What was the last Eastwood film you watched?

[PubCrawler]

Pale Rider

[Gant]

Firefox

When I saw first this at the cinema upon release I remember being a little disappointed.. the whole first two thirds seemed a
little draggy and to be honest a bit of a snooze fest ( my date actually fell asleep) and by the time Gant got into the Firefox it was a little too late and I think I?d become somewhat disengaged from the movie by then?I?ve seen it many times over the years but now when I watch it I really enjoy all the cloak and dagger stuff, however hoaky  some of it is..  it?s good story telling.. It?s not without its faults but it?s definitely a movie I?ve come to enjoy a lot more with the passing of time..

[Hocine]

Last Sunday, I saw Two Mules for Sister Sara in a film theater. It is not among the best Clint westerns nor among the best collaborations between Clint and Don Siegel. However, it is still enjoyable and funny. Clint was a rising star then. It was a transition period for him, after the Dollars trilogy which made him a star and before Dirty Harry which made him a superstar. After the collaboration with Sergio Leone, the foundation of the Malpaso Company and the collaboration with Don Siegel will define the rest of Clint career. Siegel encouraged Clint to become a director. The fact Clint shared the screen with Shirley MacLaine, who actually had the top billing, gave some credits to his acting abilities. They had some good chemistry together. Besides the opening sequence and the final battle sequence, the film is more a comedy than a true western. Clint best scene is probably the one where Shirley MacLaine had to extract an arrow from his shoulder. I also like the opening credits with the main musical theme by Ennio Morricone and where Clint character is introduced as a wild man in a middle of wilderness and wild animals. It is an indication that Clint character is one of the wild animals and probably, the most dangerous one. That kind of character introduction is a good example of Don Siegel economy, I think. That film is perhaps the first one where Clint deals with his relationship with women. In Coogans Bluff, Clint character was described as a womanizer. Hang em High was a little bit that way. But in Two Mules for Sister Sara, the main female character is stronger and sometimes dominates Clint character. In films like The Beguiled, Play Misty for Me, The Gauntlet, Tightrope, The Bridges of Madison County, Million Dollar Baby or Gran Torino, the confrontation of Clint with women makes him more human and more vulnerable. Two Mules for Sister Sara is the film which introduced that fact. One thing funny about Clint clothing: I think that it announced Crocodile Dundee. By the way, in Crocodile Dundee 2, the Crocodile Dundee character was mistaken for Clint. In conclusion, I would say that Two Mules for Sister Sara is still entertaining, in spite of a limited script and it is probably better than Joe Kidd, which is probably Clint worst western since he became a star.

[Christopher]

I would say easily better than Joe Kidd. That would be a fun one to see at a theater!

[Hocine]

Actually, I saw Joe Kidd in a theater more than ten years ago. It is by far Clint worst western as a leading actor.
However, it is easily watchable and sometimes entertaining. Joe Kidd is particularly short: less than 90 minutes, I think.
Many years after shooting Joe Kidd, director John Sturges expressed some regrets and said that he should have quit the production of Joe Kidd. According to him, Joe Kidd was a mistake. In fact, they started shooting the film with an unfinished script written by Elmore Leonard. The cinematography by Bruce Surtees was good. Clint met some new collaborators on Joe Kidd: assistant director James Fargo, editor Ferris Webster and perhaps production designer Henry Bumstead. The ending is memorable because a train driven by Clint goes inside a saloon, destroying everything. Clint shared the screen with Robert Duvall and John Saxon. Lalo Schifrin composed the music.

