Aged cowboy and grandfather drug trafficker. A boxing coach who decided to recall the past in his old age, and a romantic photographer who made a housewife tired of a routine experience real feelings. All these are characters in the films of the great Clint Eastwood, and played by himself. Eastwood is a rare example of a popular actor, already in his adult years, engaged in directing and not just achieving comparable success on the other side of the camera, but during his life he became a classic of author’s cinema. Five Oscars, including two for directing and two for the best film, are proof of this.
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Look at the hero of the day in our gallery, and look for material about his films below!
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Eastwood’s filmography is huge. In many paintings, he appears as a leading actor. First of all, this is the cult trilogy of Sergio Leone, who created the genre of spaghetti western: “For a Fistful of Dollars” (1964) “A few more dollars.” (1965) and “Good bad evil” (1966). And since 1971, Clint himself has been shooting almost a film a year, many of which he also produces. Surprisingly, for the past 30 years, Eastwood has had virtually no setbacks: some work is brighter, some are less, but it is always a deep, honest reflection on eternal problems. Like no one else, he knows how to present simple truths so that they do not sound corny, but wisely. And its intonation is immediately recognizable.
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To compose Eastwood’s top directorial work is not an easy task simply because there are too many of them, and giving preference to one, forgetting about the other, would be unfair. Military dilogy “Flags of our fathers” and “Letters from Iwo Jima”thrillers Mysterious River and “Substitution”judicial drama The Case of Richard Jewell and mysticism “Otherworldly”… Whatever genre Eastwood took, everywhere he reached the heights. But a special place among his copyright projects is occupied by those where he himself plays the main role. On the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the master, we recall the best films combining the three roles of the hero of the day – acting, directing and producing.
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Before creating Unforgiven Clint Eastwood shot 15 paintings and exchanged the seventh dozen. But the release of this gloomy western marked the appearance of a new great director on the Hollywood Olympus. The irony is that, having become famous as an actor in Westerns, Eastwood, on the one hand, revived the genre, and on the other, sentenced him, covering the topic for two decades – at least until the advent of Iron Grip by the Coen brothers and Django Unchained Tarantino.
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There is no romance or heroism in Eastwood’s Wild West. And the black mark that murder leaves in the soul cannot be washed away by any good goals. Rethinking the whole ideology of the genre, the director took a fresh look at the characters, including the main one, Will Manny, whom he played himself. Perhaps for the first time we saw the western hero as old, deep down in her heart unhappy and full of regrets about her life. For Eastwood the actor himself, this role begins with a constant motive to rethink the past and the battle with inexorably impending weakness.
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Unforgiven became the triumph of the Oscars in 1993. In total, he earned four figurines, two of which went to Eastwood personally – for the best direction and film of the year.
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Romantic love is far from the main theme in the work of Eastwood. You could even say rare in his films. Far more interesting to the director is the relationship between relatives, a person and the state, a person and his past … But it was Eastwood who shot one of the most sentimental films of the 1990s, which are still loved by viewers around the world. The main character Francesca (Meryl Streep) lives in a quiet province, apparently everything is fine with her – husband, children, wealth, a good house. But the woman was hungry for true feelings. A meeting with photographer Robert (Clint Eastwood), who came to the wilderness by order of a magazine for the sake of pictures of covered wooden bridges – the sights of Madison County, will make her experience them …
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The tale, at first glance, is transformed by the age of the heroes: even before any campaigns against ageism, Eastwood said that not only young people have the right to love. Having raised children, a woman does not cease to need romance, passion, male attention. Clint at the time of filming was 64 years old. And in the role of Robert, he appeared in a new role for himself – a noble lover who retains company laconicism and restraint, and therefore is especially charming.
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Turning the Western genre in Unforgiven, Eastwood set about rethinking sports drama. The result is similar: four Oscars, of which two key ones – to the director personally. Although in fact the film, of course, is not about sports, but about how the two loneliness found each other, but even together they could not defeat cruelty and indifference. Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) is a 31-year-old waitress. She spends all her free time in a boxing club owned by coach and promoter Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood). Noticing her perseverance, he decides to train her. Maggie replaces his own daughter, who does not want to maintain a relationship with her father. And for the novice boxer, Frankie becomes the only truly native person – everyone else refuses her when she gets into trouble.
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Any sports tape should end with the victory of the protagonist. Eastwood’s heroes will be defeated, but the main thing happens after …
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This film was released in one year with another Eastwood drama – “Substitution”, where the main role was played Angelina Jolie. It is not surprising that the American superstar in the spectacular surroundings of the 1920s attracted the attention of the public. And the picture with Eastwood in the frame (it was shot for the first time after “Million Dollar Baby!”) Turned out to be not unnoticed, but at least underestimated. Although it became one of his main acting and directorial achievements.
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Eastwood plays in many ways a parody of himself – a harsh American old-school Republican grandfather who does not like the “come along” and does not part with the trunk.
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Walt Kowalski – this is the name of this Korean war veteran – spills racist jokes and does not hide his bad character from others. But behind the external severity and misanthropy are hidden old spiritual wounds and a true belief in justice. And then follow the typical Eastwood plot “flip-flops”: migrants so disliked by Walt turn out to be positive characters, villains, on the contrary, are white Americans, and he, instead of just kicking asses for the bad guys, performs a truly Christian act, which we least expect from him .
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Eastwood’s last acting work and the penultimate director’s work, however, there is no feeling of fatigue or extortion in it at all. On the contrary, the film delights with the virtuoso and generally atypical combination of genres for Eastwood: this is a crime drama, and comedy, and melodrama. But the main thing is the story of how, in your declining years, to find spiritual harmony. Clint plays here (incredibly strong and subtle, in semitones) old man Earle, who by chance became a drug courier.
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Since few people can suspect an elderly person in such an unseemly craft, for a long time he manages to transport record batches of drugs. But he does this not for the sake of money, but out of a desire to feel needed, in demand, and at the same time to help his relatives, whom he so often refused elementary attention when he was young.
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If Eastwood had completed his career as a Drug Courier, we would have rightfully called this picture a debriefing, the quintessence of ideas formulated in Gran Torino, Million Dollar Baby and many other works. But, fortunately, in his 90s, the eternal cowboy is still on horseback. And the recent “Richard Jewell Case” is evidence of this. So you can only wish the master a long life – and wait for his new masterpieces.
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