10 Underrated Clint Eastwood Movies You Really Need To Watch

Clint Eastwood Has been acting since the 1950s, and it’s fair to say he’s made some underrated gems in that time. Clint first rose to fame with an extended run on the television series RawhideBut it was the Dollars Movie trilogy of Sergio Leone that made him a star. Clint Eastwood Westerns became a subgenre unto themselves, but perhaps more than any other actor, he quickly took control of his own destiny in front of and Behind The camera.

Starting with 1971s Play misty for meClint began directing his own projects as well. Being one of Hollywood’s most prolific actors and filmmakers means that there’s rarely been a year since his breakthrough when he hasn’t made a movie. This also means that he has made many films that have been neglected or forgotten. Of course, some of the less-loved outings – viz Pink Cadillac Or Clint’s worst action movie Blood work – deserve their lack of recognition, but there are many ripe for rediscovery.

10

Tightrope (1984)

Role: Detective Wes Block

Once Eastwood began to move away from Westerns, the next logical genre was the cop thriller. The Rude Harry Movies remain his most famous in this regard, however Tightrope Might just be Eastwood’s most undersung thriller. The strange mix of character study and erotic thriller casts Clint as a New Orleans detective investigating a series of killings involving sex workers. His character Bloke is also going through a painful divorce and uses the case as an excuse to visit sex workers at night – catching the attention of the killer in the process.

Tightrope is one of Clint’s rare slasher movies Also, but those expecting an action-packed thrill ride are in for a disappointment. The 1984 thriller is an insidious slow burn, with the film essentially suggesting that Black’s own desires reveal the killer. It’s also a complex role for its star, with the title referencing the supposed tightrope walk inside everyone, with some suppressing their primal impulses while others indulge in them.

9

A Perfect World (1993)

Role: Robert “Butch” Haynes

A perfect world is Eastwood’s only film with Kevin Costner, with the latter being at the peak of his stardom. On paper, it sounds like it should be an old-fashioned Western; instead, This outing directed by Clint Eastwood is a bittersweet period drama. Costner is the real lead of A perfect worldPlaying an escaped convict who kidnaps and then boyfriends a young boy, with Eastwood’s “Butch” being the Texas Ranger hunting him down.

Eastwood is very much playing a supporting part in this 1993 drama, which allows Costner to steal the show. He and young co-star TJ Lowther do great work together, and while the drama was a critical and commercial success upon release, it’s rarely mentioned now. This is a real shame since A perfect world is one of Eastwood’s most lyrical and heartbreaking works and once again proves that there is much more depth to his filmography than he is often given credit for.

8

Bronco Billy (1980)

Role: “Bronco” Billy McCoy

Eastwood’s favorite western of his own is about as far from the grittiness of The bandit Josie Wales Or Unforgiven As it could possibly get. instead, Bronco Billy is a surprisingly sweet comedy-dramaWhere Eastwood’s titular character runs a traveling circus and dreams of being a modern cowboy. Eastwood said the film is the closest he’s come to sharing a message with his audience and feels meta-textual in that Billy and his troupe of performers get to live out their acting dreams as part of his circus.

The film also plays with Eastwood’s tough guy persona and subverts it more than once. There’s a scene that would be unthinkable for Rude Harry, where Billy has to plead with a gloating sheriff to get his friend out of jail, all while being humiliated. Bronco Billy is a warm drama about an extra and his strange makeshift familyAnd true fans of the actor/director owe it to themselves to see it at least once.

7

Magnum Force (1973)

Role: Detective “Dirty” Harry Callahan

Rude Harry was a monster hit upon release and remains one of Eastwood’s most defining works. It was also very controversial for his portrayal of a detective who feels he can take the law into his own hands. The Don Siegal-directed thriller was obviously more nuanced than that, but the criticism stung Eastwood so much that he secured the sequel. Magnum Force Tackled the debate head-on. The film, instead, sees the rule-breaking cop from San Francisco go up against a vigilante squad operating in the force.

Magnum Force is much more of a B-movie than the original and pumps up the body count and action. It’s also incredibly violent and squishy at times, and while that makes it a guilty pleasure, it has something to say about Harry’s brand of justice. He may always put the rights of the victimized above the victimizers, but unlike the sequel’s villains, he doesn’t believe that gives him the right to kill whoever he wants either. Magnum Force is the best of these Rude Harry Sequels For this blend of guilty thrills with a splash of social commentary.

