High Plains Drifter review

 Number 652 on the top 1000 films of all time is Clint Eastwood's Western film 'High Plains Drifter.'

Clint Eastwood plays an unnamed lone gunslinger who becomes the unlikely saviour of a frontier mining town who are under threat from a trio of dangerous outlaws.

High Plains Drifter was definitely one of Eastwood's weaker Westerns and weaker films overall. It was a formulative, repetitive affair that followed the all-too familiar pattern of cowboy films: a mysterious stranger is drifting through a quiet sleepy town, when suddenly he turns into an unlikely hero. Throw in some equally unlikely love interests and lots of gun-shooting for good measure.

Clint Eastwood's unnamed character was little different to any other character he's played in any Western film or at all to be honest. He played similar characters in the Dollars Trilogy or The Outlaw Josey Wales, But in every film he basically plays a grumpy old man. This was the case here.

Yet he wasn't the only strange casting choice. None of the cast were particularly memorable especially Geoffrey Lewis, Dan Vadis and Anthony James who played the outlaws without any nuance or charisma. They were your daily villains. The female characters were pretty vapid too.

I could see Eastwood attempting to distinguish this film from its predecessors by leaning into a supernatural element. Was the mysterious gunslinger actually a ghost wreaking rightful vengeance? This was largely left up to the reader so who knows the truth?

But what is true is that this was definitely one of Eastwood's worse films.

Where Eagles Dare review

 Number 604 on the top 1000 films of all time is the WW2 epic 'Where Eagles Dare.'

Major John Smith (Richard Burton) and Lieutenant Morris Schaffer (Clint Eastwood) are leading a crack-team of commandoes to rescue the captured American General George Carnaby (Robert Beatty) who is being held hostage in a remote Nazi castle. However, not all is what it seems.

Where Eagles Dare was based on the book of the same name written by Alistair Maclean who also wrote the film's screenplay. Maclean had his share of critics with some deriding his plot as melodrama and his characters as cardboard. Considering Maclean also wrote the screenplay, those same criticisms also existed in this film.

Yet they didn't really matter, as the film was thoroughly entertaining. It had more twisters and turns than your average high-octane rollercoaster, as well as an endless supply of pyrotechnics, explosions and poor stunt-men being thrown around like sacks of potatoes. You definitely can't fault the film on its production level. It looked great on-screen.

Not sure if I can say the same for John Smith or Morris Schaffer. I've always said that Eastwood is a one-note actor doing little less than providing a sarcastic dry wit. Burton was similarly unimaginative in his portrayal of John Smith. But perhaps that's more a criticism of the characters themselves rather than the characterisations. Neither of them were particularly complicated.

Maclean also received criticism for his vapid female characters. This definitely did not come through on the film though with characters like Mary Ellison (Mary Ure) and Heidi Schmidt (Ingrid Pitt) - follow British undercover agents - more than providing a match for their male counterparts. They were not sex objects nor sacrificial lambs but tough soldiers not afraid to get into the action.

Where Eagles Dare is certainly not without its critics - some are fair in their criticism, yet the film is so entertaining, the criticisms aren't that important.

Dirty Harry Review

 Number 479 on the top 1000 films of all time is Don Siegel's 1971 action-thriller 'Dirty Harry.'

Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) is a San Fransican cop who doesn't play by the rules. He's dirty, but he always gets the job done. However, he meets his match with the psychotic and deadly intelligent "Scorpio" killer - Charles Davis (Andrew Robinson.)

Clint Eastwood has remarkable talent.  I am not referring to his directional ability netting him numerous Oscars, but his talent is starring in great films despite always playing the same character. And that character is a grumpy old man regardless of his age or if he is playing a cowboy, boxing coach or cop. Although this is the first film I've seen with Clint Eastwood playing a rogue cop, he wasn't unlike any of the famous cowboy characters who proceeded him. Not to say he wasn't good, but he wasn't different either.

Andrew Robinson was far more convincing as the psychopathic Scorpio killer. Despite being a complete unknown, he play the role so brilliantly that he struggled in escaping the shadow of the character. Thankfully, he did in the nineties, as he went onto have a prominent supporting role in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

It was an interesting dynamic between the two lead actors with Eastwood acting as the old hand and Andrew Robinson, the newcomer, but he held his own well in this slick and punchy thriller. It was another triumph from Don Siegel who gave us another tense and tight film.

Yes, it has Eastwood acting the same as he always does, but don't let that put you off what was a great film with a terrific turn from Andrew Robinson.

The Outlaw Josey Wales review

 Number 395 on the top 1000 films of all time is Clint Eastwood's 1976 Revisionist Western 'The Outlaw Josey Wales.'

Josey Wales (Clint Eastwood) is a Missouri farmer whose family were murdered by the ruthless Union Captain Terrill (Bill Mckinney.) He joins a group of Confederate bushwackers to get revenge, but after the Civil War ends, they surrender to the union. All except for Wales who continues his quest for revenge. He is joined by ageing Cherokee Lone Watie (Chief Dan George) and pilgrim love interest Laura Lee (Sondra Locke.)

