this documentary is that we get to hear his discuss films like HONKEYTONK MAN, PALE RIDER, FIREFOX, WHITE HUNTER BLACK HEART and BRONCO BILLY. It's interesting hearing the director look back at some of his lesser known works and discuss why he made them and how he feels about them today. The documentary also covers some more interesting grounds including Eastwood taking us on a trip to some of his sets and how they look today. Another trip includes a costume warehouse where many of his most famous outfits remain including stuff from DIRTY HARRY, PALE RIDER and UNFORGIVEN. I thought the documentary did a good job at jumping back and forth through these films, although I'm sure someone is going to have a favorite film that doesn't get talked about as much as he would like. That's just a part of documentaries like this as they're not always going to cover the films you want covered but that just comes with the territory. For the most part this film hits all the right notes and will be a must see for fans of Eastwood.