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List Price: $25.99 | | Publisher: Harmony
Salesrank: 1534
Released: October 6, 2009 |
| Our Price: $15.20 |
| Used Price: $16.36 |
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| Media: Hardcover |
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Editorial Review:
As an actor, he seduces us with his tough-guy charm. As a director and producer, he amazes us with his artistry and technical savvy. As a Hollywood icon, Clint Eastwood, one of film's greatest living legends, represents some of the finest cinematic achievements in the history of American cinema.
In American Rebel, bestselling author and acclaimed film historian Marc Eliot examines the ever-exciting, often-tumultuous arc of Clint Eastwood's life and career. Unlike past biographers, Eliot writes with unflinching candor about Eastwood's highs and lows, his artistic successes and failures, and the fascinating, complex relationship between his life and his craft. Eliot's prodigious research reveals how a college dropout and unambitious playboy rose to fame as Hollywood' s "sexy rebel," eventually and against all odds becoming a star in the Academy pantheon as a multiple Oscar winner. Spanning decades, American Rebel covers the best of Eastwood' s oeuvre, films that have fast become American classics–Fistful of Dollars, Dirty Harry, Unforgiven, Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, and Gran Torino.
Filled with remarkable insights into Eastwood's personal life and public work, American Rebel is highly entertaining and the most complete biography of one of Hollywood's truly respected and beloved stars–an actor who, despite being the Man with No Name, has left his indelible mark on the world of motion pictures.
American Rebel: The Life of Clint Eastwood Reviews:
Book review 
2009-12-05 - Followed Clint Eastwood since his tv series "Rawhide". Book is a must read for Eastwood fans.
Clint Remains a Mystery 
2009-11-28 - Ideally a biography of a contemporary artist should evaluate three areas: The facts of a human life, the artist's practical management of his career and the success or failure of the artist's creative efforts. Eliot's book on Cary Grant had success in all three areas, and convincingly penetrated Grant's mind sufficiently to say some cogent things about how Grant approached his art as he became the quintessential movie actor. Eliot does not succeed nearly so well with Eastwood.
Eliot recites the facts of Eastwood's life, mostly garnered from the public record (except for his obsessive enumeration of Eastwood's love affairs). Eliot's chronicle of Eastwood's efforts as manager of his own career is the strongest part of the book and the least complementary to Eastwood (the words "self-centered" and "ruthless" leap to mind).
Eliot has nothing to say, however, about Eastwood's artistic achievement. His coverage of the films consists mostly of plot summaries with little analysis. Much of the critical commentary, such as it is, is quoted from various reviewers and writers ranging from putative heavyweights such as Kael, Sarris and Crist to lesser lights such as Rex Reed. Eliot's own proffered insights are not enlightening (to say that many of Eastwood's films are about angry loners and that this may be linked to Eastwood's own loner personality is not a stunning revelation).
I do not suggest that analysis of Eastwood's artistry is easy or simple. Eastwood's career has been prolific, long and varied and any analysis must consider all of its aspects (acting, directing and producing) over time. Not only has Eastwood's technical ability evolved into mastery, but the artistic stance of "Million Dollar Baby," "Mystic River," and "Gran Torino" seem, on the surface at least, utterly different from "Dirty Harry," "The Outlaw Josey Wales" and "Coogan's Bluff." But Eliot seems to find the body of work impenetrable.
A Swift and Thorough Biogrpahy of Clint 
2009-11-14 - Eliot does a good overall job giving us Clint Eastwood the young actor with the struggles and conflicts that future legends must endure to make it. I learned a lot more about Rawhide especially in how the network used his contract to keep him from taking movie work even during hiatus. That struggle led to Clint doing Spaghetti Westerns, something the network figured wouldn't compete with his Rowdy Yates persona. Although Eliot doesn't address it, the reader can surmise that the network conflict gave him an opportunity of a lifetime. Maybe Clint never would have clicked in a conventional Hollywood career.
I had always considered Don Siegel a mentor to Eastwood, and although that is mostly true in Eliot's account, Clint was always itching to direct himself and other than their first pairing it was Clint that chose Siegel rather than the other way around. By their last teaming, they were no longer on the same page and their friendship was hurt as a result.
