I was way too young to appreciate The Beguiled the first time I saw it. I don't remember how old I was but by that point I'd already seen the likes of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, Dirty Harry, Escape From Alcatraz and saw Unforgiven in the theaters - I had a pretty set expectation of what a Clint Eastwood movie was - and The Beguiled was not it! It felt like a lot of talking that wasn't going anywhere. Outside of some flashbacks, there weren't any guns, there wasn't any action, it just kinda plodded along. All my dad would say was "wait for it." And if you haven't seen this Beguiled or the rather solid 2017 remake, that's sound advice, it's worth the wait! The plot turn that sets the final thirty-minutes into motion is a pitch-perfect payoff for the hour and fifteen-minutes of setup that led to that shocking moment. And then the shocks just pile one on top of the other from there.
Today, The Beguiled holds as one of my absolute favorite Clint Eastwood performances. He's cold, calculating, and a bit of an asshole. On one hand, you forgive him because you feel like his survival depends on it. But then things get out of control and you see the real man behind the charming facade. Of the eras of his career, his Jon McBurney is the best of his rising star phase, with Bull Munny and Unforgiven defining his middle. For his later career, it's a tossup for me between Frankie Dunn in Million Dollar Baby and Walt Kowalski in Gran Torino. Both of those films showcased Eastwood's signature tough-guy-with-a-heart character. But then who knows, it's not like the man is done making movies! Age and a pandemic can't keep Clint from working apparently as production for Cry Macho is set to start filming soon in New Mexico! Hopefully this time next year we're all able to safely sit in a dark theater and enjoy his latest effort on the big screen.
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And this is to say nothing of the rest of the talented cast! Geraldine Page is terrific here playing a woman with some deep dark secrets of her own. There's something about her eyes and her wry little smile you never quite feel comfortable with. Elizabeth Hartman also is a major standout delivering a genuinely innocent and tortured turn as the lovelorn Edwina. Then you have little Pamelyn Ferdin as Amy who is the heart and soul of the school. I especially enjoyed Mae Mercer as Hallie who always had a sense of what was going on calling bullshit when and where she saw it, but maybe not as loudly as she could have given her character's position. As great as Eastwood is in this film, it wouldn't have been anything without this cast of young women. Don Siegel always had a great eye for casting and that touch is on display with every character in this movie. If you haven't checked out The Beguiled yet, it's time you give it a whirl. But watch this one - the 2017 remake is fine, but you should start here.
As one of my favorite Eastwood movies, The Beguiled has had a pretty rough history on home video. The Universal DVD wasn't that impressive barely offering much improvement over VHS beyond a widescreen presentation. The Blu-ray Universal released in 2015 was practically a Greek tragedy of horrible DNR that scrubbed this impeccable production of any detail. I'm happy to report this new 2K master is a godsend! Instantly you can appreciate the work that went into bringing this film to life. Between the location shots in Louisiana to the in-studio interior sets, there's so much incredible design and costuming work for this period thriller that you can finally see and appreciate. Colors are rich and vibrant allowing for the dreary greens and browns of the school grounds to dominate the screen with terrific primary pops of blues, yellow - and especially red! Black levels are also greatly improved without the horrible crush problems of the previous disc giving this new transfer some appreciable depth. Film grain has a natural presence throughout, there are some moments where it's especially thick and noisy, but those scenes are few.
While I no longer have the 2015 disc available for comparison, this new release of The Beguiled doesn't sound as if it received a new audio mix. Truthfully the DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono track from the 2015 disc was the only thing good about that release and it works perfectly well here. Even in its modest state there's some great atmosphere as McBee hobbles around on his crutches through the school building. Dialog is clean throughout, perhaps a bit on the tinny side here and there, but there's a number of sequences where it appears the actors had to dub their lines. Free of any hiss or pops, it's a clean track that gets the job done.
While there may not be a massive assortment of extra goodies to devour here, there are a few highlights. Film Historian Kat Ellinger delivers an interesting commentary slipping in plenty of interesting tidbits of trivia with some great analysis of the film itself. After that, the interview with actress Melody Thomas Scott who really only had a relatively small role here is great stuff. She's an energetic presence with a lot of fun anecdotes about the movie and working with Don Siegel and Clint. All worth checking out.
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