Messages

1

Eastwood News / Re: Guardian Interview with Clint Eastwood

« on: June 21, 2008, 10:56:46 AM »

Some people just like to spark controvery, no matter how shallow, or factually inaccurate that may be.  Clint Eastwood is one of the most respected and renowned actor/directors of the last half century.  His films have almost always been top tier, and many times pushed the envelope, but without crossing the line.  It has many times made him the target of remarks and critiques, yet I have never seen anything "stick".  Like a skilled matador, Eastwood has always been able to whip the cape (or is it poncho?  ) and deflect the charges of the bulls.  Ole'!   

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Eastwood News / Re: Flags of our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima DVD release news

« on: November 28, 2006, 06:32:27 PM »

I caught the film at the theater with my father right before they stopped showing it not too long ago.  Him and I rarely go to the movies or go much of anywhere together, but we do get out and see war films from time to time.

Anyway, I will be looking forward to getting Flags of Our Fathers on DVD.  "Director's Commentary" will be my first stop if it is available as an option.   

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Eastwood News / Re: New Dollars DVDs: Special Editions with extras

« on: July 12, 2006, 10:29:58 AM »

English Dub in Mono?  Fantastic!  Would you happen to know a DVD retailer online that sells and ships these to customers in the USA?

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Movie Night / Re: Vote for Movie Night - July '06

« on: June 26, 2006, 03:45:38 PM »

I can't believe I haven't noticed Movie night until now.  Does anyone else have Instant Messanger?  We could make a chat and talk directly as the movie plays.
Looking forward to it. 

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Eastwood News / Re: New Dollars DVDs: Special Editions with extras

« on: June 26, 2006, 03:35:33 PM »

Does the German version have english subtitles? Or is it just dubbed in German only?  Is that the version of For a Few Dollars more that came with the watch replica?  You guys are great, thanks for the information.

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Clint Eastwood Westerns / Re: JOE KIDD

« on: June 21, 2006, 04:52:41 PM »

I like a few things in this movie that makes it occationally viewable.  First off, the music is quirky and somewhat layed back.  Fits the scenes in many places quite well. 

Joe gunning the guy down in the bar with the shotgun was both hilarious and entertaining.  As is the scenes where he throws the guy down the stairs and get another guy with the water pot later in the film.  The creativeness of tackling enemies is where this film earns points with me.  The story certainly doesn't do much for it.  The "Slapstick" as one of you called it is about all I enjoy in the movie. 

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Eastwood News / Re: New Dollars DVDs: Special Editions with extras

« on: June 21, 2006, 04:13:25 PM »

Well, as I have mentioned before, I work at a Best Buy electronics store.  Today I talked with the representative from MGM.  First time I had been working when he came in that I can recall.  I chatted with him for a good fifteen minutes about all sorts of things MGM related.  I bet you can all guess what the main questions on my mind were.

I first asked him what his thoughts were on the buyout by Sony.  He said he despised it, as they were so disorganized and uninterested in what the consumers wanted.  This did not surprised me, as these are my thoughts on Sony, as I have (Perhaps overly-)expressed here many times.

I mentioned the movies we are all interested in hearing news about.  He not only knew of the special edition releases of which I speak, but revealed that he too was a HUGE Eastwood fan.  He talked briefly about Sony pulling older films like [For a Few Dollars More] from Kroger stores where he used to stock them and have them move on a regular basis with Sony drivel like White Chicks.  He said no one ever buys that stuff and he hates having to pull classics from the shelves that people are actually interested in. 

I understood his frustrations, and gave my condolences on the situation, then pressed again for information specifically on Fistfull of Dynamite, Fistfull of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More Special Editions.  He said he knew of them and that MGM had them planned to release months ago, but after the Sony takeover they are still in Limbo at the moment. 

He promised he'd keep his ears open and let me know if he heard anything new on the situation from his corporate offices.  I thanked him kindly for the conversation and the info. 

All I accomplished was confirming what we already know, but I now have a contact by which I may learn more information as it becomes available.  At which time I will rush here to share with you all, should I learn anything new.   

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Eastwood News / Re: Clint makes best autograph top ten.

« on: June 15, 2006, 02:41:11 AM »

If you got that chance, what one item of yours would you have him Autograph for you?  I would take my Special Edition of GBU for certain and the best quality  fine tiped marker I could find. 

