Clint: The Life and Legend
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Book Overview
Like The Man With No Name, one of his most famous roles, Clint Eastwood has always had an aura of tight-lipped mystery. He has long been an internationally famous star, first of television and then of the movies, and he has more recently joined a select group of Oscar-winning actor-directors, including Orson Welles, Charlie Chaplin and Woody Allen. But the real Clint has always been an enigma-until now. With this gripping and scrupulously researched biography, Patrick McGilligan, one of America's top film writers, has revealed the man behind the indelible image. Throughout his remarkable near-half century career, Eastwood has tended to play characters who are cold, hard and morally ambiguous-from Sergio Leone's "spaghetti westerns" through Hang Em High and Dirty Harry to In the Line of Fire and Unforgiven. No star is more the hero to his audience: a symbol of simple solutions, law & order, and rebellion against bureaucracy. But offscreen, Clint Eastwood has always been an arch manipulator: of women, friends and colleagues, publicity and finance. Always even-handed, managing to steer clear of both fawning over and unfair excoriation of its fascinating subject, this biography sheds definitive light on Clint as actor, director and human being.
Format:Hardcover
Language:English
ISBN:0312290322
ISBN13:9780312290320
Release Date:August 2002
Publisher:St. Martin's Press
Length:612 Pages
Weight:2.22 lbs.
Dimensions:1.7" x 6.6" x 9.6"
Customer Reviews
5 ratings
A faux idol as a person
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 14 years ago
This is the best and no contemplative biography of Eastwood I had never read. No kisses in his ass. No sucking the dust. They're sources that talk whit care in prewing a possible menace. All of his girls-in-love were used as prostitutes in his films. Scripts that Eastwood realized whithout kowning them. A man of usura. And etc. It's not the artistic but the real man in his every day life what is narrated. Of course, american people don't like to see one of his idols cut down to earth as a man. I knew before the kind of Clint.
The Only 'True' Eastwood Biography
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 16 years ago
It's ironic that this biography received such poor ratings when it is the only true Eatwood biography among Eastwood books. The reality is that most people interested in Eastwood don't want to accept or consider that one of their favorite cinimatic personalities might actually be human with human failings. After reading 'Clint' I had a detailed picture of Eastwood the man and his career. The author goes to painstaking detail to capture Eastwood while painting a fascinating portrait of the Hollywood landscape. For such an encompassing biography 'Clint' is suprisingly well paced. Both times I've read 'Clint' I couldn't put it down. I first read 'Clint' 6 years ago when it came out and recently reread it it was so engrossing and enjoyable. If you want to keep thinking of Eastwood as a 'good guy' don't buy 'Clint.' If you want a clear picture of the man this is a fantastic read and book. 'Clint' is a must for those willing to look beyong the vail of the Hollywood PR machine.
Disturbing yet necessary-Clint's still Clint though...
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
I've read this book 4 or 5 times now and I still find it fascinating. Though there are some errors in it, it's still tarnishes Clint's reputation-somewhat. Despite being overtly negative, and sad for those of us who are big fans, Clint will still be Clint to the vast majority. I find it disappointing that he fathered so many kids that he wasn't really a father to, and that he could distance himself from people who were once his friends without so much as a backward glance, but the quote at the end of the book says it all, really. It says: "If you like Clint's films, that's all that matters". I agree, sort of. I just feel let down knowing that someone I admire so much has so many deep character flaws.
Wow! Ain't the Clint I knew !
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 22 years ago
... none of which prepared me for this excellent and hopefully well-researched book. ... The book is fascinating. Of course, one has to understand that no person's long life can be put under the lupe without disclosing some major negatives. (An anti-semitic remark, quoted in CLINT, disturbs me most of all.) In any case, I couldn't put the book down. On the Franklin Scale of 1-10, 10 being best: CLINT is a 10. ...
fascinating portrait
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
McGilligan has produced another great biography with his book on Clint. It's a fascinating portrait of the enigmatic Eastwood which looks at his films and private life. For those out there who have found Clint's recent films (including the over rated UNFORGIVEN)somewhat slapdash, Mr McGilligan's book provides some answers. While fans of Clint might find this bio somewhat harsh about their hero, it comes across as a reasonably fair portrait of the actor/director. This is a thoroughly gripping read and,as usual, the author has supplied his reference sources in great detail. Highly recommended.
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