Clint Eastwood is one of Hollywood’s most iconic filmmakers and movie stars. In nearly 70 years of working on films, here are his best.
- Clint Eastwood is a prolific filmmaker who has directed and starred in some of the best Western movies ever made.
- Eastwood’s diverse range as a director is evident in his ventures into different genres, such as romance in “The Bridges of Madison County.”
- “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” is considered Clint Eastwood’s best movie and a must-watch for fans of his work.
Clint Eastwood is one of the most prolific and successful actors in film history, with some of his movies standing out as his best. Now a 93-year-old filmmaker, Eastwood has been focusing on directing and is renowned for the speed at which he’s developing new movies at this stage of his life. While Clint Eastwood has directed some great films dating back to the 1970s, he’s best known for his acting roles, rising to fame in the 1960s as a charismatic, tough leading man in movies like The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and later the Dirty Harry series.
Eastwood’s acting is recognized for being synonymous with the Western genre, or more specifically, the Spaghetti Western and revisionist Western subgenres. Sergio Leone’s Man with No Name trilogy is iconic, and Eastwood continued to develop the genre with films like The Outlaw Josey Wales and Unforgiven, which he directed and starred in. Clint Eastwood has been in some of the best Western movies ever made, but he’s made sure to expand his career to other avenues with movies like Million Dollar Baby and A Perfect World.
10, A Fistful Of Dollars
Directed by Sergio Leone (1964)
With the iconic success of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, many have forgotten that it’s actually the third installment of a trilogy of films, though all three can be viewed as standalone movies with no connected plots. The connecting point in all three is Eastwood’s Man with No Name, one of the best Western movie protagonists ever. In A Fistful of Dollars, the Man manipulates two rival gangs into warring against each other. Eastwood is consistently fantastic as the cool, ambiguous, anti-hero character in all three movies, and Ennio Morricone’s score is a highlight of the first film.
9, A Perfect World
Directed by Clint Eastwood (1993)
In A Perfect World, Western legend Clint Eastwood directs and co-stars with another Western legend, Kevin Costner. The film is a crime thriller where Kevin Costner plays an escaped prisoner named Butch, who kidnaps a young boy. Butch and the boy form an unlikely bond, but Clint Eastwood’s Red Garnett, a Texas Ranger leading the pursuit, must bring them both in. The film explores a complex relationship, with Costner and Eastwood’s performances as one of the film’s highlights. It’s always great to see legendary movie stars working together, and A Perfect World doesn’t disappoint in that regard.
8, The Outlaw Josey Wales
Directed by Clint Eastwood (1976)
One of Clint Eastwood’s earliest directed films, The Outlaw Josey Wales, sees him playing the titular character. Wales is a complex, vengeful character who seeks revenge on Union soldiers during the Civil War who murdered his family. Initially joining the Confederate Army to carry out his vengeance, he refuses to back down after the war ends, taking the matter into his own hands. The Outlaw Josey Wales is a nuanced, sprawling Western that explores the post-Civil War era, with Eastwood giving a powerful performance.
7, Gran Torino
Directed by Clint Eastwood (2008)
Gran Torino is one of Clint Eastwood’s most successful 21st-century movies, following a Korean War veteran named Walt Kowalski. Kowalski is an angry, bigoted man who forms an unlikely bond with a local Hmong teenager named Thao. He becomes an unlikely hero as he confronts the gang violence in his neighborhood. The film earned praise for its thematic exploration of racism and redemption in contemporary America as Kowalski attempts to overcome his prejudices.
6, Dirty Harry
Directed by Don Siegel (1971)
Following his success with Sergio Leone in the Spaghetti Western genre, Clint Eastwood’s stardom blossomed in America with his role as detective Harry Callahan in the Dirty Harry
5, The Bridges Of Madison County
Directed by Clint Eastwood (1995)
A film that shows Clint Eastwood’s diverse abilities as a director, The Bridges of Madison County is one of his only ventures into the romance genre. Eastwood plays Robert Kincaid, a photographer hired to capture Madison County’s historic bridge landmarks. There, he meets Meryl Streep’s Francesca Johnson, a married woman whose family is away on a trip. The two have a passionate romance, with the film excellently exploring the emotional depth of their characters. Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep have remarkable chemistry, creating a great romantic drama with two film legends.
4, For A Few Dollars More
Directed by Sergio Leone (1965)
Clint Eastwood returns as the Man with No Name in For a Few Dollars More, reuniting with Leone for another unbelievable Western film. The film sees the Man hunting a vicious criminal known as El Indio and forms an unlikely partnership with Lee Van Cleef’s Douglas Mortimer, a rival bounty hunter. Though the two are driven by their own motives, their temporary working relationship is an exciting spectacle and the best aspect of the film.
3, Million Dollar Baby
Directed by Clint Eastwood (2004)
Clint Eastwood has won four Oscars in his career, with Million Dollar Baby earning him two for Best Picture and Best Director. The sports film sees Eastwood as Frankie Dunn, a boxing trainer who reluctantly forms a bond with Hilary Swank’s Maggie Fitzgerald, a young woman seeking his training. Eastwood’s directing and performance are some of his best, allowing the film to be a critical and commercial success. Million Dollar Baby is a powerful story that transcends the norms of the sports genre.
2, Unforgiven
Directed by Clint Eastwood (1992)
Clint Eastwood’s other two Academy Awards were won for Unforgiven, which also won Best Picture and Best Director. The 1992 classic is Clint Eastwood’s most important contribution to the Western genre as a director, setting a gold standard for the bleak, revisionist Westerns of recent decades. Unforgiven deconstructs the mythology of the Western film genre, following morally complex characters who are far from heroes. The film explores violent, cowardly, morally complex men, giving a truer taste of what the Wild West looked like.
1, The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
Directed by Sergio Leone (1966)
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is not only Clint Eastwood’s best movie, but it’s also one of the best movies of all time. It’s the definitive epic Western, concluding the Man with No Name trilogy with its largest narrative. Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach deliver iconic performances, and Ennio Morricone’s “The Ecstasy of Gold” theme became one of the most recognizable film scores ever created. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly should be considered essential viewing for everyone, but particularly for those who love Clint Eastwood’s movies.