I've always been of the opinion that Eastwood is a better director than an actor. He won Oscars for directing both Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby. He has also directed critically acclaimed films like Invictus, Letters from Iwo Jima, Gran Torino and Changeling. However, the Outlaw Josey Wales was one of his weaker efforts. While by no means terrible, it was strangely structured and badly-paced.

Initially, it seemed like this would be a straight-forward revenge story with Wales exacting vengeance on the killer of his family. Wales is aided by a rag-tag band of rebels. It was all building to an exciting climax, but then the tension dissipated.

In the film's third act, it seemed like Wales had completely forgotten about his quest for revenge and was more interested in setting up house with his new found family - Cherokee Lone Watie, Navajo Little Moonlight (Geraldine Keams) and pilgrim Laura Lee and her grandmother along with a couple of others. It was a sure fire way to stop the pace dead at a time you think it would be heating up. 

There were glimpses of a secondary villain with a Comanche tribe, but our roguish cowboy quickly makes peace in an anti-climatic, and ultimately, inconsequential fashion. The Comanche played little role in the rest of the film.

Just when it looked like Wales might get his happily ever after, he's tracked down by Terrill and his goonies. The battle begins. But this climatic moment felt more like an afterthought, as if Eastwood had just remembered about his villain.

As I said earlier, he is a better director than actor. In his later films, he plays a grumpy old man. In his earlier films, he plays the antihero lone cowboy. Josey Wales was pretty similar to Eastwood's other roles as the Man with No Name in the Dollars trilogy. Not the best range from Eastwood.

During film, Eastwood and Locke began an illicit relationship while both of them were still in nominal marriages. But this off-screen chemistry didn't translate to the screen, as Laura Lee as much use as a wet blanket and had all the charisma of a stale ham sandwich. True, she joined the final fight, but she never felt like a suitable love interest for Eastwood. If anything, I think he would have been better suited to Little Moonlight whom he rescued from some unscrupulous men. She was more fun, interesting and gritty than Lee.

Despite these criticisms, The Outlaw Josey Wales was certainly an enjoyable enough film. It just isn't anywhere near as good as Eastwood's later films. That's a shame, as Eastwood is a great director. He's won two Oscars for a reason.

Unforgiven Review

Number 123 on the top 1000 films of all time is Clint Eastwood's swan song to the Western genre: Unforgiven.

Directed, produced and starring Clint Eastwood, Unforgiven tells the story of William Munny (Eastwood), once the most fearsome outlaw in the Wild West, now an ageing pig farmer.  He's brought out of retirement by young upstart "The Schofield Kid" (Jaimz Woolvett) who wants to partner with Munny, so that they can kill two cowboys who slashed a prostitute's face, within the town of Big Whiskey, Wyoming.  Munny agrees, and he, the Schofield Kid, and Munny's old partner, Ned Logan, (Morgan Freeman) go to exact vengeance. It also co-stars the late Gene Hackman as villainous, corrupt sheriff Little Bill. RIP.

When making this film, Eastwood wanted to honour the likes of legendary directors, such as John Ford and Sergio Leone, who of course, launched Eastwood's career, within the Dollar's trilogy.  The first way Eastwood succeeded in his mission was through his superb cinematography.

There were many camera shots that reminded me of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.  There were sweeping master shots of the desert landscape, but also plenty of tight close-ups, especially within the initial sequence, where the poor prostitute has her face cut up.  And there was also a great shot of Munny and Logan, silhouetted, as they rode past a gorgeous sunset.

Eastwood also captured the tension that was present within the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.  Some of the best scenes including the film's concluding and opening scenes, were shot with low lighting and tight camera angles.  This kept the tension high by keeping the audience guessing.

To keep comparing Unforgiven to Leone's work might imply that it isn't a good film in its own right, which would be a terrible disservices.  Eastwood is great in the lead role, as well as within the director's seat.  Beginning as a reluctant antihero, struggling to escape the demons of his past, his gradual transition back into his old ways was compelling to watch.  And it is a transition and not a devolution, as Unforgiven does explore themes of morality and vigilante justice.  Is Munny a hero because he kills men worse than him or is he an antihero because he is a killer?

His tipping point is when *SPOILERS* Ned Logan is captured by Sheriff Little Bill of Big Whiskey, and kills him, as a warning to any other would-be assassins.  This is enough to push Munny completely over the edge and to massacre a good portion of the town's police force.  To see him become so ruthless after so much indecision was great to watch.  Although a small criticism would be how they didn't show Logan's death on-screen.  I think it would have been much more powerful if we had seen how Denny had died.

Unforgiven earnt Eastwood the Best Picture and Best Director Oscars which were well-deserved.  It's probably quite telling that he won for producing and directing and NOT acting. In this film, like many of his films, he plays his usual grumpy old man with gravelly voice character. Gene Hackman was far more deserving of his Best Supporting Actor Oscar win. He was a great actor.

All in all, this was a great homage to the Western genre, one Sergio Leone or John Ford would have been proud to have watched.