Clint Eastwood

Pat Mustard · 13-04-2014 04:41PM

shootermacg wrote: »

There will be blood, best american movie ever made!

The most overrated film ever made.

Dravokivich · 13-04-2014 04:46PM

The Mustard wrote: »

The most overrated film ever made.

Dunno man, there was the room.

Pat Mustard · 13-04-2014 04:49PM

Dravokivich wrote: »

Dunno man, there was the room.

I'm not sure what you mean?

Femme_Fatale · 13-04-2014 04:59PM

Definitely not the greatest actor ever, but iconic. And still a great actor, and very talented as a director.
He's criticised for being a "strong and silent man's man" type but this doesn't automatically make him a macho oaf (which he isn't) and not every republican is a hardline right-winger. Some are just conservatives, and not even conservative about everything. Clint Eastwood is in favour of same-sex marriage and he's pro-choice.

ThirdMan · 13-04-2014 05:27PM

Riddle101 wrote: »

I don't know, I think Robert DeNiro, Daniel Day Lewis, Gary Oldman, Al Pacino and Marlon Brando would go ahead of Clint Eastwood.

I think you could add another hundred names to that list, and that's just English language actors. Eastwood is a good actor in the sense that people like him and like the films he's in. Does that make him one of the greatest actors of all time? I seriously doubt it.

His best performances are simply different versions of the same character, with some notable exceptions (The Bridges of Madison County, Bronco Billy). The same is true of John Wayne. He was also good at playing a particular type of character, but he done it countless times. There must be at least 60-70 Wayne films where he plays the same person.

Eastwood was a product of the old studio system. But he broke away from that. He took risks. Eventually he turned into a very respected filmmaker whose work is taken seriously by the types of publications and awarding bodies that see themselves as the arbiters of good taste. That makes him pretty unique. Even more so when you consider that he's still doing it in 2014.

Ann Landers · 13-04-2014 05:37PM

LizzieJones wrote: »

You're not sounding like one either at this point.

Obviously, it would sad if he died, but he treated women pretty shabbily down the years and is lionised, which is a bit sickening.

Matt_Trakker · 13-04-2014 05:40PM

Clint is a good actor, no doubt, but he's no Daniel Day Lewis or Philip Seymour Hoffman.

ThirdMan · 13-04-2014 05:45PM

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

"What are you Spooks looking at?" :pac:

Gran Torino which he directed too I think. I love the way he incorporated old insults/slurs such as spook, spade, slope, gook and zipper head into the script, it made it feel very authentic. The old racist factory worker and Korean War veteran Walt.

Gran Torino is his response to the Dirty Harry movies, along with a number of other cop thrillers where he played a right-wing badass. The whole idea of Gran Torino is that you expect to see that side of him once more. You know at some stage he's gonna blow. All the racist language is just a warm-up for another Reaganite throw-down. But of course that doesn't happen. He might call his neighbours zipper-heads and disrespect their heritage, but ultimately he sacrifices his life for them, for a multi-cultural America, in a way that the old Clint Eastwood never would.

Consider it a companion pieces to Unforgiven. That movie is about death and the consequences of murder. He wanted to separate himself from 'The Man With No Name' in that movie. He could only get Gene Hackman to play such a violent character by assuring him that what he was making was a statement against violence and the wanton destruction of human life.

He might be a womanising conservative, but he's not a simple-minded filmmaker.

LizzieJones · 13-04-2014 05:55PM

Ann Landers wrote: »

Obviously, it would sad if he died, but he treated women pretty shabbily down the years and is lionised, which is a bit sickening.

Look, I don't care what he does (or did ) in his private life. I enjoy his movies. I think he gives a good performance as an actor. Yes I had a crush on him when I was a teenager but that was 40 years ago and I no longer feel that way about the man.

With that said, I did feel a little shock when I first read his name here because I *had* thought he had died and I expressed that to the OP. I have no idea why you're bringing it up 3 pages later or why you are obsessively focusing on what I said when a few others expressed the same sentiments.

Maybe you just don't like Canadians.

So, in conclusion, if you have a problem with the way Clint Eastwood treated women write him a letter. Don't give me grief over it. I don't date women.

13-04-2014 06:05PM

Femme_Fatale wrote: »

Definitely not the greatest actor ever, but iconic. And still a great actor, and very talented as a director.
He's criticised for being a "strong and silent man's man" type but this doesn't automatically make him a macho oaf (which he isn't) and not every republican is a hardline right-winger. Some are just conservatives, and not even conservative about everything. Clint Eastwood is in favour of same-sex marriage and he's pro-choice.

He does the strong silent type well, but in that film 'The Bridges Of Madison County' - which is far, far, from his best, he gave a very sensitive and nuanced performance. He outshone Meryl Streep, which isn't a very easy thing to do.

