Eastwood Clint

American Director, Actor, Producer, Composer, Music (Filmsong)

A tall, soft-spoken and leathery leading man who, since the 1960s, has diversified into directing and producing after achieving iconic status, Clint Eastwood arose from the world of television westerns to become the number-one box-office star in the world, and subsequently earned critical acclaim as a director. His production company, Malpaso, has crafted moderate-budget features that range from mainstream fare to personal and ambitious endeavors. Eastwood is not entirely part of the Hollywood establishment-his business is run out of Carmel, California, on the Monterey Peninsula, where he has also served as mayor and ran a restaurant.
Eastwood grew up in Depression-era California, where his parents were itinerant workers. After high school, he worked as a lumberjack in Oregon, played honky-tonk piano and was a swimming instructor in the US Army. On the GI Bill, he studied at Los Angeles City College, after which he was signed by Universal. One of his first experiences with the indignity actors must suffer was in a "Francis the Talking Mule" movie, "Francis in the Navy" (1955). Also that year, Eastwood made a brief appearance as a Lab Technician in "Revenge of the Creature", the sequel to "Creature From the Black Lagoon" (1954). The movie was later lampooned on the popular cult television show, "Mystery Science Theater 3000" (1989-2000)-Eastwood did not escape the barbs hurled by Mike and the bots. Many B-movies later, he moved to New York and gained recognition as trail boss Rowdy Yates in the successful television series "Rawhide" (1959-66)-a role he got despite trouble remembering lines in his screen test.
A strong sensibility and understanding of the characters he played helped Eastwood develop the minimalist acting style for which he's famous. It was first appreciated in Europe where he starred in a trilogy of popular spaghetti westerns directed by Sergio Leone in Spain. As the laconic and lethal Man With No Name, Eastwood embodied archetypal violent American whose philosophy in "A Fistful of Dollars" (1964) was "everybody gets rich or dead." The sequels, "For a Few Dollars More" (1965) and "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" (1966), became classic revisionist Westerns and made Eastwood an international star. He returned stateside and starred in "Coogan's Bluff" (1968), a smart urban Western that marked the beginning of a long and successful collaboration with director Don Siegel.
Eastwood's second famed screen incarnation was Harry Callahan, the rogue cop of Siegel's "Dirty Harry" (1971) who found it easier to shoot suspects than interrogate them-hence the immortal line in "Sudden Impact" (1983): "Go ahead, make my day." Despite controversy about Dirty Harry's penchant for violence over procedure, Eastwood and Siegel were more interested in making an exciting film than a political statement. Eastwood has stated "My characters are usually callused men with a sensitive spot for right and wrong." He has also noted that "My movies add up to a morality, not a politics." Even his friendship with Ronald Reagan has attracted criticism from some, but Eastwood's concern for the environment, he claims, would make him befriend any President.
Eastwood became a fixture of masculine action flicks, but he also did well in several popular comedies-"Every Which Way But Loose" (1978) and "Any Which Way You Can" (1980). Though he could have coasted on his established persona, Eastwood chose to take chances with his material and subjected his image to thoughtful, but not always flattering scrutiny. His portraits of tormented men with intense inner lives and little ability to communicate reached an apogee with his acclaimed directorial effort, "Bird" (1988), a moody look at troubled jazz musician Charlie Parker (Forest Whitaker). Over the years, Eastwood has attained virtual artistic control on his projects, which has enabled him to make unusual Westerns-"High Plains Drifter" (1973) and "Pale Rider" (1985)-and cop movies exploring feminist concerns-"Sudden Impact (1983) and "Tightrope" (1984).
Eastwood's commercial viability appeared to be in decline by the late 80s-the fifth Dirty Harry movie, "The Dead Pool" (1988), was less successful than its predecessors. In 1990, Eastwood saw two significant box-office failures: "The Rookie," a formula cop outing, and "White Hunter, Black Heart", an interesting, semi-fictional account of the making of "The African Queen". Eastwood enjoyed a popular and critical rebirth, however, with "Unforgiven" (1992), a so-called anti-Western which earned Eastwood Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director as well as several other major awards. A spellbinding morality tale about the effects of killing on a man's soul, "Unforgiven" took both an ironic and sentimental view of several of Eastwood's earlier gunfighter incarnations. Dedicated to his mentors-"Sergio" (Leone) and "Don" (Siegel)-the film was a solid commercial hit, grossing over $100 million over its long run.
