Clint Eastwood has been on a roll since 1992, a renaissance of epic proportions.

First came the gritty and realistic western, Unforgiven.

Then came a very solid thriller In the line of Fire

Followed by an excellent but under appreciated A Perfect World.

The Bridges of Madison County was a pleasant diversion for Clint.

The next few movies like Midnight in the garden of good and evil (director only), Absolute Power and Space Cowboys were good.

True Crime and Blood Work was Vintage Clint from the 80's.

In 2003 Clint directed one of the best ensembles in movie history with phenomenal performances by Penn, Robbins, Beacon and Harden.

2004, Clint directs one of the all-time greats with Million Dollar Baby.

Most filmmakers would be happy to have either a Mystic River or M$B on their resume. He has made two masterpieces in two years. That is exceptional work on anybody's resume.

BTW, I got done watching M$B four hours ago. I am still affected by it. I had seen Hilary Swank only in Insomnia prior to M$B. I will be watching Boys Don't Cry soon.

Clint Eastwood is on of the best Stars of all time. I love all of his movies. :worthy:

For me, having liked his Western, Dirty Harry and even his 80's and period, I think his period goes back alot past 1992.

Somewhere, I have a thread on his whole career, approaching 50 years soon.

Don't get me wrong, he has made awesome movies even prior to 1992. That is when he started the recognition from other filmmakers in terms of quality and awards.

I am as big a fan there is of his westerns and dirty harry movies \:D/

I'm not sure I would call The Bridges Of Madison County a 'pleasant diversion' for Clint. It proved he could do something very different than his usual films and do it very well. Not only did Meryl Streep receive an Oscar nomination, the movie had very good reviews and solid box office. I think it further established Eastwood as a serious artist.

I didn't mean that by pleasant diversion it was some lightweight movie. This was based on one of the biggest selling books ever. I even saw the movie being made in Iowa. \:D/

Not to mention that it paired Amblin (Spielberg) and Malpaso (Eastwood) for the first and only time.

Eastwood has long been a favorite of mine. One of the best directors EVER, and if there is a more iconic actor today, I probably would be convinced of it.

Eastwood has been on fire for awhile, with only a few bumps along the way. He has been on similiar rolls like he's on right now, as I remember Sudden Impact(1983) , which is arguably the best Dirty Harry movie, Pale Rider(1985), and the excellent Heartbreak Ridge(1986) were a very distinctive high point in his then already long career. Who knew that he would be at the top STILL, 20 years later?

Eastwood has turned in gems for years, some that he directed, and some that he only starred in. Movies like Escape From Alcatraz (not directed by Clint) are quality films that most of the people here haven't even seen, and I would strongly recommend it, as well as his hysterical comedies, Every Which Way But Loose and Any Which Way You Can. He's been as diverse as they come in his career. His first directorial effort, Play Misty for Me, was Fatal Attraction before Fatal Attraction was, and you can clearly see how good he was behind the camera right away.

jb007, I know exactly how you feel about Million Dollar Baby, as it has stayed with me for more than 24 hours. It was incredibly powerful. Mystic River had a similiar effect on me.

Maverikk,

I agree with your 80's quick analysis. You can add Tightrope to that list also.

As far as I am concerened he is my favorite with the charisma of Harrison Ford/Tom Hanks merged with the magic of Steven Spielberg. He is an icon second only to Charlie Chaplin in stature.

BTW, I felt the same as you with Mystic River.

What are the odds someone makes MR and M$B in two successive years? I am extremely glad that Clint did it. \:D/

Clint is a god.

The odds of ever seeing a director do what Eastwood has done in the last two years at the Oscars, 2 Best Picture noms, Two Best Director noms, 2 Best Actor Noms, 2 Best Supporting Actor noms, 1 Best Actress nom, and 1 Best Supporting Actress nom, are slim to none. I think it's safe to say we will never see that again in our lifetimes.

He's certainly become a darling of the academy and critics, that's true. As to if he's actually great, I guess it depends, some find his style artful, others find it plodding and airless, opinions differ. I liked Unforgiven, but mainly due to the script and performances of Hackman, Harris and Freeman. I believe it could have been better if starring and directed by someone else. In the Line of Fire was a serviceable thriller but unfortunately generic. Bridges of Madison County was either a beautiful love story to some or to me I kept wishing the husband would arrive home early and shotgun them both.


Don't take my differing opinon as hostile, the forums would be boring if we all agreed on everything.

The review thread is anything but boring since, according to Mavy, I'm the only one on the planet who doesn't think Million Dollar Baby is a masterpiece.

We talked at great lengths in the Oscar thread about how rare it is what Eastwood has accomplished but after a lot of information came forward, there's about a dozen or so directors who have accomplished similar award feats.

BTW Mavy, he's teaming up with Dreamworks and Spielberg on his next film. Thought you would like to know since you're keeping a scrapbook.

Clint is da man, probably the most successful star within the last 40 :wink: