Clint Eastwood

    Last weekend, I listened to Ennio Morricone's masterpieces (I do have a vinyl record of  his best soundtracks), and I started to visualise Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone's movies. In this respect I decided to watch one of those cinematographic treasures, and I ended up watching every movie I had with Clint Eastwood staring in it. Consequently I wanted to do a short article about this fantastic actor!

    In his youth, Clint Eastwood appeared in the timeless westerns of the great italian director, Sergio Leone, such as : 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly' and 'For a Few Dollars More'. (please watch them, they are brilliant!) Decades later, his performances impress a lot in 'films d'auteurs' such as 'Million Dollar Baby' (oh my god watch it! It is soooo great ; I cried a lot) and 'Gran Torino' (yes I cried too), both movies Clint Eastwood directed himself. Indeed, since 'Bridges of Madison Country', he is recognised as a successful film director, a profession he still practices today. In this article, I will summarise his career.

    Mysterious beginnings :

Clint Eastwood was born in 1930 (age 91) in San Francisco. He had a poor academic record when he was young, and worked various small jobs, including lifeguard and golf caddy. According to his official biography (a fact which has been disputed by his unauthorised biographer) Eastwood was spotted by an assistant on the set of a Universal movie, which launched his career.

    Spaghetti Westerns : 

Eastwood has his breakthrough in westerns, and quickly became the face (pretty face!) of the so-called 'spaghetti westerns' shot in the mid-1960s. Spaghetti Westerns, so-called because they were often made by Italian directors, defied the traditional conventions of American westerns, by portraying a bleaker, more desolate country. Eastwood's morally ambiguous character, the Man with No Name, in Leone's 'Dollars Trilogy' ( 'A Fistful of Dollars' (1964) ; 'For a Few Dollars More' (1965) ; 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly' (1966) ) are emblematic of this era.

    Did you know? : 

- One of Eastwood's trademarks is to deliver a line through his teeth. However, this wasn't a deliberate choice at first : Eastwood has no training as an actor, and was very stiff on set!

- He was offered the role of James Bond after it was dropped by Sean Connery, but declined it, saying that 007 should be played by a British actor.

- Actress Sondra Locke was one of the most important people in Eastwood's life : not only was she his companion for 14 years, but she also starred in 10 of his films.

    A talented director :

Throughout the 70s and 80s, Eastwood acted, and started directing many films with a range of critical successes. His first major breakthrough as a director was 'Unforgiven' (1992) : the last western, in which he acted and starred. He then expanded his repertoire with the famous 'Bridges of Madison Country' (1994), also staring Meryl Streep. Many successes followed, such as 'Mystic River' (2003) and 'Million Dollar Baby' (2004)

    Awards... and French awards! : 

Clint Eastwood received many awards throughout his career : four Oscars, four Golden Globes and a Golden Lion at the Venice Festival. However, did  you know he also received the French Légion d'Honneur in 2007, and was named Comander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1994? At the time, Jacques Chirac said Eastwood embodied 'the best of Hollywood'.

    Cry Macho (2021) :

Clint Eastwood's latest film is 'Cry Macho', in which he stars and directs. In this neo-western, a former rodeo star is hired to reunite a young Mexican boy with his father, who lives in the US. 'Cry Macho' is currently out in cinemas.