Eastwood's next star vehicle, "In the Line of Fire" (1993), was an immediate hit. This taut political thriller-which pitted veteran a Secret Service agent (Eastwood) against a brilliant assassin (John Malkovich)-passed the $100 million mark in a few months. Eastwood directed his subsequent feature, "A Perfect World" (also 1993), wherein he portrayed an experienced law man tracking down a dangerous escaped convict (Kevin Costner) with a seven-year-old hostage-cum-companion.
Even the most jaded critics praised Eastwood's restrained adaptation of "The Bridges of Madison County" (1995), which took a treacly best-seller and turned it into a well-acted adult love story. A detailed, mature look at passion, the film not only exhibited Eastwood's directorial skill but also provided him with a romantic lead that he played with confidence and charm. Starring opposite Meryl Streep, he exuded sex in a low-key manner and revealed a soft, yet masculine side. Eastwood contributed compositions to the soundtrack, released on his newly-launched Malpaso Records. That same year, Eastwood made an uncredited cameo in the fantasy "Casper."
With "Absolute Power" (1997), Eastwood began to address the issue of growing old. In this uneven thriller, he portrayed a thief out to commit one last crime before retiring, but witnesses a murder involving the President of the United States. Similarly, "True Crime" (1999) saw him portray a burnt-out reporter who finds a last shot at redemption when he becomes convinced a Death Row inmate is innocent. With "Space Cowboys" (2000), Eastwood made his most blatant attempt to deal with aging-he played the leader of a quartet of veteran astronauts called out of retirement to fix a satellite first sent into space forty years earlier.
In 2002, Eastwood was once again the director and star of a feature film, "Bloodwork," a competent, yet standard thriller with Eastwood as a detective taunted by a clever serial killer. Eastwood received high praise when he stepped behind the camera for "Mystic River" (2003), an adaptation of Dennis Lehane's crime novel which explores the interwoven history of three men-played by Sean Penn, Tim Robbins and Kevin Bacon-and the terrible events from their boyhood that later force them to make irrevocable choices. Considered on of his best pictures since "Unforgiven," it earned six Oscar nominations, including Eastwood's second as Best Director.
Oscar buzz ignited anew with his follow up, "Million Dollar Baby" (2004), which was an even more effective than "Mystic River." Co-starring Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman, Eastwood played Frankie Dunn, an old-school boxing trainer afraid of intimacy after a painful rift with his daughter. Praised by a majority of critics as an exquisite and subtle film, "Million Dollar Baby" received wide acclaim after earning five Golden Globe nominations, including Best Director, the trophy that Eastwood ultimately claimed. He also beat out "The Aviator's" sentimental favorite Martin Scorsese at the Directors Guild Awards, and when Oscar nominations were announced in January 2005, "Million Dollar Baby" came away with seven nods, including Best Picture, Best Director and a surprising Best Actor nomination for Eastwood-only the second of his long career. Eastwood didn't win for acting, but he did take home two Oscars, one as Best Director and one as one of the producers of the film, which was named Best Picture.
As he mellowed with age, Eastwood became more ruminative and thought-provoking on a variety of themes-echoes were seen in his examination of violence in "Unforgiven." With "Flags of Our Fathers" (2006), an epic World War II drama that focused on the three surviving U.S. servicemen who raised the American flag during the hellacious battle for Iwo Jima, Eastwood used the war genre to explore how a single image can rally a nation in a time of great need while cynical politicians callously disregard the truth and the people being propped up as gods among men. Leapfrogging from the violence of the black sand beaches to the war bond campaign back home, "Flags of Our Fathers" focused on two Marines (Adam Beach and Jesse Bradford) and a Navy corpsman (Ryan Phillippe) being shuttled across the nation by the government to raise money as they cope with the official sanitized version of events in contrast to the nightmare of battle that continually haunts them.
Even before the film was released, "Flags of Our Fathers" was considered to be a top contender for Oscar consideration, including Eastwood, whose rich and deeply engaging direction seemed to poise him for a third straight nomination. But it was his companion film, "Letters from Iwo Jima" (2006), which focused the oft-told tale on the unique perspective of the Japanese defenders of the black-sanded island, that earned Eastwood major award recognition. After winning Best Film from the National Board of Review and Best Picture of the Year from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, "Letters from Iwo Jima" earned to Golden Globe Award nominations in 2006, including one for Best Director - Motion Picture for Eastwood. But he wasn't finished-Eastwood earned a second Best Director nod for his work on "Flags of Our Fathers." He took one out of three nominations, winning a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film for "Letters from Iwo Jima." He went on to earn yet another Best Director nomination at the Academy Awards, setting the stage for a potential third win. (lire moins)

