For those of you who are not familiar with the title reference, the actor John Cusack starred in the movie High Fidelity as record storeowner Rob Gordon who was fond of top five lists. A must-see movie if you haven’t had the pleasure.
Our subject today is my pick of the top five movies starring Clint Eastwood. It was very tough to pick just five. You could also make a similar list of movies that Eastwood directed. The only ground rules for my list were no movies with animals, Clint singing or Sondra Locke (though you will see I made an exception for the last one). Spoiler alert if you haven’t seen these films as I am writing as if you have. Here we go…
THE TOP FIVE
Dirty Harry (1971) – Eastwood plays the 44 magnum toting San Francisco detective Harry Callahan. Harry is on the trail of a serial killer sniper named Scorpio who has promised to kill one innocent person each day until the city meets his demand for $100,000. One of the cool things about this series are the unrelated vignettes that are interspersed with the main story that have a subtle bit of humor mixed in. The debut’s vignette comes in the opening scene with Harry breaking up a bank robbery that interrupts his lunch at a diner. Next thing you know he’s walking down the street shooting up everything in sight while still chewing his hot dog. The scene ends with Harry confronting one of the wounded bank robbers who is reaching for his shotgun. Harry says, “I know what you’re thinking. Did he fire six shots or only five? Well to tell you the truth in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But seeing that this is a 44 magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world and would blow your head clean off you have to ask yourself a question. Do I feel lucky? Well do you… punk?” Pauline Kael the renowned film reviewer from the New Yorker shredded Dirty Harry calling it “fascist” and ‘immoral” in its depiction of violence.
Magnum Force (1973) –“A man’s got to know his limitations”. This is the recurring quote from Harry in this sequel to Dirty Harry (that is almost as good as the debut) that finds him trying to solve the mystery of who is killing the city’s most notorious criminals. When it appears to be a rogue cop things get interesting and complex for Harry. Hal Holbrook plays the irascible chief of police. The movie also stars in supporting roles some actors who will go on to have notable careers themselves. Among them are David Soul (“Starsky and Hutch”), Tim Matheson (various films and television shows) and Robert Urick (“Vegas” and “Spenser for Hire”). One of the film’s unrelated vignettes (the other being a supermarket stakeout) involves Harry foiling an airplane hijacking by impersonating a pilot. In the cockpit of the plane and in the presence of one of the hijackers, the co-pilot asks Harry, “Excuse me captain I know this may sound silly but can you fly?” Harry answers, “Nope, never had a lesson.” Mayhem ensues.
The Outlaw Josie Wales (1976) – Pale Rider, Unforgiven and even High Plains Drifter may make other lists but for movies with Clint on a horse with a gun for me nothing compares to Josie Wales. After his family is murdered by a union army raid Josie joins up with the rebel forces that are holding out from surrendering. Josie won’t surrender and heads west as a fugitive. During the course of Josie’s continued flight from the union and freelance bounty hunters he winds up accumulating a cast of characters along the way that become his new family. The scene at the end of the movie where Josie negotiates with the Comanche chief Ten Bears is a classic and shows the thematic depth of this “western”. Sondra Locke shows up late in a minor role but even she can’t ruin this great movie.
Escape From Alcatraz (1979) – “When you misbehave in society they send you to prison. When you misbehave in prison they send you to Alcatraz”. So begins the true story of Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers, the only inmates to escape from Alcatraz and not be found. It’s more psychological thriller than action movie as we watch Morris and the brothers carefully plan and execute their escape. Patrick McGoohan stars in a supporting role as the sociopathic warden of “the rock”.
Gran Torino (2008) – Clint plays Walt a retired autoworker, widower and a bit of a bigot who sits on his porch most days with his dog drinking beer from a cooler. He eventually befriends his Asian next-door neighbors (actually they force themselves on Walt). When the kids get caught up in the grip of the local gang Walt gets involved. The title refers to Walt’s prized car. Great late period Clint.
HONORABLE MENTION
In The Line of Fire (1993) – If there were six spots this one would be on the list. Clint stars as Frank Horrigan an aging Secret Service agent who is haunted by his failure on the Kennedy detail in Dallas in1963. Teamed with fellow agent Lillie Raines (Renee Russo) they are chasing ex-CIA assassin Mitch Leary (the masterfully psychotic John Malkovich) who is planning to shoot the president. Great quote by Malkovich’s character near the end of the film: “A bullet-proof vest? Not very sporting Frank.”
High Plains Drifter (1973) – Like the plots of many great Eastwood movies things are not what they seem at first. Clint plays an unknown gunslinger that mysteriously arrives one day in the small prairie town of Lago. He’s eventually enlisted to help the townspeople defend themselves from a group of marauders. It’s a complex tale of violence and revenge.
Million Dollar Baby (2004) – I really liked this one until Hillary Swank got hurt. It was a left turn I did not see coming and it spoiled it for me.