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Eastwood filmography

Vic Sage Aug 16 2010 04:04 PM Edited 3 time(s), most recently on Jan 16 2014 12:24 PM

CLINT EASTWOOD: A selected filmography CLINTON EASTWOOD, Jr. was a studio contract player, TV star, movie star and mega-star, and ultimately a much lauded auteur and aging Hollywood legend. The master of tough guy stoicism picked up the mantel from his mentors, b-movie action director Don Siegel and the Italian romantic poet of stylized westerns, Sergio Leone, and carved out a unique career for over half a century. Clint is now over 80, but he was once a brash young contract player for Universal, unable to get a film career going in the US and so played a supporting role on the successful TV series “Rawhide” (1959-1966). The series was a hit overseas, too, so Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone cast him as the leading “man-with-no-name” in a trilogy of Spaghetti Westerns that made Eastwood an international film star (he claims he wound up getting the role because James Coburn, to whom the role was originally offered, wanted $25,000. Eastwood accepted the role for $15,000). Clint parlayed that success into some Hollywood leads in various western, cop and war films… some good, some bad and some ugly… until he hit it huge with again DIRTY HARRY. A Fistful of Dollars (1964) For a Few Dollars More (1965) The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) Hang 'Em High (1968) Coogan's Bluff (1968) Where Eagles Dare (1968) Paint Your Wagon (1969) Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970) Kelly's Heroes (1970) The Beguiled (1971) Dirty Harry (1971) Eastwood used his newfound clout to coerce his first opportunity to direct, with the thriller PLAY MISTY, which was good enough to earn him more chances behind the camera (as long as he was in front of it, too). He followed it up with some more acting gigs in between acting/directing, including 2 mediocre DIRTY HARRY sequels and his 2 orangutan movies, which made a fortune. His best work of this period included OUTLAW JOSIE WALES, a spiritual rebirth of the genre, and the quirky little BRONCO BILLY about the nature of self-mythologizing, that was a theme that would come to occupy much of Eastwood’s later work. THUNDERBOLT & LIGHTFOOT is also a worthwhile caper film and HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER is a revisionist western with supernatural overtones, foreshadowing his subsequent work on PALE RIDER and UNFORGIVEN. Play Misty for Me (1971) [actor/ director] Joe Kidd (1972) [actor] Magnum Force (1973) [actor] Breezy (1973) [director] High Plains Drifter (1973) [actor/ director] Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) [actor] The Eiger Sanction (1975) [actor/ director] The Enforcer (1976/I) [actor] The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) [actor/ director] The Gauntlet (1977) [actor/ director] Every Which Way But Loose (1978) [actor] Escape from Alcatraz (1979) [actor] Bronco Billy (1980[actor/ director] Any Which Way You Can (1980) [actor] One of the biggest box office stars of the 1970s, it was no surprise that, by the 1980s, he had taken over the additional role of producing most of his own work, starting with the uninspired cold war thriller FIREFOX. Most of the films of this period were mediocre to bad, including 2 more DIRTY HARRY sequels, a lame team-up with fellow BO champ Burt Reynolds, mediocre actioners, and some intensely personal flops like HONKYTONK MAN and WHITE HUNTER. His notable films were the cop thriller TIGHTROPE, which explored the dark side of the heroic character, and BIRD his biopic of jazz great Charlie Parker. Firefox (1982) [actor/ director/ producer] Honkytonk Man (1982) [actor/ director/ producer] Sudden Impact (1983) [actor/ director/ producer] Tightrope (1984) [actor / producer] City Heat (1984) [actor] Pale Rider (1985) [actor/ director/ producer] Heartbreak Ridge (1986) [actor/ director/ producer / composer] The Dead Pool (1988) [actor] Bird (1988) [director/ producer] Pink Cadillac (1989) [actor] The Rookie (1990) [actor/ director] White Hunter Black Heart (1990) [actor/ director/ producer] The outright flops of CADILLAC, ROOKIE AND WHITE HUNTER put his career on the cutting room floor. But Clint returned with a roar, as he hit all the right notes with UNFORGIVEN, a western about the anti-heroic nature of the authentic western hero and a critique of his own screen persona. It was not only a huge hit, it became the moment when the critical community reassessed his career and dubbed him a master. His last starring role in someone else’s picture was IN THE LINE OF FIRE, a terrific cop thriller that knowingly explores the aging of the Eastwood persona, as do most of the films of this period. A PERFECT WORLD allowed Clint the opportunity to direct Kevin Costner in the lead, while he took a supporting role, and it’s a surprisingly moving film. MADISON COUNTY has no business being anywhere near as good as it is, considering the source material. But he ended the period with a few wan examinations of (and examples of) aging and decline, like TRUE CRIME, SPACE COWBOYS and BLOOD WORK. ** Unforgiven (1992) [actor/ director/ producer] In the Line of Fire (1993) [actor] A Perfect World (1993) [actor/ director/ producer / composer] The Bridges of Madison County (1995) [actor/ director/ producer / composer] Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997) [director/ producer] Absolute Power (1997) [actor/ director/ producer / composer] True Crime (1999) [actor/ director/ producer / composer] Space Cowboys (2000) [actor/ director/ producer / composer] Blood Work (2002) [actor/ director/ producer] Eastwood’s love of jazz and European cinema really begins to influence his filmmaking style by this point, as he focuses more on character than plot, more on lingering emotion than fast-cutting action, including his great later works MYSTIC RIVER, MILLION DOLLAR BABY, and GRAN TORINO. * Mystic River (2003) [director/ producer / composer] ** Million Dollar Baby (2004) [actor/ director/ producer / composer] Flags of Our Fathers (2006) [director/ producer / composer] * Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) [director/ producer] Changeling (2008) [director/ producer / composer] Gran Torino (2008) [actor/ director/ producer / composer] Invictus (2009) [director/ producer] He has said that GRAN TORINO is his last screen performance and, if so, he’s gone out on a great note. He’s got a supernatural thriller called HEREAFTER starring Matt Damon premiering at the NY Film festival in October and he’s got a J.EDGAR HOOVER biopic in pre-production. The former is a contemplation of death, and the latter (no doubt) will explore the psychosexual dysfunctions of an American “hero”, both themes consistent with his body of work. He has gone from b-movie bit player to most acclaimed auteur of his generation, with all the ups and downs of a Hollywood career in between. And he’s not done yet. * = oscar nomination ** = oscar win UPDATE: 2014 x- Hereafter (2010) (director/composer/producer) - Sort of meanders, but interesting contemplation of death and the hereafter; Matt Damon is solid x- J. Edgar (2011) (director/composer/producer) - DiCaprio is over the top in this overlong unsuccessful biopic x- Trouble With The Curve (2012) (actor/producer) - a pedestrian, forgettable baseball drama x- Jersey Boys (2014) (director) - adaptation of the Broadway musical (currently in post-production)

