Clint's grace...

[eustressor]

I went to the local Blockbuster last weekend for the sole purpose of picking up A Fistful of Dollars so I could hop in on the latest film discussion here - AND THEY DIDN'T HAVE IT! It's not a very good Blockbuster...

And I completely missed the restored GBU and could just kick myself. I can only hope that it finds its way on to DVD soon.

So I did rent Bloodwork, and enjoyed it very much. I don't want to go into what I liked, didn't like, etc. too much in light of potential future film discussions.

What I did want to mention, what struck me repeatedly as I watched the film and thought of other recent roles, such as True Crime and Space Cowboys, is how gracefully Clint is handling his own aging process onscreen.

I'll never forget the cheese factor involved watching fifty-something Harrison Ford, who I pretty much admire, hopping from rooftop to rooftop in unintentional slow motion with a bad back in Clear And Present Danger. Clint isn't hiding or running away from his own age.

I find the sensitivity and vulnerability Clint has demonstrated in his post-Unforgiven roles, embracing the unique opportunities for character development and insight provided by his age, to be very moving and quite unique in Hollywood. No less so because of his own background as an action star. At the risk of sounding morbid, I think one more turn in front of the camera, where his character had to face death itself, in the form of simple, inexorable mortality, could make for an amazing capstone to his acting career.

[Brendan]

I went to the local Blockbuster last weekend for the sole purpose of picking up A Fistful of Dollars so I could hop in on the latest film discussion here - AND THEY DIDN'T HAVE IT! It's not a very good Blockbuster...

I'll never forget the cheese factor involved watching fifty-something Harrison Ford, who I pretty much admire, hopping from rooftop to rooftop in unintentional slow motion with a bad back in Clear And Present Danger. Clint isn't hiding or running away from his own age.

First off, yeah Blockbuster is pretty bad. Heck they're pushing Full Screen DVD's... jerks.

And Just wait for Indiana Jones IV when it comes out...

[Matt]

I find the sensitivity and vulnerability Clint has demonstrated in his post-Unforgiven roles, embracing the unique opportunities for character development and insight provided by his age, to be very moving and quite unique in Hollywood. No less so because of his own background as an action star.

I agree, eustressor.  In fact, tonight I won an eBay auction for some Eastwood memorabilia and the seller and I got to talking about Clint.  We didn't send many e-mails back and forth, and yet that very same subject came up when he wrote me:

I also like that fact that he does films recognizing his age like In the Line of Fire.

I thought that was an interesting observation from the more casual Eastwood fan.

I'd also like to see Clint in front of the camera again, and I think we will.

[AKA23]

I agree, eustressor.  In fact, tonight I won an eBay auction for some Eastwood memorabilia and the seller and I got to talking about Clint.  We didn't send many e-mails back and forth, and yet that very same subject came up when he wrote me:I thought that was an interesting observation from the more casual Eastwood fan.

I'd also like to see Clint in front of the camera again, and I think we will.

I think that is an interesting observation for someone casually familiar with Clint. For someone who doesn't profess to be an ardent fan, I would doubt that he would be really thinking in depth about the roles that Eastwood chooses and the characters that he chooses to portray, but this person thought enough about it to come to that conclusion. It's certainly a large part of his appeal for many people.

I'd love to see Clint in front of the camera again too, and I think that more likely than not, we will. Good comments Matt.