tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post8877882164991755795..comments2024-01-11T05:02:32.321-05:00Comments on Goodfella's Movie Blog: #24: Clint EastwoodDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-80823008994292671192013-07-20T13:05:28.588-04:002013-07-20T13:05:28.588-04:00Watch Planet Outlaws Full Movie Online<a href="http://www.watchmoviesonline5.com/planet-outlaws-1953-full-movie-online/" rel="nofollow">Watch Planet Outlaws Full Movie Online</a>Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08816554351115207115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-11137465013959718882011-12-19T11:04:41.259-05:002011-12-19T11:04:41.259-05:00He is the most incredible actor and director I'...He is the most incredible actor and director I've ever seen in my whole life!4rxhttp://www.4rxdeals.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-80321496683684872242010-06-19T23:50:47.092-04:002010-06-19T23:50:47.092-04:00I'm not crazy about Eastwood's more recent...I'm not crazy about Eastwood's more recent work but I tip my hat to him for his work ethic. The perverse streak in me (eat your heart out, Draven86!) wants to call "Space Cowboys" my favorite Eastwood film simply because it's so silly and yet doesn't seem to know how silly it is, which only makes all the more charming. But that's coming from someone who finds some of his serious, yes, "Oscar bait" work pompous and overbearing. I agree with the commentator who preferred Tim Robbins' performance to Sean Penn's - the grandstanding really irritated me there.Joel Bockohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-73505276508934144702010-06-16T23:29:02.709-04:002010-06-16T23:29:02.709-04:00For me, Eastwood's directing career has been a...For me, Eastwood's directing career has been a roller coaster ride filled with the Good (Bird, Letters From Iwo Jima, High Plains Drifters, The Outlaw Josey Wales), the bad (Invictus, The Gauntlet) and the Ugly (Bronco Billy, The Rookie). I don't think I would rate him this high on my own list, if I had a list, but that is neither here nor there. <br /><br />Here are my top ten Eastwood's<br /><br />Letters From Iwo Jima<br />Unforgiven <br />Bird<br />Mystic River<br />The Outlaw Josey Wales<br />Flags of Our Fathers<br />Play Misty For Me<br />Changling<br />High Plains Drifters<br />Pale RiderJohnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01808503055317962289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-3688974301886132422010-06-14T18:54:09.666-04:002010-06-14T18:54:09.666-04:00To clarify my characterization of Eastwood as an O...To clarify my characterization of Eastwood as an Oscar baiter in light of Draven's comments: in the particular case of Million Dollar Baby my understanding is that Eastwood pressed for a December 2004 release for a film originally scheduled for early 2005, on the assumption that it would prove a prestige sleeper. It seems like an instance when he timed a release to maximize his chance of winning Oscars. I can imagine him being similarly insistent on the timing for Gran Torino because the Oscar he's most interested in at this point, I suspect, is for himself as an actor.<br /><br />As for "M$B" (Clint missed a marketing chance there!), I still forgive its contrivances for the sake of its mood. I may have said somewhere else that it's a better movie than it is a boxing movie; if not, I've just said it here. <br /><br />And as for Unforgiven, some critics seem to equate "revisionism" with "repudiation," so that no western is revisionist unless it deconstructs or discredits genre archetypes or exposes untenable presuppositions. It so happens that I think Buffalo Bill & the Indians is a great revisionist western (and one of my favorite Altman films) but it doesn't set the sole standard for revisionism. "Revision" is quite literally a matter of finding another way of looking at something. The "adult" or "psychological" westerns of the Fifties were revisionist. The spaghetti westerns were revisionist relative to Fifties westerns. Unforgiven is revisionist relative to the spaghettis, and to much that came before, in its emphasis on the destruction William Munny wreaks on a community. He makes his exit not as a triumphant hero or avenger but deliberately as a figure of terror. Focusing on his victory over Little Bill misses the larger, revisionist point.Samuel Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00934870299522899944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-20391364724722383922010-06-14T12:06:29.247-04:002010-06-14T12:06:29.247-04:00"Draven, I do think your criticisms are prett..."Draven, I do think your criticisms are pretty shallow; kind of like blaming the chef for cooking a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner, and if you think that anyone who claims to care seriously about cinema has not seen The Gunfighter or The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance...well, I don't know what to say."<br /><br />Doniphon chimes in with probably the best sentence in this entire exchange. A wonderful response as usual, Doniphon. I rank Mystic River as my #2 for Eastwood, so we're not too far off on favorites.