6

Heartbreak Ridge (1986)

Role: Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Highway

The 1980s were a strange time for Eastwood, and while Pale Rider All but saved the Western genre, there were plenty of duds like his Burt Reynolds buddy comedy City heat. An underrated Eastwood movie from this era is Heartbridge Ridgewhere he plays a Marine Count who is nearing retirement and taking stock of his life. Eastwood’s Highway also has to train a bunch of useless recruits and shape them into an effective fighting force.

Heartbreak Ridge is a strange blend of genres, with the training scenes feeling like Eastwood riffing on it Police AcademyWith more introspective moments as Highway ponders his life and what it will be like outside the military. It also takes a jarring shift into a war movie in the final act, but Eastwood holds it all together as director. It also has one of his most underrated performances, because despite all of Highway’s macho blast, he has a bigger heart than he cares to admit.

5

Sally (2016)

Role: Director only

Also known as Sally: Miracle on the HudsonThis 2016 drama cast Tom Hanks as the real-life pilot whose emergency landing on the Hudson saved the lives of all onboard. Eastwood stays completely behind the camera on this one, leaving Hanks to lead an impressive cast that includes Aaron Eckhart, Anna Gunn and Laura Linney. The film is in love with its humble subject, who is uncomfortable with the level of fame and attention the landing brings, while he and his co-pilot have an official investigation into whether it was pilot error that led to the emergency landing.

The element was juxtaposed from the real-life event, and by all accounts, it wasn’t nearly as dramatic. even so, Sally is a short but sweet drama, and Hanks couldn’t have been more perfectly cast as the everyman hero of the piece. Eastwood also lets the story unfold in his traditional, unfussy manner.

Role: John “Thunderbolt” Doherty

Thunderbolt and Lightfoot is an almost-forgotten heist thriller that marked the debut of director Michael Cimino, while a young Jeff Bridges completely steals the show. Cimino would become infamous for his western bombshell Heaven’s gate About six years later, however, with his debut, he crafted a fun buddy comedy with a darker edge. Clint also does a great job in the film, but it’s to his credit that he—the much bigger star—steps back to give Bridges the limelight.

The actual heist part of the story feels secondary to the friendship between its title characterswith some reviewers reading a Homeristic edge to it. Whether this was Cimino’s intention is up for debate, but either way, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot’s Unexpectedly melancholic ending is sure to stick with viewers for some time.

3

The Bridges of Madison County (1995)

Role: Robert Kincaid

The critical and box office success of Unforgettable gave Eastwood’s career a renewed vigor in the 1990s. This saw him largely step away from the action or thriller roles that made his name early in his career, and take on more dramas or awards-friendly fare. The Bridges of Madison County is one of Eastwood’s biggest career swerves, being a tender and romantic drama About the short-lived affair his journalist has with a war bride named Francesca (Meryl Streep).

Many Eastwood projects have featured romantic subplots, however The Bridges of Madison County is easily the most romantic film he has made. It’s certainly slow and sentimental, but Clint and Meryl share almost shockingly good chemistry, and the film’s sense of nostalgia and passion make it one of the most unique outings of his entire filmography.

2

Hang ‘Em High (1968)

Role: Marshall Jedidiah Cooper

Hang ’em high was Eastwood’s first American studio lead role, following his run as The Man With No Name. His choice was a pitch-dark West, where his protagonist barely survives a lynching, and becomes a marshal to round up his would-be killers. While later movies in his career would tackle the theme of vigilantism and capital punishment with more tact, there’s a nihilistic edge to this 1968 effort that makes it linger.

The lines between right and wrong become real blurry for Eastwood’s Cooper, and Hang ’em high Feels closer in spirit to the spaghetti westerns, like an American “other”. The film is somewhat spoiled by its flatly shot by director Ted Post, and it is less fun than the likes of The bandit Josie WalesBut this gem is still worth a watch.

1

White Hunter Black Heart (1990)

Role: John Wilson

Eastwood released two movies in 1990, which very much followed his “one for me, one for them” formula. One film was The rookieA great one Lethal weapon Riff where his manly cop takes a naive officer (played by Charlie Sheen) under his wing; Lots of shootouts and car chases ensue. It is one of Eastwood’s hollowest works, but his other 1990 effect White Hunter Black Heart Might be Clint’s most underrated film, period. While his character was called “John Wilson,” it was a secret to no one that the film is a fictionalized take on real director John Huston.

The film follows the young screenwriter who follows Wilson to Africa for a new film project in the 1950s; It soon becomes clear that Wilson is only interested in hunting an elephant, which becomes an unhealthy obsession. White Hunter Black Heart is an introspective period drama about masculinity and the obsessive, sometimes self-destructive impulses that drive artists. The film also has an almighty downer ending, where Clint Eastwood Wilson does the right thing – which still leads to a terrible tragedy that is all his fault.