Summary
- Clint Eastwood rose to fame in the 1960s with his charismatic and tough leading roles in Western movies.
- Eastwood directed and starred in iconic Westerns, contributing greatly to the genre's development.
- His diverse talents as a director were evident in films like "A Perfect World," "Million Dollar Baby," and "Unforgiven."
The best Clint Eastwood movies showcase why he is considered one of the most prolific and successful actors in film history. Now a 93-year-old filmmaker, Eastwood has been focusing on directing and is renowned for the speed at which he's developing new movies at this stage of his life. While Clint Eastwood has directed some great films dating back to the 1970s, he's best known for his acting roles, rising to fame in the 1960s as a charismatic, tough leading man in movies like The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and later the Dirty Harry series.
Eastwood's acting is recognized for being synonymous with the Western genre, or more specifically, the Spaghetti Western and revisionist Western subgenres. Sergio Leone's Man with No Name trilogy is iconic, and Eastwood continued to develop the genre with films like The Outlaw Josey Wales and Unforgiven, which he directed and starred in. Clint Eastwood has been in some of the best Western movies ever made, but he's made sure to expand his career to other avenues with movies like Million Dollar Baby and A Perfect World.
8 Times Clint Eastwood Super Committed To A Role
Clint Eastwood has put a surprising amount of work into his various characters, putting his career on the line with stunts and musical numbers.10 A Fistful Of Dollars (1964)
Directed By Sergio Leone
A Fistful of Dollars
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A Fistful of Dollars is a spaghetti Western film from director Sergio Leone starring Clint Eastwood. A Fistful of Dollars is notable for being Clint Eastwood's big break in Hollywood and also for being the beginning of the "Dollars Trilogy." The film was followed by For a Few Dollars More in 1965 and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly in 1966.
- Director
- Sergio Leone , Monte Hellman
- Release Date
- January 18, 1964
- Cast
- Clint Eastwood , Marianne Koch , Gian Maria Volonte , Wolfgang Lukschy , Sieghardt Rupp , Joseph Egger
- Runtime
- 99minutes
With the iconic success of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, many have forgotten that it's actually the third installment of a trilogy of films. The Dollars Trilogy is a series of Spaghetti Westerns directed by the legendary Sergio Leone, though all three can be viewed as standalone movies with no connected plots. The connecting point in all three is Eastwood's Man with No Name, one of the best Western movie protagonists ever.
Eastwood is consistently fantastic as the cool, ambiguous, anti-hero character in all three movies in The Dollars Trilogy
A Fistful of Dollars marks the first movie in the trilogy and follows the Man as he manipulates two rival gangs into warring against each other. As the premise suggests, it is a loose adaptation of Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo, but brought to life with Leone's own iconic filmmaking style, becoming a unique and special adventure. Eastwood is consistently fantastic as the cool, ambiguous, anti-hero character in all three movies in The Dollars Trilogy, and Ennio Morricone's score is a highlight of the first film.
9 A Perfect World (1993)
Directed By Clint Eastwood
A Perfect World (1993)
A Perfect World stars Kevin Costner as an escaped convict who kidnaps a young boy. As the two form an unlikely bond during their run from the law.
- Director
- Clint Eastwood
- Release Date
- November 24, 1993
- Cast
- Kevin Costner , Clint Eastwood , Laura Dern , T.J. Lowther , Keith Szarabajka , Leo Burmester , Bruce McGill , Bradley Whitford , Ray McKinnon , Mary Alice , John M. Jackson , Wayne Dehart , Linda Hart , Cameron Finley , Marco Perella , Margaret Bowman , James Jeter
- Runtime
- 138 minutes
In A Perfect World, Western legend Clint Eastwood directs and co-stars with another Western legend, Kevin Costner. The film is a crime thriller where Kevin Costner plays an escaped prisoner named Butch, who kidnaps a young boy. Butch and the boy form an unlikely bond, but Clint Eastwood's Red Garnett, a Texas Ranger leading the pursuit, must bring them both in.
The film explores a complex relationship, with Costner giving one of his most underrated performances as this flawed yet charming character who develops a bond with his young hostage. Eastwood is terrific in his role, while many critics praised it as one of his finest directing achievements as well. It is a gritty crime story with some dark and haunting aspects to it, all balanced wonderfully by Eastwood and elevated by the performances.