<br /><br />ThatQuebecGuy - Your reading of the ending of Unforgiven is how I see it also... it's tragic, not some bloodlust glorification of violence. Will Munny whiffed on his shot at the straight life.<br /><br />JAFB - Yes, I agree with the parallel between Ford and Eastwood. The Ford thread should be interesting, as I have at least one ranking that most will disagree with...<br /><br />giveitaname - Thanks for the compliments.<br /><br />Nostromo - Agree on there being a gap between Unforgiven and the rest, but not due to the others being bad films. I just think that highly of it.<br /><br />J.D. - Wow, A Perfect World at #1... bold choice, but it really is an outstanding film. Before I saw it, I had my questions about Costner in such a role but he performs magnificently. I still need to see both White Hunter, Black Heart and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Will try and get to them soon!Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-28388914953526594462010-06-14T10:46:21.214-04:002010-06-14T10:46:21.214-04:00Eastwood has had one of the most fascinating direc...Eastwood has had one of the most fascinating directorial careers around. I've always found his fascinating with dark subject matter and morally complex themes to be very interesting and I like how he's found endless variations on exploring them in his films. Not to mention his work rate, at his age, is amazing! My faves:<br /><br />1. A Perfect World<br />2. Unforgiven<br />3. White Hunter, Black Heart<br />4. Play Misty for Me<br />5. Changeling<br />6. The Outlaw Josey Wales<br />7. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil<br />8. Pale Rider<br />9. Mystic River<br />10. Flags of Our Fathers<br /><br />and also special mention to TRUE CRIME. A fantastic thriller with some really wonderful performances.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08164105442273577128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-47071266765730936122010-06-14T10:26:22.589-04:002010-06-14T10:26:22.589-04:00I don't have much to add, and I don't thin...I don't have much to add, and I don't think quite as highly of Unforgiven as Dave does (for me Mystic River is far and away his best movie), but by framing Unforgiven as "just another oater," Draven is betraying his own misunderstanding of the western genre, and its fundamental reliance on convention. Draven, I do think your criticisms are pretty shallow; kind of like blaming the chef for cooking a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner, and if you think that anyone who claims to care seriously about cinema has not seen The Gunfighter or The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance...well, I don't know what to say. You're blaming it for not challenging someone raised on old westerns (which is me, I guess), but Eastwood isn't trying to engage so much with Ford or Hawks as he is with himself. There is far greater and deeper respect for human life in The Searchers or Red River or WInchester '73 than in the westerns Eastwood did with Leone, and the emergence of the spaghetti western really signifies a loss of value and meaning within the genre as a whole (Peckinpah, of course, excepted). Unforgiven isn't dealing so much with old westerns as with the fact that in destroying them, he destroyed our ability to relate to them in human terms, and the ways in which Eastwood, by extension, killed the western.Doniphonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02407443845368110678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-89633970756107830012010-06-14T09:50:51.156-04:002010-06-14T09:50:51.156-04:00Draven - I can take your trashing of Unforgiven an...Draven - I can take your trashing of Unforgiven and praising Million Dollar Baby... it's near delusional that's all. If I got bent out of shape, it was only in response to your diatribe that questioned our knowledge of westerns, classic gangster films, etc.<br /><br />And you continue saying that I don't like Eastwood's recent work - LOOK AT MY RANKINGS. 5 of my Top 10 come from the 2000s. Mystic River, Gran Torino, Letters From Iwo Jima and Flags of Our Fathers are all very good. How does this translate into not liking his recent work?<br /><br />We have listed more criticisms than simply Oscar bait (manipulative, preposterous story, terrible boxing scenes), but you seem so hung up on that one that is all you focus on. No problem, though. The main problems - and yes, this includes Oscar bait claims - with the film have nothing to do with Eastwood's direction though. It is, once again, Paul "I'm going to be a point into your head" Haggis who I would place the most blame on.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-32073905174179174532010-06-14T09:42:53.207-04:002010-06-14T09:42:53.207-04:00We got a good old fashioned blog fight going on!! ...We got a good old fashioned blog fight going on!! Get Allen and Bob Clark over here lol......M.RocaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-40378148851015250062010-06-14T09:37:12.010-04:002010-06-14T09:37:12.010-04:00Lol at Draven telling us to go watch The Gunfighte...Lol at Draven telling us to go watch The Gunfighter and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Should I go see that old boxing movie called Body And Soul with some guy named John Garfield.......M.RocaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-46125036022361874362010-06-14T09:31:19.719-04:002010-06-14T09:31:19.719-04:00"stupidity"