American Director, Actor, Producer, Composer, Music (Filmsong)

A tall, soft-spoken and leathery leading man who, since the 1960s, has diversified into directing and producing after achieving iconic status, Clint Eastwood arose from the world of television westerns to become the number-one box-office star in the world, and subsequently earned critical acclaim as a director. His production company, Malpaso, has crafted moderate-budget features that range from mainstream fare to personal and... (lire la suite)

Filmography :

Actor:

Million Dollar Baby (2005)
A decade under the influence (2003)
Piano Blues (2003)
Blood Work (2002)
Space Cowboys (2000)
True Crime (1999)
Absolute Power (1996)
Casper (1995)
A Personal Journey With Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995)
The Hundred and One Nights (1994)
The Bridges of Madison County (1994)
A Century of Cinema (1994)
In the Line of Fire (1993)
A Perfect World (1993)
Unforgiven (1992)
White Hunter, Black Heart (1989)
The Dead Pool (1988)
Heartbreak Ridge (1986)
Pale Rider (1985)
Tightrope (1984)
Sudden Impact (1983)
Firefox (1982)
Honkytonk Man (1982)
Bronco Billy (1980)
Any Which Way You Can (1980)
Escape from Alcatraz (1979)
Every which way but loose (1978)
The Gauntlet (1977)
The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
The Enforcer (1976)
The Eiger Sanction (1975)
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974)
Magnum Force (1973)
High Plains Drifter (1972)
Joe Kidd (1972)
Dirty Harry (1971)
Play Misty for Me (1971)
The Beguiled (1970)
Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970)
Kelly's Heroes (1970)
Paint Your Wagon (1969)
Where eagles dare (1969)
Unseen Cinema: Program 9 (1968)
Coogan's Bluff (1968)
Hang'em high (1968)
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
For a Few Dollars More (1965)
Fistful of Dollars (1964)
Tarantula (1955)
Revenge of the Creature (1955)

Director :

The Human Factor (Coming soon)
Letters from Iwo Jima (2007)
The Changeling (2007)
Flags of Our Fathers (2006)
Million Dollar Baby (2005)
Mystic River (2003)
Piano Blues (2003)
Blood Work (2002)
Space Cowboys (2000)
True Crime (1999)
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1998)
Absolute Power (1996)
The Bridges of Madison County (1994)
A Perfect World (1993)
Unforgiven (1992)
White Hunter, Black Heart (1989)
Bird (1987)
Heartbreak Ridge (1986)
Pale Rider (1985)
Sudden Impact (1983)
Firefox (1982)
Honkytonk Man (1982)
Bronco Billy (1980)
The Gauntlet (1977)
The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
The Eiger Sanction (1975)
High Plains Drifter (1972)
Play Misty for Me (1971)

Composer :

Grace is Gone (Coming soon)
Flags of Our Fathers (2006)
Million Dollar Baby (2005)
Mystic River (2003)
Space Cowboys (2000)
Absolute Power (1996)
The Bridges of Madison County (1994)
Unforgiven (1992)
Fistful of Dollars (1964)
Letters from Iwo Jima (2007)
Play Misty For Me (2007)
Flags of Our Fathers (2006)
Million Dollar Baby (2005)
Mystic River (2003)
Blood Work (2002)
Space Cowboys (2000)
True Crime (1999)
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1998)
Absolute Power (1996)
The Stars Fell on Henrietta (1995)
The Bridges of Madison County (1994)
A Perfect World (1993)
Unforgiven (1992)
White Hunter, Black Heart (1989)
Straight no Chaser (1988)
Bird (1987)
Heartbreak Ridge (1986)
Pale Rider (1985)
Tightrope (1984)
Sudden Impact (1983)
Firefox (1982)
Honkytonk Man (1982) (lire moins)

Filmography :

Actor:

Million Dollar Baby (2005)
A decade under the influence (2003)
Piano Blues (2003)
Blood Work (2002)
Space Cowboys (2000)
True Crime (1999)
Absolute Power (1996)
Casper (1995)
A Personal Journey With Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995)
The Hundred and One Nights (1994)
The Bridges of Madison County (1994)
A Century of Cinema (1994)
In the Line of Fire (1993)
A Perfect World (1993)
Unforgiven (1992)
White Hunter, Black Heart (1989)
The Dead Pool... (lire la suite)