metirish Aug 16 2010 07:36 PM Re: Eastwood filmography

That's great Vic. I like how you break these down to different stages of a career. I think Unforgiven remains my favorite of his.

Edgy MD Aug 16 2010 08:28 PM Re: Eastwood filmography

I think we need to divide these films into three categories --- Good, Bad, Fugly

Vic Sage Aug 17 2010 10:18 AM Re: Eastwood filmography Edited 2 time(s), most recently on Sep 02 2010 09:16 PM

[u:2cbeu0u0]good:[/u:2cbeu0u0] A Fistful of Dollars (1964) For a Few Dollars More (1965) The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) Hang 'Em High (1968) Dirty Harry (1971) High Plains Drifter (1973) Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) Escape from Alcatraz (1979) Tightrope (1984) Pale Rider (1985) Bird (1988) Unforgiven (1992) In the Line of Fire (1993) A Perfect World (1993) The Bridges of Madison County (1995) Mystic River (2003) Million Dollar Baby (2004) Gran Torino (2008) [u:2cbeu0u0]bad:[/u:2cbeu0u0] Paint Your Wagon (1969) Magnum Force (1973) Breezy (1973) The Enforcer (1976/I) Every Which Way But Loose (1978) Any Which Way You Can (1980) Firefox (1982) Sudden Impact (1983) City Heat (1984) Heartbreak Ridge (1986) The Dead Pool (1988) Pink Cadillac (1989) The Rookie (1990) True Crime (1999) Space Cowboys (2000) Blood Work (2002) Flags of Our Fathers (2006) [u:2cbeu0u0]Fugly (mediocre hits, interesting flops):[/u:2cbeu0u0] Coogan's Bluff (1968) Where Eagles Dare (1968) Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970) Kelly's Heroes (1970) Play Misty for Me (1971) The Beguiled (1971) Joe Kidd (1972) The Eiger Sanction (1975) The Gauntlet (1977) Bronco Billy (1980) Honkytonk Man (1982) White Hunter Black Heart (1990) Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997) Absolute Power (1997) Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) Changeling (2008) Invictus (2009) [u:2cbeu0u0]top 10* directed by Eastwood:[/u:2cbeu0u0] High Plains Drifter (1973) The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) Bronco Billy (1980) Pale Rider (1985) Bird (1988) Unforgiven (1992) A Perfect World (1993) The Bridges of Madison County (1995) Mystic River (2003) Million Dollar Baby (2004) Gran Torino (2008) * sorry, I had to turn it up to "11"...

Edgy MD Aug 17 2010 10:26 AM Re: Eastwood filmography

I'm glad to see Josey Wales there. I'm a fan. I think it's an American Seventh Seal, but I didn't think too many others took it seriously.

Vic Sage Aug 17 2010 11:13 AM Re: Eastwood filmography

OJW is both hugely entertaining and critically "significant", it's the only truly great western made during the 23-year period from WILD BUNCH (1969) to UNFORGIVEN (1992) (even including DANCES WITH WOLVES). The only false note is the regrettable presence of Sondra Locke, who diminished all of his movies during this period. But insofar as she plays a moron, she doesn't do too much harm... it's type casting. but it is stylish, humorous and profound as anything he's ever done.

Vic Sage Aug 18 2010 10:08 AM Re: Eastwood filmography

in making the good/bad/fugly lists, i thought "gee, there's alot of crap and flawed stuff here for a great filmmaker". But when you think about how much work he did, directing 31 films over less than 40 years, while acting in another 14 movies over that period, it works out to 45 projects. And if you add his acting work in the 1960s, thats about 54 projects in about 45 years... averaging 1 every 10 months! That's ridiculous. Even busy directors generally put out a movie every 18-24 months or so, and those folks aren't also acting in and producing their own movies, as well as those of other directors. Clearly, this was a man who'd rather be working than wait around for the right script, and even his "bad" stuff isn't unwatchable... well, except for BREEZY, PAINT YOUR WAGON and maybe PINK CADILLAC... while much of his "good" stuff is not just good but great.

Frayed Knot Aug 18 2010 10:54 AM Re: Eastwood filmography

Even from the 'Fugly' list I like: - Play Misty for Me (1971) -- Back when all the fuss was being made upon the release of 'Fatal Attraction' I was stunned that hardly a mention was made that it lifted virtually its entire plot from PMfM, right down to the abused pet - Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997) -- not a great flick, but took a good source and, while changing it a bit, still kept it interesting and worked in the Mercer music well - Absolute Power (1997) -- A lesser D.C. political-based caper movie than 'Line of Fire', but not bad - Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) -- much better than 'Flags of our Fathers'

Vic Sage Aug 18 2010 02:47 PM Re: Eastwood filmography

Frayed Knot wrote: Even from the 'Fugly' list I like: - Play Misty for Me (1971) -- Back when all the fuss was being made upon the release of 'Fatal Attraction' I was stunned that hardly a mention was made that it lifted virtually its entire plot from PMfM, right down to the abused pet - Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997) -- not a great flick, but took a good source and, while changing it a bit, still kept it interesting and worked in the Mercer music well - Absolute Power (1997) -- A lesser D.C. political-based caper movie than 'Line of Fire', but not bad - Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) -- much better than 'Flags of our Fathers' Fuglies: MISTY, POWER = mediocre hits MIDNIGHT, LETTERS = interesting flops By the way, I neglected to mention that Clint, an accomplished musician, also wrote songs and/or scores for many of his movies over the last 25 years. I was trying to think of the last Hollywood filmmaker who was an actor-director-producer-composer, and all i can think of is Charlie Chaplin (who also wrote and edited most of his films as well), but even he didn't do a project every 10 months for 45 years.