Ann Landers · 13-04-2014 06:18PM

LizzieJones wrote: »

Maybe you just don't like Canadians.

Cantremember · 13-04-2014 06:24PM

Good actor and director. Idiotic political contributor.

DwightSchrute1 · 13-04-2014 06:44PM

Ann Landers wrote: »

Really? He's old, and not a particularly nice person.

I know a Father Clint Power, maybe she's having a go at him

Stained Class · 13-04-2014 09:32PM

Anyone remember the urban legend that Stan Laurel was Clint's Auld lad?

In pre-internet days many people believed it!

I always liked him myself.

Eastwood is one of the few actors lots of men want to be & lots of women want to be with.

Sir Osis of Liver. · 13-04-2014 09:53PM

My missus bought me a Dirty Harry cup for my breaks in work.

It has a picture of Clint in Dirty Harry guise and underneath says

'Go ahead Punk,make my Tae'.

Im the envy of all my workmates with such a manly cup.

delw · 13-04-2014 09:58PM

Love Clint Eastwood,great actor,Gran Torino last time in front of a camera AFAIK & loved the film

Capt'n Midnight · 13-04-2014 09:58PM

ThirdMan wrote: »

The same is true of John Wayne. He was also good at playing a particular type of character, but he done it countless times. There must be at least 60-70 Wayne films where he plays the same person.

Ever see the The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance ?

Starting John Wayne as the tough guy and James Stewart as the not very tough guy.

Or as the military would refer to them

Marion Morrison and

Brigadier General James Stewart who flew combat missions in WWII and Vietnam
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_awards_and_nominations_received_by_James_Stewart#Military_and_civilian_medals

Actors are people who act, they aren't always the same in real life as on the big screen.

Anyway
After seeing Wayne's performance in Red River (1948), directed by rival director Howard Hawks, John Ford is quoted as saying, "I never knew the big son of a bitch could act."

Sam Kade · 13-04-2014 10:04PM

Eastwood was asked one time if he believed in the afterlife he said he wasn't sure but he was in no hurry to find out

ThirdMan · 13-04-2014 11:02PM

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Ever see the The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance ?

Starting John Wayne as the tough guy and James Stewart as the not very tough guy.

Or as the military would refer to them

Marion Morrison and

Brigadier General James Stewart who flew combat missions in WWII and Vietnam
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_awards_and_nominations_received_by_James_Stewart#Military_and_civilian_medals

Actors are people who act, they aren't always the same in real life as on the big screen.

Anyway
After seeing Wayne's performance in Red River (1948), directed by rival director Howard Hawks, John Ford is quoted as saying, "I never knew the big son of a bitch could act."

I've been on a bit of a John Wayne binge lately, so yeah, I've seen Liberty Valance. He's very, very good in it, as he is in many other films. Personally, I think his best performance is in The Searchers. I found his character loathsome at times, and that's saying something considering how likeable he is. So I never said that he couldn't act. He could, and so can Eastwood. But neither of them had the range or versatility to be compared amongst the very best, which is what the OP claims.

Saying that, 'range' is a bit of an empty term when speaking about actors of Wayne's generation because many of them stayed true to type. Jimmy Stewart is excellent in Liberty Valance, but he never stops being the lovable 'Jimmy Stewart'. You can't compare that style of performance with what people like Marlon Brando and Toshiro Mifune were doing at roughly the same time, or even earlier. I watched both On The Waterfront and Samurai Rebellion recently and their respective performances are simply outstanding.

Scorcese on Brando: "He is the marker. There's 'before Brando' and 'after Brando'."

John Wayne and Clint Eastwood are definitely part of the 'before' group in their approach to inhabiting a character.

Stained Class · 13-04-2014 11:11PM

I think John Wayne lobbied hard for the Dirty Harry part. He'd have been good in the part IMO. A bit old but good nonetheless.

He did Brannigan & McQ in the 70's which were something like the Dirty Harry films.

Pat Mustard · 13-04-2014 11:17PM

Stained Class wrote: »

I think John Wayne lobbied hard for the Dirty Harry part. He'd have been good in the part IMO. A bit old but good nonetheless.

He did Brannigan & McQ in the 70's which were something like the Dirty Harry films.

From imdb:

He allegedly turned down Dirty Harry (1971) because he felt the role of Harry Callahan was too far removed from his screen image. When he saw the movie he realized it wasn't so different from the roles he had traditionally played, and made two cop dramas of his own, McQ (1974) and Brannigan (1975). Director Don Siegel later commented, "Wayne couldn't have played Harry. He was too old. He was too old to play McQ which was a poor copy of Bullitt.".