[Jed Cooper]

I was unimpressed upon my first viewing of Joe Kidd.  That?s because I compared it to the Leone/Eastwood trilogy.  It took years for me to finally appreciate it.  In the mid-2000?s, when Eastwood turned to directing only more than appearing on screen, I noticed the tide started to turn regarding his films I didn?t care much for.  I now appreciate the value of him just being in them, which I take over any that he only directs.   They haven?t appeared on screen together again, but Clint did produce1995?s The Stars Fell On Henrietta, starring Robert Duvall. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Hocine]

The three Sergio Leone films are still among the films Clint is the most associated with. Especially The Good The Bad and The Ugly. The Ennio Morricone music is immediately recognizable, even by some people who have not seen the films. I remember that I showed Unforgiven to my brother-in-law, I think that was on summer 2022: actually, he was very disappointed and did not like it at all. He just liked the ending, I mean the duel between Will Munny and Little Bill. He said that Unforgiven is not like The Good The Bad and The Ugly. I told him that Unforgiven was not supposed to be like the Sergio Leone films but a deconstruction of Clint screen persona and a deconstruction of the myth of the Old West as well. A great conclusion to Clint career in the western genre.
Anyway, I understand you, Jed Cooper: the films in which Clint is the star are rare and precious now.
I can see and enjoy any film with Clint as an actor, even his worst ones. To me, his ten worst films as an actor are Paint Your Wagon, Joe Kidd, The Enforcer, Every Which Way But Loose, Any Which Way You Can, Firefox, City Heat, The Dead Pool, Pink Cadillac, The Rookie.Even in those, I can find some qualities (music, some sequences, Clint screen presence).

[Jed Cooper]

Thanks, Hocine.  The only movie that hasn?t crossed the bridge with me yet is Paint Your Wagon.  I?m not sure I?ll ever revisit it.  It?s as bad as the worst Elvis films like Kissin? Cousins, Harum Scarum, The Trouble With Girls and more.  Just painful to watch, lol.  By comparison, I like 1/3 of The King?s movies to Eastwood?s 99% that I will revisit repeatedly that he appears in.  I agree with you on some of his lackluster performances, Pink Cadillac, City Heat, Cry Macho, The Rookie and some others.  That?s interesting about Unforgiven.  I felt the same way about Pale Rider when I first saw it on the big screen in June, 1985.  I came away from that viewing indifferent, not caring much about it and would grow to even hate it until a 30th anniversary viewing during the summer of 2015, in which I had a complete turnaround and now it?s one of my favorites.  Of his westerns, my favorite is The Good, The Bad And The Ugly. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Gant]

I feel the same about Wagon, Cadillac, City Heat and The Rookie? I can?t see me ever revisiting these films..
life?s too short 😁 but considering how many films Clint has made that?s a pretty low percentage..
I was a little disappointed with Pale Rider at the time but I enjoy it a lot more now.. same with Firefox for me..
Joe Kidd and Sister Sarah are second tier Eastwood for me but watchable.. I remember seeing Unforgiven on its
release and immediately thinking it was a awesome movie..

[Hammerhead]

I bought the Eastwood signature collection a while back and have been making my way through them in chronological order.

I haven't reached Joe Kidd yet but last time I revisited it I remember being pleasantly surprised while I watched it... until the final act where it all kind of fell apart.

[Hocine]

You are welcome, Jed Cooper

Ironically, Clint turned down Charro!, a western eventually played by Elvis Presley and directed by Charles Marquis Warren, who was involved in the Rawhide TV series. It was the only non-singing role played by a bearded Elvis Presley and the film was released in 1969, the year Paint Your Wagon was released, in which Clint played a singing role.
Paint Your Wagon is sometimes introduced as the film which almost ruined Paramount studios: it symbolized the dying Old Hollywood, while some films like Love Story or The Godfather are the films which saved Paramount studios and symbolized the New Hollywood. Clint was a rising star then, and he did not know how long his luck in film business would last: he quickly signed for some films. The Paint your Wagon script Clint signed for was not the same than the one which was shot. Originally, it was supposed to be a more dramatic film than the final product: the script changed and Clint was not happy with that idea. But he was commited to make the film. Anyway, after the Dollars trilogy and before Dirty Harry, Clint made two kinds of films: the big-budget films with famous co-stars (Where Eagles Dare, Paint Your Wagon, Kellys Heroes) and smaller films more character-oriented (Hang em High, Coogans Bluff, Two Mules For Sister Sara, The Beguiled, Play Misty For Me). The second group is by far the better.
The Good The Bad And The Ugly is special to me because I actually discovered Clint with that film.
I was also very familiar with For A Few Dollars More and Hang em High (two of his best westerns) because I had them on VHS. As a kid, I considered The Good The Bad And The Ugly as a Clint film. Today, I am conscious that it is a Sergio Leone film above all. It is still my favorite film, I guess. Clint made so many great films and it is very hard to choose only one film. Clint has a rich career: I cannot reduce it to The Good The Bad And The Ugly, as cherished as it is.

[Hocine]

I feel the same about Wagon, Cadillac, City Heat and The Rookie? I can?t see me ever revisiting these films..
life?s too short 😁 but considering how many films Clint has made that?s a pretty low percentage..
I was a little disappointed with Pale Rider at the time but I enjoy it a lot more now.. same with Firefox for me..
Joe Kidd and Sister Sarah are second tier Eastwood for me but watchable.. I remember seeing Unforgiven on its
release and immediately thinking it was a awesome movie..

I think that Unforgiven and The Outlaw Josey Wales are Clint best American westerns. High Plains Drifter is also great but probably more controversial (the rape scene). I also like Pale Rider, which could be seen as High Plains Drifter soft version. Hang em High is the best Clint American western non directed by himself: it contains all the themes that Clint will develop in his own westerns and even in some of his non western films.

[Jed Cooper]

That?s interesting.  I wonder if Clint regretted doing Paint Your Wagon and thought to himself, ?Damn, I shoulda done Charro!?

I agree that Clint has a rich career and don?t mean to minimize it down to one film with naming The Good, The Bad & The Ugly as my favorite.  Dirty Harry is a close second, almost tied but having to choose one it?s the western for me.

I love most of his movies.  Well, the ones that he appears in.  I don?t count the ones he only directs, but that?s just my opinion.  Yes, there are better actors but Clint is above and beyond my favorite.  I was hoping he?d appear in Juror #2 but it appears he?s only directing.  I?m hoping his final film, whenever that is, is one he appears in.  Just, not a sequel to Paint Your Wagon.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Hocine]

Well, Paint Your Wagon remains an experience as uneven as it is: it probably influenced the following films chosen by Clint, who was bored by the five-month-shooting of Paint Your Wagon: one of his mission was to look after Lee Marvin, who was drunk most of the time, like Richard Burton was on Where Eagles Dare set. Clint even rent a farm with some hogs, which kept him busy. Actually, after the Dollars trilogy, agent Leonard Hirshan encouraged and convinced Clint to make some big-budget films with some well-known actors. In Hollywood, Clint had to prove that he was more than a TV actor who made some successful films in Italy. The Dollars trilogy did pretty well at the US box office, especially The Good The Bad And The Ugly. However, Hang em High and Coogans Bluff helped him to legitimate his new star status in America, although he was not really in the same position than Paul Newman or Steve McQueen. Not yet at least. I think that Where Eagles Dare, Paint Your Wagon and Kellys Heroes proved that Clint was not really at his ease with big-budget films and many extras around him. He is still a lot more comfortable and efficient with smaller films, as an actor or as a director. I do not think that Clint wanted to make Charro. He also rejected Mackennas Gold, an expensive western which was a flop: Gregory Peck took the part which was supposed to be Clint role. The key event for Clint career was the foundation of the Malpaso Company in 1967: Clint wanted to develop his own projects and to stay away from big studios executives. 1971 was one of the most important year in Clint career. In many ways, The Beguiled, Play Misty for Me and Dirty Harry will announce the way Clint will work and the kind of projects he will choose in the following years. About Juror #2, Kyle Eastwood has confirmed that Clint will not act in it. Since the actors strike still goes on, I do not know when the filming will be completed. I also hope that Clint will be back as an actor but in an appropriate role.

[Gant]

Mystic River

I think I was lucky enough to be the first on the board to see Mystic River when Clint showed at the B.F.I here in London followed by a q&a.
I was totally blown away by the movie and reported back that night (without giving anything away) that I thought it was an excellent
film and that there would be Oscar?s..

