Clint Eastwood has one of the most enviable filmographies of any director. A predecessor to a long ling of actors who directed their own movies, Eastwood has been directing since 1971's Play Misty For Me. He has a distinctive, immediately recognizable style of film making encompassing low-key performances and stark cinematography.
Over the years, he has matured as a director, with his thoughtful dramas a far cry from the machismo of his early output. Fundamentally, his movies have a human element via characters that we empathise with deeply. In A Fistful of Dollars, the young Clint said, 'aim for the heart', and although he meant it literally, we can also apply the sentiment as a metaphor for the essence of the movies he directs. After all, aiming for the heart strings is what all the movies in this list do. So, here is the countdown of his 10 best movies as director, according to IMDB.
10 'Richard Jewell' - 7.5
The real-life tale of a security guard wrongfully accused of the deadly Centennial Olympic Park Bombing during the 1996 Summer Olympics, Richard Jewell is a timely movie. This is in large part due to the revelation that the actual perpetrator is a right-wing terrorist, which, considering the recent spate of violence perpetrated by the alt-right, no doubt resonates with viewers. While it didn't win big at the 2020 Oscars, Paul Walter Hauser is understated yet brilliant in the title role, and Sam Rockwell and Kathy Bates shine as Jewell's lawyer and mother respectively.
9 'A Perfect World' - 7.6
Made on a modest budget, 1993's A Perfect World grossed a staggering $159 million at the box office. Kevin Costner plays an escaped convict who forms an unlikely friendship with an 8-year-old boy whom he takes hostage. The movies explores some thought-provoking themes of recidivism and the idea that incarcerating people as juveniles inevitably leads them into a life of crime upon release.
8 'The Bridges Of Madison County' - 7.6
A classic and old-fashioned (in a good way) romance concerning Meryl Streep's lonely Italian war bride and Clint Eastwood's brooding photographer, this is one of the director's most sensitive movies. This low-key 1995 drama may not be among Streep's highest grossing movies, but is one of her best roles. The tender depiction of Streep's protagonist is both poignant and relatable, while Eastwood represents a whole different world for her, one filled with excitement and fun.
7 'Changeling' - 7.7
This harrowing 2008 drama features an outstanding and revelatory performance from Angelina Jolie, who proved that she is so much more than the big-budget and action roles that had largely preceded Changeling. Based on a true story, Jolie plays Christine Collins, a mother in the 1920s whose 9-year-old son, Walter, mysteriously disappears. After a police investigation, the LAPD claim to have found Walter, but Collins is adamant that the boy isn't her son at all. What follows is deeply shocking and often distressing, made all the more painful due to the fact that it actually happened in real life.
6 'The Outlaw Josey Wales' - 7.8
An interesting backstory accompanies this movie. Eastwood was initially only set to star, not direct, but he got Philip Kaufman fired and ended up taking over. This ultimately led the Directors Guild of America to create a rule prohibiting actors from seizing control from directors. Despite the behind-the-scenes drama, this 1976 Western is one of Eastwood's earliest demonstrations of his talent as both an actor and director. Eastwood has since explained that the movie is, in essence, an anti-war allegory, telling the Wall Street Journal in 2011, 'As for Josey Wales, I saw the parallels to the modern day at the time. Everybody gets tired of it, but it never ends. A war is a horrible thing'.
5 'Letters From Iwo Jima' - 7.9
A companion piece to Eastwood's lesser received Flags of Our Fathers, this 2006 war movie tells the story of the WWII Battle of Iwo Jima, but this time from the perspective of the Japanese. This is a highly tense film in which the Japanese soldiers know that the Americans are going to attack, but are left waiting, not knowing when the moment will arrive. All too often, Hollywood movies set in countries where English is not the native language eschew authenticity by having characters speak in English, but Letters From Iwo Jima is fully in Japanese. The renowned Ken Watanabe is incredible as General Tadamichi Kuribayashi.
4 'Mystic River' - 7.9
Childhood abuse is never an easy topic to handle, but Eastwood's haunting 2003 drama tackles the subject with moving sensitivity. Tim Robbins gives a heart-breaking performance as a man whose unresolved childhood trauma meant he never fully grew up. One for true crime fans, the movie also has a murder mystery element to it, with the always electrifying Sean Penn determined to find out who killed his daughter.
3 'Million Dollar Baby' - 8.1
This boxing drama accomplished the amazing feat of winning in 4 major categories at the 2005 Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress for Hilary Swank, and Best Supporting Actor for Morgan Freeman. Swank gives a rousing performance as Maggie, an aspiring boxer encouraged by her initially hesitant and grumpy coach, Frankie, played by Eastwood. While the unsympathetic depiction of Maggie's welfare-dependant family is rather uncomfortable to watch and problematic by today's standards, Million Dollar Baby nevertheless deserves its place in the annals of classic sports movies.
2 'Gran Torino' - 8.1
Eastwood, who was close to 80 at the time, plays archetypal grumpy old man Walt Kowalski, a grieving widower who is unhappy that the Vang Lors, a friendly Hmong family, have moved in next door. In time, Walt befriends the family and particularly teenager Thao, with whom he forms a close bond. Actor Bee Vang, who plays Thao, has since criticized Gran Torino for its racial slurs. Racist language, particularly directed at Asian-Americans, is routinely weaponized against the Vang Lor family; worse yet, the slurs are played for laughs. Despite its critical acclaim, the 2008 movie was subject to heavy scrutiny from the Hmong community upon its release, though sadly their reservations were largely unpublicized.
1 'Unforgiven' - 8.2
Unforgiven is Eastwood's highest rated movie as director according to IMDB. The 1992 Western focuses on the consequences of the actions of two vicious cowboys, who target sex workers. The film has some feminist elements to it, such as illustrating how the cowboys' violent acts against women are largely left punished by law enforcement. Subsequently, it's up to the aging Eastwood and his friend Ned (Morgan Freeman), as well as an arrogant young man known as the 'Schofield Kid', to enact revenge on the women's behalf. The film dissects numerous elements associated with the Western genre, such as revenge, machismo, and violence against women. Another Eastwood film to win multiple Oscars, Unforgiven picked up the accolades for Best Picture, Director, and Supporting Actor (for Gene Hackman).