My Top 10: Films Directed by Clint Eastwood

From his breakthrough performance in A Fistful Of Dollars in 1964, Clint Eastwood is one of the most famous actors and is becoming a huge name in the world of directing.

For the last 40 years, Eastwood has directed quite a lot of the films he has also starred in. Known for his well structured style of story-telling and interesting choice of subject matters, Eastwood has been nominated and won several of the major movie awards including Best Picture at the Oscars.

Out of his 38 films, I have seen 30 of them, and I am pretty confident I have seen all of his most critically acclaimed features. One film that just missed out that deserves a mention is Unforgiven. The Oscar best picture winner may have been in my top 10 over-rated films, but I still found to be a good film that gave the Western genre a nice rejuvenation. But sadly, there were ten other films that I felt were better.

I will rank all of the ones I have seen and give a short review for each of my top 10:

30) Firefox
29) The 15:17 To Paris
28) True Crime
27) Space Cowboys
26) The Mule
25) Sudden Impact
24) Blood Work
23) The Gauntlet
22) Bronco Billy
21) Heartbreak Ridge
20) J. Edgar
19) Jersey Boys
18) Absolute Power
17) Sully: Miracle On The Hudson
16) Invictus
15) American Sniper
14) Pale Rider
13) Richard Jewell
12) Play Misty For Me
11) Unforgiven

10) High Plains Drifter - Remember this being quite a disturbing psychological western film.

A mysterious man comes to a small town to unite against three outlaws that plan to ruin the town.

9) The Bridges Of Madison County - Quite an underrated romance story of a photographer and a housewife.

The on-screen chemistry of Eastwood and Meryl Streep gives this Oscar nominated romance drama a lot of class and is a highly emotional tale.

8) A Perfect World - A dramatic crime thriller that tells about a boy striking friendship with a stranger who initially kidnaps him.
Eastwood plays a U.S marshal who pursues the kidnapper.

With terrific performances by Eastwood and Kevin Costner, this undervalued road movie has gotten a lot of love over time.

7) Changeling - Only recently seen this and found it to be a terrific mystery drama that brings out the best out of Angelina Jolie.

Nominated for 3 Oscars, this astonishing story really transports you to Los Angeles in the 1930's.
From the acting, to the set design and costumes, it is an amazing drama that is perfect viewing for a Sunday afternoon.

6) The Outlaw Josey Wales - Quoted by Orson Welles as "the greatest Western ever made", this is Eastwood's best directed Western.

The perfect mix of high-level action, enjoyable performances and a tense pacing to the story. It is everything you want for a Western.

5) Letters From Iwo Jima - Part two of the World War II battle between America and Japan.
This time, it is told from the side of the Japanese.

After the high praise of 'Flags Of Our Fathers', this calmly paced story shows us a really touching side to this brutal battle.

4) Flags Of Our Fathers - Part one of the battle between American and Japan during WWII sees Eastwood give us the story of the six men who raised the flag at the Battle Of Iwo Jima.

I felt gripped throughout as it is a story not many non-Americans know and found it a great watch.

3) Mystic River - Took me a while finally see this, but it was worth the wait.

It sees three childhood friends reunite following a death. But the case takes a disturbing turn of events that could ruin their entire friendship.

Winner of two Academy Awards, it is a wonderfully told crime drama with an awesome ensemble cast.

2) Million Dollar Baby - Best Picture winner of 2005, this is seen by a lot of people as Eastwood's masterpiece.

Eastwood delivers in everything. From the performances, to the writing, the cinematography and the tone, this is a touching story of a woman looking to become a professional boxer.

1) Gran Torino - This for me, is where Eastwood fledged his wings and became known as one of the great directors of the last decade.

Eastwood plays a Korean War veteran looking to set an example to a neighbor and several gang members.

Amazingly, this only got one Golden Globe nomination.