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News & ArtsWednesday, March 17, 2010
Film Made My Day
Posted by Paul Constant on Wed, Mar 17, 2010 at 3:35 PM
Being underestimated is, for some people, a misfortune. For Eastwood, it became a weapon...Those who were skeptical of Eastwood forty years ago (I’m one of them) have long since capitulated, retired, or died. He has outlasted everyone.
David Denby's profile of Clint Eastwood for the New Yorker is really wonderful.
(Detail of Jean-Charles de Castelbajac's Clint Eastwood dress from Cherrybombed.)
1
Eastwood is sui generis, unique, his own category. The only true star left, and the only one who genuinely did it his own way. People make fun of the spaghetti westerns and "do ya, punk?", but he has always made intriguing, challenging movies that cut across the grain of what an intelligent movie is supposed to be. Ever see the psychosexual freakshow of "The Beguiled", where he spends most of the movie lying in bed with his infected leg rotting off, while the likes of underage Pam Ferdyn try to seduce him? Or "Bronco Billy", wherein he reveals that the mythic western gunslinger character is really a shoe salesman from New Jersey? Or the biting verbal war between him and Shirley MacLaine in "Two Mules For Sister Sara"? Or his fantastic work with Jeff Bridges (who deserved his Oscar in 1974, not 2010) in "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot"? Or even his bizarre but delightful musical turn in "Paint Your Wagon", singing "I Talk To The Trees"?
People who think Clint sucks, or who lump him in with blockheads like Chuck Norris, Charles Bronson, Stallone, or Schwarzenegger, don't know nuthin'.
People who think Clint sucks, or who lump him in with blockheads like Chuck Norris, Charles Bronson, Stallone, or Schwarzenegger, don't know nuthin'.
3
Quite agreed, Fnarf, and I gained a whole NEW respect for him when I saw "Mystic River" and realized he had eerily shot every scene almost EXACTLY the way I envisioned it when I read the novel. And Letters From Iwo Jima/Flags of Our Fathers--just fucking amazing movies!
4
Not to mention the fact that those spaghetti westerns are the greatest big-screen experience ever. If you've only seen them on TV, you've seen nothing. "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly" is better on the big screen than "Lawrence of Arabia", especially the Clint crossing the desert scene, and the shootout with Eli Wallach (the greatest), Lee Van Cleef (unbelievable, inhuman face) and Clint in extreme closeup. You'll swear the temperature in the theater during that scene is 140 degrees F. And the music! All three movies are great, great, great.
5
I don't get the Eastwood hate either. Well, Gran Torino sucked, and I haven't seen Dirty Harry or the orangutan movie, but most of his films I've quite enjoyed.
6
@ 4, you've said that once before. But agreed on all counts. I am thankful that I saw all three Dollars movies at the Egyptian 8 or 9 years ago...
7
And that in a nutshell Paul, is the secret to becoming a successful character actor: outlast your competition and your critics.
9
@8, not really. He's pretty independent, fiscally conservative and socially liberal. He strongly supports abortion rights, environmental protection, and gay marriage, for instance. He has frequently supported Democratic candidates for office, including California governor Gray Davis against Schwarzenegger, as well as some Republicans. He supported McCain in '08, but is comfortable with Obama as the President of the United States -- a position few Republicans can publicly bring themselves to state.
All in all, it's a long ways from what "Republican" means these days.
All in all, it's a long ways from what "Republican" means these days.
11
thx paul, that was a great piece, i had to stay on the toilet to finish it. it was that good!
im glad the article gave props to BIRD a film that i really liked and also i liked to read about the subtext in Play Misty for Me. one thing that people forget is that eastwood is a rabid jazz fan. a child of the cool.
even that horrible film, bridges of madison county, had some great music.
im glad the article gave props to BIRD a film that i really liked and also i liked to read about the subtext in Play Misty for Me. one thing that people forget is that eastwood is a rabid jazz fan. a child of the cool.
even that horrible film, bridges of madison county, had some great music.
12
Totally agree with Fnarf. The climatic 3-way shootout in Good, Bad & Ugly is one of the 10 best scenes in movie history, but only in cinemascope. Maybe someday I'll steel up the nerve to watch Eastwood's Iwo Jima films, when I finally get over Saving Private Ryan. (family members....)
That New Yorker article reminded me what it's like to read the writing of a professional writer discussing art.
That New Yorker article reminded me what it's like to read the writing of a professional writer discussing art.
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