Edgy MD Aug 19 2010 07:15 AM Re: Eastwood filmography

You can find a handful who did all that and contributed songs to his or her films, but very few who contributed underscoring. The closest matches I can come up with are pop stars who merely dabbled in filmmaking --- Paul Simon, John Mellancamp, David Byrne. Nonetheless, I imagine his scoring was tinkling themes out on a piano and leaving it to a pro to orchestrate the full arrangements. I don't know if I'd guess same about Chaplin. Quincy Jones, maybe, but only a handful of thrown-off acting credits, and a mostly poor history as a filmmaker.

RealityChuck Sep 17 2010 08:44 PM Re: Eastwood filmography

You're right about Chaplin -- he didn't even play piano. He'd just hum the tune he had in mind and have someone take care of the scoring (IIRC, he liked 6-4-3 since it got him out of trouble). Woody Allen wrote, acted, directed, and, in at least one case, wrote the music (he's an accomplished clarinetist). Mel Brooks has done five: actor, writer, producer, director, and composer. Though he hasn't produced as much work as Eastwood.

Vic Sage Oct 13 2010 08:01 AM Re: Eastwood filmography

When Clint is asked to name his 5 favorites among his own directorial efforts, he names 6: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101013/ap_ ... _five_most

TransMonk Oct 13 2010 08:20 AM Re: Eastwood filmography

I don't think I've ever enojyed any film that has featured him as an actor, director, producer or composer.

Vic Sage Oct 13 2010 08:29 AM Re: Eastwood filmography

that's ok... me, i've never been able to get through MOBY DICK. We all have our cultural crosses to bear.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Mar 27 2011 09:24 AM Re: Eastwood filmography

Saw BIRD last night for the first time. I give it 4 tweets out of 5, I think it was a little bit long, and didn't really get cooking til the second half, but powerful, with great sounds and some real good performances.

Frayed Knot Mar 27 2011 01:36 PM Re: Eastwood filmography

Sitting at home sick today I found 'Dirty Harry' while channel surfing and watched it for the first time in like a thousand years.

Frayed Knot Aug 31 2012 01:36 PM Re: Eastwood filmography

Clint, despite recent claims that he was through performing in front of the camera, gets the lead role in a forthcoming film which is not his and which is, of all things, a baseball movie. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2083383/

Edgy MD Aug 31 2012 01:40 PM Re: Eastwood filmography

I saw this thread pop to the top and thought for the life of me this was going to be about the one-take film he performed in last night.

Frayed Knot Aug 31 2012 01:56 PM Re: Eastwood filmography

Hah. I neither saw that 'performance' nor was thinking of it here. The new flick seems to fit at least the 'estranged and/or distant from his adult child(ren)' portion of the Clint formula checklist*. May fit several others as well, although we'll have to wait until release time to know. * Clint formula checklist - as per Edgy in the 'Gran Torino' thread Old Clint tinkering around his garage -- mm, probably not here Clint staring down punks -- younger scouts, GMs, execs probably yes. Full-fledged punks, doubtful Clint walking masoquistically and coolly into a showdown even though he's hopelessly outgunned -- maybe in a job sense but not a live or die one Clint walking masocquistically and coolly into a showdown even though he's hopelessly too old -- probably this one Clint having a big enough pair of balls to spit in God's face - ?? Clint ominously coughing shit up -- doesn't sound like it Clint abusing an ethnic minority while begrudgingly growing in affection for them -- could be, depending on who he's scouting Clint being disgusted by the younger generations -- oh almost certainly Clint estranged and/or distant from his adult children -- sounds like the movie's theme