Film 80: Escape from Alcatraz review and The Clint Eastwood Appreciation Society full TV Report

Film 80: Escape from Alcatraz review and The Clint Eastwood Appreciation Society full TV Report

My thanks again to Olly Pedgen for sending me a fresh copy of this great TV report from 1980. This extended excerpt is from the BBC Film 80 programme hosted by the late Barr Norman. This episode turned out to be a double treat for Eastwood fans – featuring a review on the latest Eastwood movie, Escape from Alcatraz directed by Don Siegel and a very special feature on The Clint Eastwood Archive including an interview with founder and owner, Dave Turner. 

Dave remains a long-standing friend of the Archive – his Appreciation society was in fact the main inspiration for the Archive being formed. As teenage fans of Clint, Dave’s magazine was really our only link to the world of Clint, there was nothing better than hearing that magazine drop through the door. 

Ok, so it was irregularly produced, and perhaps a little crude in its appearance – but technology was of course in its infant stages – a typewriter, photo pages cut and pasted together, photocopied and stapled together was about as good as it got - until the magazine was later produced in an A4 size booklet with full colour cover. Nevertheless, it was everything to us fans, with the help of Dave Worrall and Mal Baker the magazine kept us in touch and some lifelong friends have blossomed in return. 

So, enjoy this rare treat – the VHS source originally came from Dave Turner who passed it on to Olly who in turn was kind enough to share here, many thanks’ friends. Thanks also to Davy Triumph for a bit of technical help. 

Tightrope: It was 42 Years ago this week

Tightrope: It was 42 Years ago this week

I was somewhat surprised when our friend Olly Peden dropped me one of his regular updates in regards to Tightrope’s release – which was (rather shockingly) 42 years ago this week. I remember seeing this like it was yesterday, and the waiting outside my local ABC cinema. Actually, it was a rather good period for Clint movies, in the February of 1984 UK audiences welcomed the return of Harry Callahan in the fourth film of the series Sudden Impact. Six months on and we were treated to a second new cop film n the shape of the excellent Tightrope. 

Yes, it was this week on (August 17thth) that Tightrope hit the screens. Tightrope is a film that really tends to divide opinion. I know some fans are really bored by it – but I’ve always really enjoyed it. It was welcoming (imo) to explore the vulnerability of a hard-nosed Eastwood character and in many ways signified a general change in attitudes. Most critics agreed too. 

Roger Ebert praised the film for taking chances by exploring the idea of a hard-nosed cop learning to respect a woman. He cites the film as "a lot more ambitious" than the Dirty Harry movies. Ebert's colleague Gene Siskel also praised the film during their on-air review of the film on At the Movies, crediting the performance of the villain, the relationship between Eastwood and Geneviève Bujold, and Eastwood doing "a terrific job risking his star charisma playing a louse" and also "taking us inside to see what it's really like to abuse women". Janet Maslin concluded that the film "isn't quite top-level Eastwood, but it's close." David Denby stated that as an actor Eastwood "gave his most complex and forceful performance to date." 

I would agree with most of that, in fact I probably enjoy it a great deal more than Sudden Impact – which I saw as simply ‘routine’ and designed just to cash in on the then current trend of vicious filmmaking with films such as Scarface and the cold-blooded killing machine which was The Terminator. 1984 was a monumental turning point for cinematic violence, directly triggering the creation of the PG-13 rating by the Motion Picture Association of America. 

Tightrope was filmed in New Orleans in the fall of 1983. Filming locations include the French Quarter, the Piazza d'Italia, the Dixie Beer Brewery, the Crescent City Connection (the second span of which is seen under construction), and the Creole Queen riverboat.

While Richard Tuggle retained the director's credit, Eastwood reportedly directed much of the film himself after finding Tuggle too indecisive. It eventually grossed $48 million at the United States box office. In its opening weekend Tightrope was number 1, taking in $9,156,545, an average $5,965 per theatre.

My thanks to Olly for the reminder. 

1972 Publicity or the ‘stripy pants’ photo session

1972 Publicity or the ‘stripy pants’ photo session

Here’s a great collection of publicity stills of Clint taken in 1972. For obvious reasons they are often referred to as the ‘stripy pants’ sessions. It does make me smile, an indication of the fashion of the day and what you could or could not get away with. Clint saves the day here by also sporting a classic red Lacoste polo shirt. 

Taken in 1972. Clint was about to embark on a new project called Breezy – which began filming in November of the same year. Apart from a small ‘Hitchcock like’ cameo appearance in the movie, Clint would serve only as director. 

In fact, there are a couple of production shots from Breezy that show Clint wearing a similar pair of those famous stripes – which help to tie these shots together. Outlandish for sure, but you pull it off sir. 

Photo Opportunity #76: On Location Where Eagles Dare

Photo Opportunity #76: On Location Where Eagles Dare

The first of the month reminds me that we have just hit August. I thought I’d scan and post this lovely shot from my own collection – a photo free of any AI interference. It captures Clint and Richard Burton in between shots while on location shooting Where Eagles Dare. It was an ideal chance for some press photographers to capture the 2 stars who both look in relaxed mood. I think it’s a cracking shot with glorious colour detail. 

Clint and a couple of Friends: At the Directors Guild of America Awards on March 12, 1971.

Clint and a couple of Friends: At the Directors Guild of America Awards on March 12, 1971

Here’s a great 10” x 8” still I thought I’d pull and scan from my own collection. It’s a rare shot of Clint in attendance at the Directors Guild of America Awards on March 12, 1971. The ceremony took place at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, and was hosted by Hal Kanter.  This great still features Clint with a couple of co-stars. On the left is actress Elizabeth Hartman with whom Clint had just finished making The Beguiled. On his right is actress Jessica Walter – who had also just completed filming Play Misty for Me.

