Top 5 Clint Eastwood Westerns

There is no doubt that Clint Eastwood was the top actor in Western movies. These films when watched today reveal some interesting elements both genius and ridiculous that we may have missed the first few times around. Just like with any good (or bad) movie a little reflection often allows us to discover what makes westerns so entertaining to watch. The best way to find these elements are in the top 5 Clint Eastwood Westerns. Let's start with the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

This almost 3-hour long film revolves around the three main characters, Clint Eastwood as the Good, Lee Van Cleef as the Bad and Eli Wallach as the Ugly who are all in cahoots to retrieve a large sum of gold that is buried in a faraway graveyard which takes them across the country as it is battling its Civil War.

With no surprises, each of the characters tries to outdo the other so that they end up with all the gold. There is no doubt that the last minutes of this film are what shot this movie to the top of the list. The three way gun fight is an epic battle but it represents much more than just three men dueling it out. It is the ultimate fight that each person deals with in life, good versus evil, the beauty versus the beast, etc.

A Fistful of Dollars



In the typical Clint Eastwood style, A Fistful of Dollars portrays Eastwood as a stranger who plays two criminal gangs against each other in order to rise up to the top. Although the plot was nowhere near original since its main storyline was lifted from a Japanese film, Yojimbo, the director Leone was able to style the film in another manner which opened the door for Spaghetti Westerns in the United States. Some of the key elements to look out for in this Western are the intense close up shots, taciturn characters, impeccable framing and the perfect musical melodies to accompany the drama.

High Plains Drifter

High Plain Drifters is another spaghetti western where a town contracts Clint Eastwood (the stranger) in order to protect them from outlaws coming into town. Once again the movie's soundtrack adds an incredible element to the suspense and drama right from the opening scene when the stranger slowly drifts into town. This film is also a precursor for what would be expected in the decades to come like Unforgiven from Eastwood.

Outlaw Josey Wales



This suspenseful western tells the story of a man from Missouri who is on the run from the Union soldiers after the Civil War who murdered his family and eventually his past comes back to haunt him. Eastwood not only plays the title role but he also directs this film. An interesting fact is that he began to change Hollywood by hiring authentic Indians to play in Native American roles rather than masking Caucasians as Native Americans. They were also treated equally which was unheard of in Hollywood.

Unforgiven



Not many westerns are still made today but in 1992, Unforgiven was able to bring back the Westerns to the big screen, and inspired the last great Western Tombstone. This story revolves around a retired gunslinger that comes back into action for one last time as a favor to his ex partner and an up and coming gun slinger. The interesting elements that creates this movie is the battle between reality and fantasy, man and myth and overall good versus evil. You can see how Eastwood travels back and forth between his heroic and villainous acts.