ThirdMan · 13-04-2014 11:21PM

delw wrote: »

Love Clint Eastwood,great actor,Gran Torino last time in front of a camera AFAIK & loved the film

His most recent screen performance was actually in Trouble with the Curve from 2012. He plays an ageing baseball scout that is being pushed out of the profession because of his failing health. Amy Adams plays his daughter and Justin Timberlake is the love interest (Amy's, not Clint's :P). Eastwood didn't direct it and it shows. It's very cliched and formulaic. It didn't do all that well critically or commercially, but if you're an Eastwood fan you'll have to check it out. It's almost certainly his last performance. Personally, I enjoyed it. It was harmless and kinda sweet. It's perfect Sunday afternoon fodder. Plus, Eastwood has one Dirty Harry-esque line that had me in stitches. You'll know it when you hear it.

Stained Class · 14-04-2014 12:05AM

The Mustard wrote: »

From imdb:

Got my allegations wrong there. Sorry.:)

Apparently Sinatra, Lancaster & Mitchum were offered the part aswell.

One wonders how they could have handled this touchstone role.....

Could they have done it better?

ThirdMan · 14-04-2014 12:14AM

Stained Class wrote: »

Got my allegations wrong there. Sorry.:)

Apparently Sinatra, Lancaster & Mitchum were offered the part aswell.

One wonders how they could have handled this touchstone role.....

Could they have done it better?

Eastwood brought his physical heft to the role, but Mitchum was an expert at the dark arts. It would have been interesting to say the least. I seen Night of the Hunter for the first time recently. It has that slightly stagey feel that a lot of 50's stuff does, but Mitchum's performance is just the right mixture of charisma and downright nastiness.

Owldshtok · 14-04-2014 12:20AM

Sir Osis of Liver. wrote: »

The worlds greatest actor ever by a long shot.

Wel yes,but he's only one of them.Always slightly preferred Lee Van Cleef in the spagetti westerns:

Stained Class · 14-04-2014 12:20AM

ThirdMan wrote: »

Eastwood brought his physical heft to the role, but Mitchum was an expert at the dark arts. It would have been interesting to say the least. I seen Night of the Hunter for the first time recently. It has that slightly stagey feel that a lot of 50's stuff does, but Mitchum's performance is just the right mixture of charisma and downright nastiness.

On the same note Burt Lancaster could have handled the physical stuff well at the time & could have dealt with the moral issues involved...

Just wondering.

delw · 14-04-2014 12:34AM

ThirdMan wrote: »

His most recent screen performance was actually in Trouble with the Curve from 2012. He plays an ageing baseball scout that is being pushed out of the profession because of his failing health. Amy Adams plays his daughter and Justin Timberlake is the love interest (Amy's, not Clint's :P). Eastwood didn't direct it and it shows. It's very cliched and formulaic. It didn't do all that well critically or commercially, but if you're an Eastwood fan you'll have to check it out. It's almost certainly his last performance. Personally, I enjoyed it. It was harmless and kinda sweet. It's perfect Sunday afternoon fodder. Plus, Eastwood has one Dirty Harry-esque line that had me in stitches. You'll know it when you hear it.

I will & thank you

Duggy747 · 14-04-2014 01:11AM

I wouldn't class him as the best actor but highly watchable and legendary in cinema with many iconic roles and films, the blueprint for the grizzly anti-hero.

osarusan · 14-04-2014 02:06AM

ThirdMan wrote: »

I think you could add another hundred names to that list, and that's just English language actors. Eastwood is a good actor in the sense that people like him and like the films he's in. Does that make him one of the greatest actors of all time? I seriously doubt it.

His best performances are simply different versions of the same character, with some notable exceptions (The Bridges of Madison County, Bronco Billy). The same is true of John Wayne. He was also good at playing a particular type of character, but he done it countless times. There must be at least 60-70 Wayne films where he plays the same person.

Eastwood was a product of the old studio system. But he broke away from that. He took risks. Eventually he turned into a very respected filmmaker whose work is taken seriously by the types of publications and awarding bodies that see themselves as the arbiters of good taste. That makes him pretty unique. Even more so when you consider that he's still doing it in 2014.

This is basically what I think too, and I'm pleased to see The Bridges of Madison County get a mention. A beautifully crafted film.

As an actor he plays a small range of characters very well. But until the 90s, rarely tried to (or was allowed to) step beyond that. To his credit, later in his career he did move beyond that to make and act in films with more complex characters.

JustAddWater · 14-04-2014 02:09AM

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

*Cough*

Oh and he was also a Mayor in the past.

And his yawn sounds like Liam Neeson chasing a load of hens around inside a barrel

Clint Eastwood

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