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Eastwood News / Re: Eli and The Good The Bad and the Ugly NFT LONDON

« on: June 15, 2006, 02:36:43 AM »

I am envious of those who were able to attend, but on the other hand extremely happy for you and so glad it was a nice event.  Ohio, USA isnt exactly known for having prestigious events like this to commemorate classic films.  I have to live vicariously through your thoughts and pictures that you share here on the forums.  For that, my friends, I humbly thank you. 

10

Eastwood News / Re: New Dollars DVDs: Special Editions with extras

« on: June 15, 2006, 02:27:58 AM »

If they do not appear by the end of the year, I am going to purchase a region free DVD player and import the United Kingdom versions of the three films. 

I won't even go into extensive details again, but I really despise Sony.  As a company they seek your money, as many times as possible, and with as little concern for what the consumer actually wants as possible. 

This Blu-ray stuff is a joke.  I am perfectly content with the DVD format.  The Playstation 3 is touted as going to cost $600 US dollars.  It has no innovations, but merely steals the ideas of its competitor's new consoles (Nintendo and Microsoft).  You know full well that they don't even care to make a quality gaming system.  "Playstation 3" is nothing but a Trojan Horse to install a Blue-ray user base in thousands of homes. 

I hear dedicated Blu-ray players have to be connected to a phone line to recieve updates as to what it blocks and allows to be watched on the player.  How much control do they really need to have over what we view?   

I rant too much, and I appologize once again.  I've just been waiting (mostly patiently) for many months for these new editions to hit store shelves in North America. 

I especially want to see For a Few Dollars More's extras, and I want to see Fistfull of Dynamite period, as I have never seen the film.  I own the other two, Once upon a Time in the West and Once Upon a Time In America, and I'd like to see the other peice of that movie set. 

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Eastwood News / Re: New Dollars DVDs: Special Editions with extras

« on: November 03, 2005, 08:41:17 PM »

Oh well, thanks for digging that information up for us.  I appreciate it.  Had that thing played such a memorable tune like in the film, I am certain Matt and I both would have jumped to import that bad boy.  I will just be patient and wait for the region 1 release. 

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Eastwood News / Re: New Dollars DVDs: Special Editions with extras

« on: October 04, 2005, 05:39:17 PM »

If that watch plays the tune from the movie, I'd import that German version of For a Few Dollars More just to get my hands on that collectible!

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Clint Eastwood Westerns / Re: The Movie Duo - Allusions to Good and Evil?

« on: September 22, 2005, 02:17:09 PM »

Thanks for the opinion on the matter Vik.  Very good analogies drawn in your response. 

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Clint Eastwood Westerns / The Movie Duo - Allusions to Good and Evil?

« on: September 19, 2005, 06:09:53 PM »

In the topic "Joe, Manco, and Blondie", the member Vik made a comment that spurred me to create this thread for discussion.  Here I pose the questions, "Are the films High Plains Drifter and Pale Rider a duo?" and "Do they represent a sort of Ying and Yang of Eastwood westerns showing the sides of good and evil spirits wreaking havoc on the misdeeds of humans?"

Vik said that perhaps the appearance of the Preacher could have been a repercussion of the actions taken by the Drifter.  Of course the two movies are set in entirely different locations and have uniquely different characters, but the message is the same, with different means used to reach the ends.  However, is the violence used by the Preacher all that different than that of the Drifter? 

I seek not to draw continunity or any solid connection between the films in that sense, but to more or less discuss the similarities and the common themes that run between the two.  With such aloof and often vague, mysterious characters as those portrayed by Eastwood this last question can be difficult to give a serious answer on, but more or less just for theorizing about.

The Drifter and Preacher are often explained as avenging spirits, and seem to be supernatural, what are your thoughts?

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Eastwood News / Re: New Dollars DVDs: Special Editions with extras

« on: September 19, 2005, 02:36:57 PM »

My apologies for chasing rabbits.  The frustration and anticipation for the other special editions of the Leone classics stirred up my anger a bit towards Sony.  To run things back on topic, I am curious what the boxart will look like for the Region 1 release...

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Eastwood News / Re: New Dollars DVDs: Special Editions with extras

« on: September 17, 2005, 06:12:56 PM »

Sony just likes to stick it to the consumers.  They have enough of the masses duped into thier products, hype and "name brand recognition" that they don't have to care what the above average, intelligent people (That is us, my friends) want or need. 