Strangely Ive never gotten around to re watching it until now..
It?s still an amazing film and I think it?s one of Clint?s best directorial efforts. A very taught drama with a real sense of dread
that runs throughout.. Packed with great actors at the top of their game.. 
If anything Ive found it even more powerful second time around..

[Hocine]

Mystic River is among the best films directed by Clint. Without The Return of The King at the Oscars competition, Mystic River would have won the Best Picture and the Best Director Oscars. And it should have won the Golden Palm at 2003 Cannes Film Festival. That film is essential in Clint career because it proved that he was able to be a successful director at the box office without Clint the actor. Indeed, the three previous films Clint directed without being the star were box office failures. Actually, only three films directed by Clint and without Clint the star were really successful at the box office: Mystic River, American Sniper and Sully. Mystic River boosted and defined the last part of Clint career.
Most of all, with Mystic River, Clint depicted a depressing, haunting and pessimistic piece of America, eleven years after Unforgiven.

I saw Mystic River when it was released in France, in October 2003. I have seen it many times on dvd.
In 2017, I attended a special screening of Mystic River in Paris, France: cinematographer Tom Stern, who is a good French speaker, was there to present and discuss it.

I do not know if that is true but I recently read something about the casting of Mystic River: Tim Robbins would have replaced actor Michael Keaton, who would have been the initial choice for the role of Dave Boyle. Michael Keaton would have quit the project due to artistic divergences with Clint. 

[Gant]

Some time after seeing the movie I read the amazing book by Dennis Lahane.
It is a seriously good book but I think Clints film is one of those very rare beasts,
a film that is in its own way every bit as powerful as the novel.. maybe even  more so..

Im not sure Ive ever seen a movie adaptation  that captures so perfectly the atmosphere of the novel  as Clint
does with Mystic River.. As I mentioned earlier that palpable feeling of dread that permeates the book is right
there throughout the film..

[AKA23]

I do not know if that is true but I recently read something about the casting of Mystic River: Tim Robbins would have replaced actor Michael Keaton, who would have been the initial choice for the role of Dave Boyle. Michael Keaton would have quit the project due to artistic divergences with Clint.

I've also read this, but think it was Sean Devine, Kevin Bacon's character, who Michael Keaton was the original choice for, who was the police officer, not Dave Boyle.

I agree with Gant. "Mystic River" is one of Eastwood's better director-only films, though I have not read the book. I think I would have liked it better if the acting were a but more subtle. "Mystic River" stands out to me as a bit unusual in Eastwood's filmography, as it has some pretty showy scenes and performances, particularly from Sean Penn, as an example, and Eastwood is known for much more understated acting and direction.

[Hocine]

I've also read this, but think it was Sean Devine, Kevin Bacon's character, who Michael Keaton was the original choice for, who was the police officer, not Dave Boyle.

I agree with Gant. "Mystic River" is one of Eastwood's better director-only films, though I have not read the book. I think I would have liked it better if the acting were a but more subtle. "Mystic River" stands out to me as a bit unusual in Eastwood's filmography, as it has some pretty showy scenes and performances, particularly from Sean Penn, as an example, and Eastwood is known for much more understated acting and direction.

You are absolutely right, AKA23: I wanted to say that Kevin Bacon would have replaced Michael Keaton. Sorry about my mistake. Actually, I think that Kevin Bacon was perfect for the role: his acting performance looks very Eastwoodian in Mystic River. Laurence Fishburne would have replaced Forrest Whitaker, who was the initial choice for playing detective Whitey Powers. Indeed, Sean Penn was very showy, perhaps inspired by the Actors Studio acting method. Sean Penn eventually won his first Best Actor Oscar. I have not read the novel yet.

[Christopher]

It's been years since I've seen Mystic River, but I remember thinking Kevin Bacon had the most thankless role of the three main guys, but he was very good in it. I read the book too. If I remember right, I think I read the book before the movie came out. I probably mentioned that in the Mystic River thread that we would have had years ago when the movie came out (it's been, what, 20 years now?!).