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Eastwood Collection Intro/''Line Of Fire''
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
This is the first title of 7 of the "Clint Eastwood" Collection that I'm going to be looking at. This collection from Warner Brothers offers a box set of 6 titles(In The Line Of Fire, Unforgiven, Beguiled, Bronco Billy, Dirty Harry, Outlaw Josey Wales), and a couple of other efforts that are separate(I will also be taking a look at Kelly's Heroes). The main selling point(and the real selling point) is simply the price. Fans of Eastwood who are looking to acquire these films can find the box set of 6 titles online for as low as $69.99 - about $11.67 a DVD. At that price, fans will definitely be pleased.
On the flip side, there isn't much new here. "In The Line Of Fire"(this particular disc) is a re-issue of the Tristar edition from top to bottom - even the same disc artwork, etc. The new title formerly unavailable on DVD is "Bronco Billy". It would have been nice if Warner Brothers had done the same thing they are rumored to be doing with the upcoming Oliver Stone collection, which will offer new materials on new editions of titles already released.
But, generally, these are all films worthy of a look and the price is certainly nice, so if you're a fan of the actor, let's get started on the first review. Other reviews will be posted every few days until I finish reviewing the set.
Eastwood stars in "In The Line Of Fire" as Frank Horrigan, a secret service agent who was not able to stop the assassination of president Kennedy. Years later, he finds himself in a similar situation once again as an assassin named Mitch Leary(John Malkovich) is trying to get to the president before Frank and the rest of the secret service can stop him.
The plot is a usual thriller, but director Wolfgang Petersen(Das Boot, The Perfect Storm) makes more out of it - the pacing is excellent, and the movie goes by quite fast; Eastwood especially gives every line of dialogue his usual snap and Malkovich gives the assassin role a tone of coldness that makes a very menacing villian. Even Rene Russo is given a chance to shine - although it's not her best role(I still think that's "Tin Cup"), it's still a strong one.
"In The Line Of Fire" is a solid, well-paced and well acted thriller that's a good addition to the Clint Eastwood box set.
The DVD
VIDEO: This is the same transfer that Tristar used for their early edition of the film, which was one of the very first efforts from the studio - it shows that although they didn't quite get things like extras for their first titles, they always certainly knew how to offer good image quality. Sharpness is excellent throughout; this is a consistently smooth and crisp looking image throughout. Detail and clarity are similarly never lacking, either. Colors are very strong - scenes such as the parade offer solid, bold and nicely saturated colors that are pleasing. Fleshtones are generally natural, and black level is solid as well.
There are some little flaws, but these are minor enough to be forgivable for an early DVD release. These involve some slight shimmering here and there, and some similarly hardly noticable amounts of pixelation now and then. The print used is clean and generally free of all but the most minor flaws. Again, Tristar shows that their early efforts stand up to many new releases that are coming out today.
SOUND: I was suprised that "In The Line Of Fire" sounds as good as it does - I've never reviewed the film before, and considering that it's about 7 years old, I was wondering how it sounds. Although it doesn't quite stand up to many newer releases, there are some scenes that are pretty intense. Although many scenes are simply dialogue(and as usual, Eastwood is of few words), but the action scenes - or some of the other crowd sequences, open up the audio well. Surrounds are used fairly often, although maybe not quite agressively as some more recent pictures - they are quite effective when used, though. The score sounds deep and powerful, and comes through with authority. Dialogue is clean and easily heard.
MENUS:: The usual early Tristar menus, which are some of the worst and most basic out there.
EXTRAS: Although almost all of the DVDs in this collection are probably going to be the only version of those particular titles, "In The Line Of Fire" is a Tristar title, which means that this is one of their likely special edition titles; the studio is now frequently going back to make basic older titles into special re-releases. Although a special edition of "In The Line Of Fire" isn't scheduled yet, it seems a likely possibility. As for this disc, which is a re-release of the original Tristar edition, it contains no extra features.
Final Thoughts: I like "In The Line Of Fire" as a film; it's a well-done thriller that's pretty entertaining. Picture quality and audio quality are very solid, but the only thing that this disc really lacks is any extra features at all. Although this is a re-issue of Tristar's edition, hopefully other titles in the Clint collection will be more successful in this aspect.