sp."stupidity"<br /><br />sp.Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-47982117220817094302010-06-14T09:29:16.758-04:002010-06-14T09:29:16.758-04:00Imagine using the Oscars as a validation of artist...Imagine using the Oscars as a validation of artistry?<br /><br />That's the height of stupidy, even though I play the game for fun year in and year out. Usually an oscar win insures the winner's lack of quality.Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-47774177272949547612010-06-14T08:23:47.797-04:002010-06-14T08:23:47.797-04:00"Get bent out of shape once again because fol..."Get bent out of shape once again because folks don't agree with your opinions."<br /><br />I rather think the one getting bent out of shape here is you. Evidently you can't defend your childish criticisms of Million Dollar Baby & accusing me of 'trashing' Unforgiven when I clearly said it 'deserves all the success & Oscars it's got' suggests it's certainly not me who can't take criticism.<br /><br />Nothing wrong with not liking Eastwood's recent work but you need to come up with a more persuasive reason than 'it's Oscar bait' lest one reach the conclusion that you & your friends are, shall we say, somewhat - ah - immature.<br /><br />Bye-bye.Draven86noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-75073739712775781492010-06-14T08:18:17.405-04:002010-06-14T08:18:17.405-04:00MILLION DOLLAR BABY is Eastwood's most embarra...MILLION DOLLAR BABY is Eastwood's most embarrassing film. No wonder it's reputation has diminished since it's Kiss of Death Oscar win. It's manipulative and superficial right through it's smug conclusion. If you like it Sir, more power to you, but I dismissed this one a long time ago.Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-33996366787014806702010-06-14T07:58:02.113-04:002010-06-14T07:58:02.113-04:00And before this degenerates into a "my Eastwo...And before this degenerates into a "my Eastwood is better than your Eastwood" back and forth, I'll just say to everyone that I probably shouldn't have even taken that bait in the above response... as it puts me in a position where it seems like I'm being anti-Eastwood toward some of his work. The whole point of this entry was to celebrate the man as a director. I mean, I just ranked his as my 24th favorite director OF ALL TIME! That is high, high praise. So my remarks aren't meant to denigrate anything that Eastwood has done, but simply to defend a movie that I absolutely love.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-10773166584404875992010-06-14T07:28:02.606-04:002010-06-14T07:28:02.606-04:00Draven86 - I can appreciate the passion, but if yo...Draven86 - I can appreciate the passion, but if you want to come and challenge other folks' movie knowledge, you're not going to impress many folks here by "name dropping" a bunch of films. I've seen every movie you're bringing up, so it's no great accomplishment to be able to rattle them off.<br /><br />Unforgiven is a familiar story? Yes, it is. But such a claim could be made about 90% of the movies ever made. Statements like: <br /><br />"Unforgiven makes anti-violence comments while at the same time indulging the audience in the bloodlust it wants from an Eastwood western."<br /><br />"Revisionist' would have been Eastwood's character dying, gunned down by Little Bill in the film's climax, or perhaps unexpectedly dying much earlier in the film ala Janet Leigh in 'Psycho.' But then that kind of revisionism would not have sold tickets."<br /><br />Make me think that you don't get the movie... which I'm sure will set you off on another explosion, but that's fine. Get bent out of shape once again because folks don't agree with your opinions. The point of making the anti-violence statements and then "glorifying" it as you say is precisely the point of the movie. Will can't escape his violent past. He resorts to it because he knows no other way to handle things. And if you read the ending of that film as a glorification of violence, that is YOUR problem, not Eastwood's. The ending is tragic. Will tried to go straight, stayed on the path for many years, but ultimately reverted to his past persona. Now he is doomed to live out his years trying to cope with this and somehow find a place in life.