Clint Eastwood at 80

Try to imagine Dirty Harry at 80.  Think of the Man with No Name riding the prairie into his ninth decade, settling old scores, laying waste to rival clans as in his hey day.  Difficult, isn’t it?  Lucky then that Clint Eastwood has negotiated age better than any other American movie star, taking roles suitable to his naturally weathered visage.  Whilst there has been the odd misstep and lesser film since, say, 1990, the highlights make for an impressive, dignified CV: the gunslinger coming out of retirement in “Unforgiven”; the experienced presidential guard in “In the Line of Fire”; a final romantic part - opposite Meryl Streep, no less - in “The Bridges of Madison County”; the aged boxing trainer, wracked by Catholic guilt in “Million Dollar Baby” and a perfect swan song, as a Korean war veteran, alienated from family and the world, electing to die with his boots on in “Gran Torino”.

In a sense all these performances - fine and varied riffs on his angry, tough man persona - are merely icing on the cake.  The legend of Eastwood the star is grounded in the films of Sergio Leone and Don Siegel - in the Dollars Trilogy, “Dirty Harry” and “The Beguiled” - the image being softened in the late 70s and early 80s with comic variations and gentle self-parody like “Every Which Way But Loose”.

Eastwood at 80 is foremost a director.  Arguably no other ‘hyphenate’ star has so credibly segued from before to behind the camera since the days of Chaplin and Keaton (Orson Welles was always a director first).   The early promise of his debut thriller “Play Misty for Me” and first western masterpiece “The Outlaw Josey Wales” was confirmed with his initial Oscar for directing.  “Unforgiven”, a milestone in its genre and in 90s filmmaking in general, was a sign of genuine greatness and Eastwood’s work since 2003’s “Mystic River” has been astonishing, a consistent questioning of the violence that underpins his star appeal. Auteur House proudly stocks his entire oeuvre.