Sadly, on June 10, 1987, Hartman died after jumping from the window of her fifth-floor apartment. Earlier that morning, she had reportedly called her psychiatrist saying that she felt despondent. On March 24, 2021, Jessica Walter died in her sleep at her Manhattan home. She was 80 years old.

Below: The Los Angeles Times, California Feb 19th 1971

Below: The Los Angeles Times, California March 15th 1971

Rawhide: The Rare Japanese Laserdisc Box Sets

Rawhide: The Rare Japanese Laserdisc sets

Long before the Blu-ray format and even before the DVD format, if you wanted quality over your standard VHS or Betamax tape – you really had to go down the Laserdisc route. Firstly, a brief hstory:

LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. It was developed by Philips, Pioneer, and the movie studio MCA. The format was initially marketed in the United States in 1978 under the name DiscoVision, a brand used by MCA. As Pioneer took a greater role in its development and promotion, the format was rebranded LaserVision (LV). While the LaserDisc brand originally referred specifically to Pioneer's line of players, the term gradually came to be used generically to refer to the format as a whole, making it a genericized trademark. The discs typically have a diameter of 300 millimetres (11.8 in), similar in size to the 12-inch (305 mm) phonograph record. Unlike later optical disc formats, LaserDisc is not fully digital; it stores an analog video signal.

Many titles featured CD-quality digital audio, and LaserDisc was the first home video format to support surround sound. Its 425 to 440 horizontal lines of resolution was nearly double that of competing consumer videotape formats, VHS and Betamax, and approaching the resolution later achieved by DVDs. Despite these advantages, the format failed to achieve widespread adoption in North America or Europe, primarily due to the high cost of players and their inability to record.

In contrast, LaserDisc was significantly more popular in Japan and in wealthier regions of Southeast Asia, including Singapore and Malaysia, and it became the dominant rental video format in Hong Kong during the 1990s. Its superior audio/visual quality made it a favourite among videophiles and film enthusiasts throughout its lifespan.

There is no doubt about it at a time where the only other format was video tape – the Laserdisc was really the first choice when it came to quality. I still have several hundred of them, and while most have been replaced by Blu-ray, the Laserdisc often prove extremely difficult to part with – as a physical piece of media, holding that 12” sleeve with its often-beautiful artwork or gatefold sleeve, simply makes it a thing of aesthetic beauty. It’s like being asked to give up that favourite piece of vinyl in exchange for the CD… It’s something you either get or you don’t. 

So, there it is or there it was - I thought I’d post a little piece focusing on one of the very rare Laserdisc box sets which emerged from Japan. Yes, practically every Eastwood film was featured on the format – I even have the episode of Death Valley Days which featured Clint on the Laserdisc format (left). However, the Rawhide series did make an appearance on LD through a variety of different ‘Special Selection’ box sets. To be honest, there were 217 episodes of Rawhide, which aired from January 9, 1959, to December 7, 1965 – a vast amount to make it fully to the format – so a ‘selection’ basis was always going to be the way to go.

These days, to find any of the rare boxsets is hard, but every now and then a set appears on auction sites such as Ebay, and still command an extremely high price. 

I never owned anything of Rawhide on Laserdisc, even back in the day these 6 Disc box sets were extremely expensive. As far as I can research, I believe there was 4 boxsets released of the Rawhide: Special Selection sets. These sets often featured Japanese language on channel 1/L and English language on channel 2/R. and had Japanese subtitles only to interpret English language signs and writings that appear on-screen. 

What couldn’t be denied is the quality packaging these sets came in. The Japanese market is still regarded as the finest when it comes to their packaging, they are just of a higher standard – and a reason which continues to see the products reaching higher asking prices. 

I was inspired to create this post for a couple of reasons, firstly, there really is nothing here on the archive covering Rawhide on Laserdisc, and secondly, when I found this Vol. 4 set recently on Ebay, I was taken by the quality photographs that the seller had taken – if ever there was a perfect example or visual representation – this was surely it. Just as a point of interest, this particular set featured here is currently up on Ebay for $182.32 (Approximately£135.53) – by way of comparison, you can find the entire Rawhide series (all 217 episodes) on the DVD format for around $108.00 or approximately£80.28. The Vol.4 Laserdisc boxset featured here as an example contained 6 discs, with one episode contained over each of its sides. The episodes featured were Incident at El Crucero (1963), Incident of the Slavemaster (1960), Incident of the Shambling Man (1959), Incident at the Buffalo Smokehouse (1959), Encounter at Boothill (1965), Walk into Terror (1965), Piney (1964), Hostage for Hanging (1965), Incident of No Man's Land (1959), The Sendoff (1961), Incident of the Dogfaces (1963) and Incident of the Gilded Goddess (1964).     

Below: The front and back of the Vol 4 Box set       

Below: the 6 individually sleeved Laserdiscs front and backs

Below: Spines

Below: The accompanying booklet 

Rare Rawhide Candid from 1964

Rare Rawhide Candid from 1964

I stumbled across this wonderful photo on the web some time ago and stuck it in a folder for good keeping. I pulled it last week and began restoring it removing spots and blemishes, improving the colour balance and was really pleased with the results, pleased enough to post it here anyway.

The picture captures Clint, Paul Brinegar (Wishbone) (1917-1995) and one of the Rawhide crew. Paul Brinegar would also later appear in Clint’s first self-directed western, High Plains Drifter (1973). The photo was taken in a diner, apparently in 1964. The year 1964 was significant of course as this was also the same year Clint departed for Rome during the Rawhide Hiatus in order to make a little picture called The Magnificent Stranger. I wonder what ever happened to that movie?

This photo captures a great moment in time and free of any AI interference – just as it should be. 

My kindest thanks to the original uploader of the photo.