This collection features four films spanning sixteen years in the ongoing career of Mr Eastwood: The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), Bronco Billy (1980), Pale Rider (1985) and Unforgiven (1992). As a longtime fan of Clint, I think this collection is a great way to showcase him in `western’ mode. Whilst the first three are not quite as intense and humorless as his famous `spaghetti’ westerns - which I thoroughly enjoy - Unforgiven sure packs a punch. Heck, I just love seeing Eastwood on horseback, squinting silently from beneath his trademark hat! He’s got such a screen presence that I’m sure my judgement of his films is going to be biased, but you have been warned!

Each film is directed by Eastwood, and he was also producer on Pale Rider and Unforgiven, the latter scooping four Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director. That may or may not mean much depending on how much credit you give these ceremonies, but it’s certainly considered a modern classic in the genre, examining the nature of revenge. It’s as complex an exploration of the morality of the western hero as you’re likely to see, and surely a culmination of Eastwood’s talents behind the camera. I’ll give a quick synopsis of each film.

“The Outlaw Josey Wales” is set in 1861, around the end of the Civil War in America, and begins as any gritty western should - with the hero’s wife and children being brutally murdered before his very eyes by a renegade band of baddies (Kansas `redlegs’) determined to keep the war alive. This heinous act drives him to join a `guerilla’ unit of border wanderers against the redlegs, where he avenges his family’s murder. This unit gets ambushed in a doublecross when their leader, Fletcher, talks them into surrendering.

Josey had chosen to wander alone rather than surrender, so again witnesses the horrors of war. With a bounty now on his head, he is pursued by the ambushers and anyone else who fancies they can take him down. Along the way he grudgingly becomes `protector’ to a ragtag bunch of souls he saves. There are moments of humour scattered throughout, believe it or not, and the portrayal of Native Americans is refreshingly positive. An entertaining film in DD 5.1, aspect ratio 2:35:1 widescreen and loads of subtitle options.

“Bronco Billy” is the owner, and father figure, of a travelling wild west sideshow whose troupe of performers tread water just above the poverty line as they enchant audiences with their homage to the old west. They come across a wealthy but cynical heiress whose new husband has stolen her money and identification, deserting her after a hastily arranged marriage; a condition of claiming her inheritance. Her wicked stepmother who wants the money declares her missing presumed dead, and convinces the new husband who is in jail under suspicion of murdering her to plead guilty in return for lots of money when he gets out. With me so far? Okay.

The heiress discovers that the world thinks she’s dead when she sees her photo in the newspapers. She reluctantly decides to travel with Billy’s troupe as a paid assistant until she can earn enough money to get home and announce herself as alive, all the while not telling them what she’s worth. But love gets in the way almost as much as the ridiculous storyline.

This film is the true misfit of the collection, and seems crummy and amateurish in every way against the others. At close on seventy minutes it is mercifully short. I would have left this one off without a second thought. This was actually the only film in this collection that I had never seen before, and I was right to have avoided it in the past. I guess it made it in on the strength of the `cowboy’ connection. Eastwood did this? Yikes! How the mighty can fall. Sound is DD 2.0, aspect ratio 1:85:1.

Beginning yet again with a scene of chaos, “Pale Rider” sees Eastwood as a wandering preacher who really shakes things up when he decides to help a small community of goldpanners. They have been suffering under a campaign of terror waged by the hired guns of a wealthy mine owner who wants their land. Befriending one family in particular, he inspires the men of the community to fight back. Of the four films featured in this collection, this film most closely recalls the formula of his earlier European westerns, and I have to say that I prefer seeing Eastwood as the lone gunslinger with no past.

There is a vein of sentimentality present throughout which I think adds to the film, but that is certainly not typical of the genre. This is my favourite film in the collection. There is a real atmosphere created, and the mountain scenery is beautiful. I totally love the main township - nestled amid snow-capped mountains, every sound echoing for miles. It’s used to great effect in the closing scenes, and there are some powerful explosions along the way which really got my subwoofer working. Sound is DD 5.1, aspect ratio 2:35:1 widescreen and which again offers loads of subtitles.

“Unforgiven” tells the story of an ex-gunslinger (Eastwood) who is tempted out of retirement by a young wannabe in ORDER to collect a bounty offered by some prostitutes from a nearby town. The women offer a sizeable sum to anyone who kills the two men who cut up their colleague. Deciding to ask his old pal (Freeman) to join them, they hit the trail one more time and end up at loggerheads with the Sheriff of Big Whiskey (Hackman, who won Best Supporting Actor for this role) who brutally enforces the town’s no guns allowed policy. This is a rather reflective piece of filmmaking for Eastwood - it’s as if he is looking back on his own celluloid outlaw image and coming to some kind of moral decision about its validity. Definitely the darkest film in this collection, and this brooding quality is what makes it, and demands comparison with Pale Rider and The Outlaw Josey Wales, which seem so `black and white’ by comparison. Sound is DD 5.1, aspect ratio 2:35:1 widescreen. Watch it with your brain switched on.

As a collection, this is a decent example of how a studio can showcase a genre as well as a particular actor. Eastwood’s body of work is large enough to justify several collections, and Warner Brothers have been wise to test the water with this. Trust me when I say that these films are cheaper to buy as a package than individually, by the way. I have seen another two `Clint Eastwood Collection’ packs on the shelves which feature his `Dirty Harry’ series, and also his `man with no name’ westerns. I’ll be getting them. The packaging deserves a mention - a sturdy slipcase that houses the four DVD’s in a foldout casing, and a small booklet giving you all the info most people would ever need about each film. The only downside is Bronco Billy, but I guess not everyone is going to think it’s awful…but it sure is compared to the quality of the rest. However, if you like outlaws, misfits and an endless expanse of rugged landscape you would want to own this. I’m an Eastwood fan, so I’m possibly biased, but I don’t think you have to be an Eastwood fan to enjoy this - image is everything, and his contribution is unique - Eastwood holds his own against the pioneers of the genre.

THE EXTRAS

Apart from the basic scene and language selections common to all, The Outlaw Josey Wales has the most extras, which I did look over. There is a superfast (45 second) intro by Eastwood which you can take or leave. Also a cheesy eight minute mini-doco called “Eastwood In Action” which perhaps serves the purpose of making you aware that he directs as well as acts, with a few action grabs of people falling off horses in his movies. Unnecessary, especially given the fact that there is a thirty minute documentary called “Hell Hath No Fury: The Making Of The Outlaw Josey Wales” which covers everything you might need to know. I would recommend watching this, especially before watching the film, as it offers just the kind of trivia that places the film in context, likely to enhance your enjoyment of the film. The film succeeded commercially despite a presumed lack of interest in the western genre in the 70’s. Remember Staying Alive? How different can you get? There is also a trailer and cast & crew listing included.

Unforgiven also has a couple of extras thrown in, but they are insubstantial. You get a cast & crew listing, a list of the awards the film has won and a trailer.

The extras are lacking, but who would buy a collection on the strength of extras alone?

CONCLUSION

This collection features four films spanning sixteen years in the ongoing career of Mr Eastwood: The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), Bronco Billy (1980), Pale Rider (1985) and Unforgiven (1992). As a longtime fan of Clint, I think this collection is a great way to showcase him in `western’ mode.