<br /><br />You're perfectly entitled to rank Eastwood's movies anyway you want. But don't use this as part of your support: "And I'm hardly the only one saying so (well, except maybe on this thread!)" and then continue to trash Unforgiven. Notice how everyone else in this thread agrees that Unforgiven is his best movie. Notice how nearly every critic's list for Eastwood places Unforgiven #1. Does that make it so? Absolutely not. But it shows that ranking it at #1 is not the ludicrous proposition that you seem to be proposing. So please, don't start questioning other people's movie knowledge. Not only is it petty, but it's not going to impress many folks in this crowd who have movie knowledge to spare. You try to soften your stance on Unforgiven in your response, but there's no need to go back on everything else you've said. You castigate it and then all of sudden say "it deserves the praise." No need to double back and cover your tracks.<br /><br />We'll get nowhere arguing the merits of Million Dollar Baby. It is not, in my opinion, a very good movie. You like it. That's cool, but no matter how much background information you provide about it's production, nothing can overcome the fact that the story is so farcical to me that it overshadows the outstanding performances.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-48694440038635887912010-06-14T05:13:30.892-04:002010-06-14T05:13:30.892-04:00"Calling it just another oater is like callin..."Calling it just another oater is like calling Goodfellas just another gangster film."<br /><br />But 'Unforgiven's themes & content ARE familiar! The same in fact for 'Goodfellas. I get the impression you just must not have seen very much of either genre. Go watch Henry King's 1950's movie 'The Gunfighter' to see Gregory Peck as a William Munny type - an infamous, ageing 'gunny' whose reputation precedes him wherever he goes & makes it impossible for him to change his ways. Sound familiar? <br /><br />Catch 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance' for the mth vs reality theme that is a major part of 'Unforgiven' over 40 years later. Go watch William Wellman's 'The Public Enemy' & the other WB gangster films of the 1930's to see present every thematic element of 'Goodfellas.' There are countless other examples from both genres. <br /><br />'Goodfellas' is really only of note for its style & then only intermittently. It always seems to me to sag disastrously once we get past the airport robbery & its aftermath. Its themes & story are nothing special & I find the film as a whole vastly overrated. <br /><br />"We likely just have different taste on this one."<br /><br />Well that's certainly part of it!<br /><br />"With Million Dollar Baby, I have to agree with Samuel Wilson about Oscar-baiting on that one."<br /><br />You've got no evidence for that. It's a ludicrous accusation. Don't you know that NO studio in town wanted to make that script? WB didn't want to make 'Mystic River.' Too dark, too depressing they said. They only reluctantly agreed for a minimal budget & Eastwood waiving his director's fee. When MR was nominated for all those Oscars & won for Penn & Robbins, Eastwood went back with the M$B script. Same reaction. WB felt the movie was far too grim, boxing stories - especially female ones - weren't commercial they said. They had so little faith in the director they told Eastwood he could shop it around. When Eastwood came back with half the budget raised from an indie firm (Lakeshore Entertainment) Warner grudgingly ponied up the balance (the total budget was only around $15 million if that), insisted Eastwood again waive his fee & sold off all international rights before the movie went into production. When the film became a commercial smash WB saw none of that overseas revenue. Relations between studio head Alan Horn & Eastwood were extremely strained during this period. Yet here you & Sam are telling me the film was a classic example of 'Oscar bait' like that piece of crap Scorsese movie 'The Aviator.' M$B was a movie that came out of nowhere into the Oscar race. Few had even heard of it before a sensational press preview on the Warner lot a few months before Christmas.<br /><br /> You & Sam need to get over trying to caricature Eastwood's movie as some sentimental schmaltz & see what it's really doing. It's a very, very tough examination of a failed father with brilliant performances from its three stars, exquisitely restrained in its emotions & with direction from Eastwood so austere & stripped down it verges at times on the abstract. It deserved every one of the Oscars it won & ranks as one of the all time great Oscar winners & one of the great American films of the decade. And I'm hardly the only one saying so (well, except maybe on this thread!)Draven86noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-52173950766657541802010-06-14T04:49:21.598-04:002010-06-14T04:49:21.598-04:00*totally*totallyNostromohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03018090776543484585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-81897564574736015692010-06-14T04:48:25.508-04:002010-06-14T04:48:25.508-04:001. Unforgiven (1992)