This is the first title of 7 of the "Clint Eastwood" Collection that I'm going to be looking at. This collection from Warner Brothers offers a box set of 6 titles(In The Line Of Fire, Unforgiven, Beguiled, Bronco Billy, Dirty Harry, Outlaw Josey Wales), and a couple of other efforts that are separate(I will also be taking a look at Kelly's Heroes). The main selling point(and the real selling point) is simply the price. Fans of Eastwood who are looking to acquire these films can find the box set of 6 titles online for as low as $69.99 - about $11.67 a DVD. At that price, fans will definitely be pleased.
On the flip side, there isn't much new here. "In The Line Of Fire"(this particular disc) is a re-issue of the Tristar edition from top to bottom - even the same disc artwork, etc. The new title formerly unavailable on DVD is "Bronco Billy". It would have been nice if Warner Brothers had done the same thing they are rumored to be doing with the upcoming Oliver Stone collection, which will offer new materials on new editions of titles already released.
But, generally, these are all films worthy of a look and the price is certainly nice, so if you're a fan of the actor, let's get started on the first review. Other reviews will be posted every few days until I finish reviewing the set.
Eastwood stars in "In The Line Of Fire" as Frank Horrigan, a secret service agent who was not able to stop the assassination of president Kennedy. Years later, he finds himself in a similar situation once again as an assassin named Mitch Leary(John Malkovich) is trying to get to the president before Frank and the rest of the secret service can stop him.
The plot is a usual thriller, but director Wolfgang Petersen(Das Boot, The Perfect Storm) makes more out of it - the pacing is excellent, and the movie goes by quite fast; Eastwood especially gives every line of dialogue his usual snap and Malkovich gives the assassin role a tone of coldness that makes a very menacing villian. Even Rene Russo is given a chance to shine - although it's not her best role(I still think that's "Tin Cup"), it's still a strong one.
"In The Line Of Fire" is a solid, well-paced and well acted thriller that's a good addition to the Clint Eastwood box set.
The DVD
VIDEO: This is the same transfer that Tristar used for their early edition of the film, which was one of the very first efforts from the studio - it shows that although they didn't quite get things like extras for their first titles, they always certainly knew how to offer good image quality. Sharpness is excellent throughout; this is a consistently smooth and crisp looking image throughout. Detail and clarity are similarly never lacking, either. Colors are very strong - scenes such as the parade offer solid, bold and nicely saturated colors that are pleasing. Fleshtones are generally natural, and black level is solid as well.
There are some little flaws, but these are minor enough to be forgivable for an early DVD release. These involve some slight shimmering here and there, and some similarly hardly noticable amounts of pixelation now and then. The print used is clean and generally free of all but the most minor flaws. Again, Tristar shows that their early efforts stand up to many new releases that are coming out today.
SOUND: I was suprised that "In The Line Of Fire" sounds as good as it does - I've never reviewed the film before, and considering that it's about 7 years old, I was wondering how it sounds. Although it doesn't quite stand up to many newer releases, there are some scenes that are pretty intense. Although many scenes are simply dialogue(and as usual, Eastwood is of few words), but the action scenes - or some of the other crowd sequences, open up the audio well. Surrounds are used fairly often, although maybe not quite agressively as some more recent pictures - they are quite effective when used, though. The score sounds deep and powerful, and comes through with authority. Dialogue is clean and easily heard.
MENUS:: The usual early Tristar menus, which are some of the worst and most basic out there.
EXTRAS: Although almost all of the DVDs in this collection are probably going to be the only version of those particular titles, "In The Line Of Fire" is a Tristar title, which means that this is one of their likely special edition titles; the studio is now frequently going back to make basic older titles into special re-releases. Although a special edition of "In The Line Of Fire" isn't scheduled yet, it seems a likely possibility. As for this disc, which is a re-release of the original Tristar edition, it contains no extra features.
Final Thoughts: I like "In The Line Of Fire" as a film; it's a well-done thriller that's pretty entertaining. Picture quality and audio quality are very solid, but the only thing that this disc really lacks is any extra features at all. Although this is a re-issue of Tristar's edition, hopefully other titles in the Clint collection will be more successful in this aspect.
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