Eastwood

The Biography, As It Should Be Done . . .

A Review of Eastwood

by Ron Enderland

The introduction of the CD-ROM medium has opened the floodgates of multimedia marketers, with varied results. Biographical releases have been foisted upon the eager populace that run the gamut from teen-age-magazine type gushes to tabloid-style character assassinations. Since they all seem to sell well, is there an impetus to producing a true state-of-the-art biography?

Evidently so. Starwave has done just that, with the flawless Eastwood.

Let me start by stating that, while having seen all the spaghetti westerns at least three times apiece, and while loving to quote “Right turn, Clyde!” every time some lout is in dire need of a slug in the jaw, I am really not what you would call an Eastwood fanatic.

It’s just that this remarkable presentation is done as multimedia should be. It has humor, clever design, interesting insights from the actor and director himself, and it isn’t excessively proud of its subject.

To start with, the program needs a 640×480 field on which to play. Does it annoy you by refusing to start unless you set the resolution at this setting? No, it simply handles it itself, resetting your screen back to 800×600, or wherever you had it, upon program exit.

The animated opening is interesting, but can be quickly bypassed with a mouse click. You find yourself in a movie theater setting, with the various genres represented by clickable posters.

Let’s hit “Early Years.” Campy generic 60’s TV theme music announces your arrival into the past. Click the antique television. Listen! Yep, that’s the king of the western themes, Frankie Laine’s classic “Rawhide!” Clicking the movie icon below the Rawhide logo plays a short clip from Rowdy’s catalog.

Of course, it was in the movies that Eastwood, the man, made his mark. It’s where Eastwood, the program, shines as well.

Back at the theater, click on “Backrooms and Barrooms.” You are transported to a cornfield populated by various recognizable representations of Clint’s movies that don’t fit the war, western, or cop shoot-em-ups type. Hidden in the corn, there’s a kid wearing a Casper the Friendly Ghost mask. A Perfect World, of course. Let’s pay a visit.

Clicking on Laura Dern’s lovely visage plays a scene from the movie where she and (actor/director, in this case) Eastwood are having a difference of opinion. “I call that horse ****, to use a cowboy colloquialism” she angrily declares.

Yes, let the buyer beware. There is a sprinkling of adult language in this program. It is wholly contained in the video clips from the movies. It’s not overused, it doesn’t detract from this excellent presentation. But be warned, it’s there.

Eastwood is not hero worship. There are enough bad reviews of movies included here to make an actor weep. But they are presented intact, along with (justifiable) raves. The mayor of Carmel is pretty hard on himself as well, giving criticisms of much of his work that is brutally honest.

To sum up, this is a biography as it should be done. Rumor has it that Starwave is getting out of the CD-ROM business to concentrate on online projects like their excellent Castle Infinity and Mr. Showbiz. More’s the pity, if that’s the case, because they certainly created a fine offering here.

Multimedia Cafe Scorecard

Product:	Eastwood
Company:	Starwave Corporation www.starwave.com
Cost:	$39.95

System Requirements:

IBM or 100% compatible PC, 486sx/66 MHz or faster processor,
Windows 95, 640 x 480 display with 65,536 colors (16 bit),
8MB RAM minimum (16 recommended),
16-bit Sound Blaster or Windows compatible sound card & speakers,
Microsoft or 100% compatible mouse.

Breakdown:

Entertainment Value 5
Educational Value 4
Concept 5
Depth 5
Interface 5

Overall Score: