Did anybody catch the Clint Eastwood directing documentary last night on TCM? Very disapointing.
Instead of a piece examining the merit and thematic values of his very lengthy (and mostly pretty solid) directing filmography, we get a blowjob on St. Clint and gee what a great guy he is by his peers. They did bring up that AMAZING STORIES episode which Eastwood directed, so that's good.
A good opportunity to examine his directing career, initially he directed mostly star vehicles for himself (because the studios wouldn't hire him for non-Clint pictures) and a parallel development of him taking production control of his own movies. Then he got to increasingly flex his ambitions and talents beyond shoot-em ups in the 80s and onward and is now a respected Oscar-winning director.
Hell use this to pimp some obscure gems of his that maybe people might not be aware of. Take WHITE HUNTER BLACK HEART, his thoughtful pseudo-John Huston biography which takes a critical look at the macho, righteous take charge persona that made Eastwood's acting career. Or his decent A PERFECT WORLD with Kevin Costner.