2. ... (this empty space mean...1. Unforgiven (1992)<br />2. ... (this empty space means that Unforgiven is way better than everybody else) ...<br />3. Pale Rider (1985)<br />4. The Bridges of Madison County (1995)<br />5. Absolute Power (1997)<br />6. Changeling (2008)<br />7. Million Dollar Baby (2004)<br />8. True Crime (1999)<br />9. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)<br />10. Mystic River (2003)<br />11. The Rookie (1990)<br />.<br />.<br />.<br />101. Letters From Iwo Jima (2006)<br />102. Flags of Our Fathers (2006)<br /><br />101 and 102 are not so bad, they are tonally needless...Nostromohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03018090776543484585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-57565761665431638152010-06-14T04:27:56.464-04:002010-06-14T04:27:56.464-04:00"The western hero Eastwood debunks on Unforgi..."The western hero Eastwood debunks on Unforgiven is anything but conventional. How many classic westerns repudiate their protagonists in such a manner?"<br /><br />Anon, the question is rhetorical since the film self-evidently doesn't repudiate its hero. You may THINK it does & that's fine, but aside from Claudia's beyond the grave sense of disapproval there's precious little evidence elsewhere for this in the film. And especially for the audience, which only tolerates Munny's pious declarations that he 'ain't like that anymore' in the expectation that when push comes to shove he will indeed drop the pacifist crap & revert to the figure the audience so fervently wishes him to be. Sure enough that's what happens.<br /><br />Unforgiven makes anti-violence comments while at the same time indulging the audience in the bloodlust it wants from an Eastwood western. Nothing wrong with that, it's a classic Hollywood tactic. It's called having your cake & eating it. But don't tell me that amkes it 'revisionist' or 'unconventional' because it doesn't. <br /><br />'Revisionist' would have been Eastwood's character dying, gunned down by Little Bill in the film's climax, or perhaps unexpectedly dying much earlier in the film ala Janet Leigh in 'Psycho.' But then that kind of revisionism would not have sold tickets. Unforgiven grossed nearly $100 m in the US & it did not do so because the audience suddenly favoured revisionist westerns. In fact most genuinely revisionist work in the genre (such as Altman's 'Buffalo Bill & the Indians') did terribly at the box office. <br /><br />No, 'Unforgiven' was a hit because it was both familiar & conventional. Smartly made & full of knowing about the myths & realities of the old west which it sets up & undercuts brilliantly, I grant you all of that, but still, nothing to challenge anyone raised on a diet of the old westerns.<br /><br />I like 'Unforgiven' a lot, it fully deserves its success & its Oscars. But it has long since vacated it's no 1 spot as Eastwood's greatest film because Eastwood has since gone on to direct better films with more penetrating & ambitious subject matter. In fact personally I prefer 'The Outlaw Josey Wales' over 'Unforgiven' but the latter would still make my Top 10. Probably around seventh or eighth on the list.Draven86noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-40888156604233201262010-06-14T01:56:49.258-04:002010-06-14T01:56:49.258-04:00Wonderful blog!
I'm enjoying your noir top 100...Wonderful blog!<br />I'm enjoying your noir top 100 list,<br />bit by delicious bit.<br /><br />If you're interested in a swell bit of noir background material - <br /><br />http://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2010/06/set-up-joseph-moncure-march-1928.html<br /><br />- and thanks again for all the leads!giveitanamehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14218614927360980192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-36249821784514447672010-06-14T01:13:22.745-04:002010-06-14T01:13:22.745-04:00Fantastic thread here! These people know their Ea...Fantastic thread here! These people know their Eastwood! Bravo.Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-86174256247535894672010-06-13T23:58:51.302-04:002010-06-13T23:58:51.302-04:00Wow, that's a long list
I like the fact that ...Wow, that's a long list<br /><br />I like the fact that you're following up Eastwood with Ford. Eastwood is the most Fordian of all directors working today, probably the last of the classic filmmakers. And that's a reason enough to celebrate him.<br /><br />I've only seen a few of Eastwood's :<br /><br />1. Unforgiven<br />2. Gran Torino<br />3. Letter from Iwo Jima<br />4. Mystic River<br />5. Million Dollar Baby<br />6. Flags of Our Fathers<br />7. Invictus<br />8. ChangelingJust Another Film Buffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17880550053788464732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-15858670736895108112010-06-13T23:30:33.492-04:002010-06-13T23:30:33.492-04:00Dave, Mystic River has a great performance by Tim ...Dave, Mystic River has a great performance by Tim Robbins and an overrated one (in my view) by Sean Penn, who drags a good film down a bit in my overall Eastwood list. Oscar baiting in Eastwood's case is mostly a matter of timing, though Invictus (admittedly instigated by Morgan Freeman as much as by anyone) has the air of prestige about it. But since I haven't yet seen it, either, I should say no more on that subject.Samuel Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00934870299522899944noreply@blogger.com