Thier customer service department is a joke as well.  Again I go to a product analogy.  This because I work in an electronics retail store and deal with customer complaints about Sony on a regular basis.

People have trouble with a Sony Vega Television set?  Do you think Sony does anything about it?  If that warranty is expired, it is hundreds of dollars to get te thing sent away for repairs.

People have trouble with thier Playstation 2?  It's a good $85+ to have it sent in for repair.  A new one is $150, so most people just grumble and buy a new one.  Thier competitor in that realm, Nintendo, has supurb customer service.  You barely ever have to wait long on the phone to get ahold of a representative, and thier people are always more than willing to help you out.  My Gamecube system malfunctioned on me about a year after I purchased it.  You know how much it was to have it shipped in, repaired, and sent back in less than two weeks?  $40+.  It was not bad at all.  Thier representative that visits the store gives our employees free goodies all the time as well.  T-shirts, video game accessories and the like.  Have I ever met or seen a Sony representative come to our store?  Never, not once.  Yet Nintendo and Microsoft have a rep visit every month, goodies in tow.  They come in and repair or replace the in store displays of thier products as they become worn or used.  The store has to pay out of its own money to replace Sony displays.  They are worthless in my book.

It reminds me of the cheapness of American automobiles in the 1970's.  A term my father explained to me, "Planned obsolence".  Meaning the stuff is designed to fail within a year or two.  That way the company makes more money off people paying for repairs or just flat out having to buy a replacement.

Everytime Sony buys someone out I cringe.  Thier policies and methods baffle me, and thier decisions on what titles to appear under thier label, wiether it be Music CDs, Video games, or Movie DVDs is ridiculous at best. 

I have lost any respect for that company, and try to avoid purchasing anything with the name SONY on it whenever I can manage it.  They are greedy, and they do not care one iota about thier customers' needs or desires. 

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Clint Eastwood Westerns / Re: Tuco the comedian

« on: September 10, 2005, 11:48:30 PM »

BLONDIE! Do you know what you are?  Just a dirty son of a... Aye eeh aye eeh ahhhhh, duh dun duh...

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Eastwood News / Re: New Dollars DVDs: Special Editions with extras

« on: September 10, 2005, 11:40:15 PM »

 

I would just like to take a moment to rant about how much I despise Sony Entertainment America.  They halted the release of excellent video games made by Capcom for thier Playstation console back in the late 1990's because said games were "2-D and not of any interest to American game players."  The games got released everywhere else but region 1 thanks to Sony America. 

I wanted Playstation version of MegaMan X3 back then, and they deemed it unworthy.  That left a bad taste in my mouth.  The fear that they will never release the awesome Dollars special editions now that they devoured MGM is in the back of my mind.   

The Dollars Trilogy is among my favorite movie sets of all time.  I have purchased the special editions of The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly, Once Upon a Time in the West, and Once Upon a Time in America.  I must complete my Leone set with the Dollars pair of films and the one I've never seen before, Fistful of Dynamite. 

I am determined enough that if Sony sticks it to American consumers again I'll go around them.  I will purchase a region free DVD player and Import from United Kingdom or Australia for an english release of the movies. 

Sony makes me sick with thier delays, corporate takeovers, and thier pathetic notion that they know what consumers want. 

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Clint Eastwood Westerns / Re: Ennio Morricone

« on: July 02, 2005, 04:04:18 AM »

I have the soundtrack for The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.  It is quite nice to throw in and see if anyone in a group recognizes it.  I especially like throwing it in as an ice breaker at parties.  Someone always invariably looks up from idle chit chat and says "Hey I know that movie!"  Then you know who you should be talking to right off the bat!  Save that BS time with the other people who might bore you to tears with stories of crap movies, relationships or careers.   

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Eastwood News / Re: New Dollars DVDs: Special Editions with extras

« on: June 04, 2005, 03:49:31 PM »

I am very happy that the other two films in the Dollars Trilogy are receiving the special edition treatment.  I am saddened by the news that they have not been announced yet for a region 1 release. 

I work at a Best Buy store and when asked for a classic movie recommendation, my old favorite, The Good The Bad and The Ugly Special Edition is always my first choice to mention to them.  I have sold lots of copies of that film, and always point out Eastwood's films to customers as solid options.  I hope these are released soon, I will be watching our new release calenders at work as soon as a Region 1 release is announced.