Eliot also has another contention that I had never heard. Eastwood was resistant to working with other big name actors, especially actresses, because he didn't like to be overshadowed. His pairing with Burt Reynolds was a power struggle between them both and Blake Edwards. Eliot suggests that his all-star cast in UNFORGIVEN was an all-out attempt at Oscar nominations. To me it didn't seem like Clint cared about such things back then making weak efforts like THE ROOKIE, and PINK CADILLAC. But in the last ten years it does seem like nearly every movie is directed squarely at the Academy so maybe Eliot is on to something.
I always heard that Eastwood shoots are lean, but I was surprised at how many movies, even long ones, that he shot in 30 days. It's one of the reasons he can make so many films at an advanced age.
I think Eliot has written the most thorough biography of Clint Eastwood yet, better than Clint Eastwood: A Biography by Richard Schickel and Clint: The Life and Legend by Patrick McGilligan when it comes to his overall life although Schickel does a better job on the actual films. The downside is that he spends too much time on his private life especially the Sandra Locke saga.
A man with the Eastwood name
2009-11-12 - As a fan of Clint Eastwood since `Rawhide' days, but still knowing very little about him, this book made for interesting reading. With that said, I cannot vouch for accuracy, but readability and style. The structure of the book is good and pleasingly laid out, making it easy and interesting to read. Each chapter starts with a black and white picture and Eastwood quote. Eliot deals with Clint's 3 personas: 1. The man with no name, 2. Dirty Harry, 3. The good natured red neck...all loners.
There is much written about Clint's myriad affairs and dalliances. There is some biographical information, and his time in the army is touched upon where he spent his hitch as a swimming instructor. There are some mentions of his love of jazz and piano playing.
Much of the book is written about his films and the surrounding events and happening with each of them. The book ends with his successful `Grand Torino' at age 78, after 50 years in the television and motion picture business.
Many pages have footnotes to further explain incidents or information about a person mentioned. The author uses many quotes from other articles and sources both of Eastwood's and his contemporaries.
The index is a bit difficult to deal with. For example you go to look up a movie title and they for the most part are not there, but you have to know to look under Eastwood, Clint (motion pictures) or else the name of the co star and the information will be listed there just not under a title itself.
Marc Eliot has written an interesting examination about one of the more private men in Hollywood .
Superficial attempt at biography with errors and spoilers 
2009-11-10 - I am not a big fan of celebrity biographies, but I've enjoyed many Clint Eastwood movies, was impressed with his apparent growth as an artist and his continued productivity. So I got Marc Eliot's purported biography.
It really isn't very good.
Most of the content seems to deal with Eastwood's very active sex life, which apparently included hundreds of women in addition to his wife. Seven children by five women - also including his wife. Lucky Clint - but no so lucky for the reader. It gets boring very, very fast.
Since Eastwood has never been much for interviews or talking about his creative process, there's not much here about Eastwood as an artist.
Eliot seems to have done his research with gossip magazines.
As for Eliot's "critical" analysis of Eastwood's films, forget about it. First of all, Eliot finds it necessary to describe the ending of every Eastwood movie. Talk about spoilers. His plot analyses sometimes contain errors and Eliot projects his beliefs of what Eastwood intended on Eastwood himself. His "analysis" of "Dirty Harry" is hilarious. He imbues the movie with all kinds of sub-texts and alleged deep thinking on Eastwood's part. I remember seeing the movie in Manhattan and I doubt that anyone in the cheering audience at the Upper East Side theatre I saw it would give any credence to Eiot's silly, trite politically correct pretend explanation.
Eliot also makes a major mistake in the plot of "The Unforgiven".
On the whole, if what you want is a collection of factoids about Clint Eastwood that you could garner from gossip and entertainment trade magazines over the decades, you'll be happy. If you want insight into Eastwood the artist, you won't find it here. Eliot is a passable writer, even if he gets his facts wrong occasionally, and that quality keeps this book from being a total disaster. But not by much.
Jerry
