Yes! On Million Dollar Baby I think he only used one light, it was so dark and so high contrast, everyone was always half in shadow, it drove me up the wall. And after the argument with Spike Lee, Gran Torino looks like an attempt to be hip to diversity. Dude’s old, he’s a republican, people need to start giving him a hard time.
George O – “Dude’s old, he’s a republican?” Not really compelling reasons to give someone a hard time, coming from a young democrat. :)
Sorry, not tired of Clint here. I’ll give you Mystic River, which I thought was extremely overrated, and I didn’t get around to seeing Changeling because it didn’t look that great, but I’m actually really excited about seeing grumpy old man Clint take on some young punks in Gran Torino. And Unforgiven is one of the most deserving best picture winners of the past 20 years.
Clint Eastwood is a great film-maker. I don’t think everything he does is groundbreaking and I think he’ll be the first one to tell you that.
The man just knows how to make good films. He shoots extremely efficiently, with small crews and highly prepared actors because he knows how bloated budgets tend to be if you’re not prepared. That’s why nearly all of his films finish ahead of their shooting schedule (which is quite incredible considering he’s consistent) and yet he can still pull big performances from his actors (Morgan Freeman, Sean Penn, Hilary Swank).
Not everyone will like all his films, but that doesn’t retract from him as a film-maker. Although I didn’t like Flags of our Fathers and I thought Mystic River was alright but not my cup of tea, you still have to respect him. He’ll be the first one to say how many bad pictures he’s worked on over his career but as his work and technique have matured, he has become a good director.
It was compelling argument against John McCain.
Politics aside, I think his recent movies lack dimension, evidenced by how he made TWO movies to tell the story of Iwo Jima, as if two perspectives or dialogue between opposing ideas in a single movie is impossible. Also, they’re horribly melodramatic, relying on old-fashioned (he’s almost 80!) emotional manipulation rather than trying out new ideas. Efficiency is just another word for rote moviemaking, I’d prefer they be inefficient (Apocalypse Now, Stalker) and different – for my enjoyment – it costs me the same to see it no matter how much the studio paid.
I was sick of Clint when he made those Iwo Jima movies. I mean, it sounded like a snore to me. I am not interested in Changeling either. But Million Dollar Baby was good and so was Mystic River. He is pretty old, but he’s still got something in him. Yay!
Flags in my opinion was not a great film. A bit pretentious, lacking emotion and any real reason for me to love the film.
But GEORGE, the reason why he made both films is because there aren’t any directors who have told it from the perspective of the enemy who have also showed it from our side. Yes, you can do that in the same film, but if you look at editing through Eisenstein’s theory, by going back and forth between perspectives, you are really dampening the impact felt by each individual side (oh, if it’s happening to these guys on this side, and I see the same happening to the other guys, then it’s justified and it’s fair to both of them, which is not always the case especially in war). If anything, he took a risk probably no other director would take by making Iwo Jima. The result is a film is that much more effective in relation with our perspective towards war because it juxtaposes our natural hostile feelings toward the Japanese during the war, with the grimness of death and the brutality of war.
Eastwood is the most overrated working filmmaker today.
I don’t dislike his work or him, but I have never seen so many people gush over nothing.
MOI
I’m sick of him.
He bores me so much…that I’d rather watch Teletubbies.
Oh and Million Dollar Baby is a good film. If you don’t like melodrama then you probably didn’t like it.
He is a hack. A terrible, terrible director. Million Dollar Baby was a travesty of a film… Mystic River was abhorrent.
Gran Torino might be the funniest looking trailer ever seen.
If you haven’t heard this…. go now!
http://filmdrunk.uproxx.com/?p=6661
Mystic River was okay, but it was absolutely lavished with praise for no real good reason. I thought Iwa Jima was pretty awful. If that film was the only touchstone to Japanese culture, one would believe that the only way Japanese people express themselves is through bouts of rage or complete silence. I do grant that Unforgiven was terrific, but that was 15 years ago and the legend of Clint has grown many times over since that time.
I think his work is somewhat overrated. That being said, I can’t completely dismiss him.
However, Gran Torino looks hilarious. The trailer is pretty ridiculous. I doubt it will do minorities or Clint Eastwood any good. He seems to be forever squinting and forever being pigeonholed.
I think his work is somewhat overrated. That being said, I can’t completely dismiss him.
However, Gran Torino looks hilarious. The trailer is pretty ridiculous. I doubt it will do minorities or Clint Eastwood any good. He seems to be forever squinting and forever being pigeonholed.
im a big fan of eastwood, as iv explained on another thread on here. i dont understand how anyone can not like unforgiven or the outlaw josey wales, both are genuine classics, while his later period stuff, mystic river, million dollar baby, the iwa jima flicks and changeling are all very reliable and well made films. he prides himself on being an incredibly reliable and workmanlike filmmaker, so to call him as a hack strikes me as a tad odd, seeing as he hasnt ever actually done anything that would transpire as remotely “hack”-like.
this thread reminds me of the imdb boards.
I’m happy, in a way, not to read as much film criticism or discussion as many others here do: I got to see Mystic River with little outside reference… with few things to judge it by save my own private experience in an almost empty theater. I found the movie devastatingly intimate, moving, and almost Shakespearean in its tightly-knit matrices of family and friendship. Million Dollar Baby, Flags of our Fathers, and Letters from Iwo Jima all fell flat for me (though to varying degrees), but they’re all sound films. He’s not uniformly successful at being emotionally incisive, as are a few of our greatest directors, but he’s almost never terrible. And sometimes — in the rightly praised Unforgiven, for instance — he’s absolutely perfect for a whole film.
Add lesser-known but lovely works to the list like Bird, and you have a repertoire that deserves much of the esteem it’s been granted, as far as I’m concerned.
Y: Do you actually have an opinion or do just think peoples are hacks and their films travesties.
It is amazing how much pretentious opinion floats around on this forum without any real opinion or reason behind it.
ADAM: Yes, this thread does remind me of imdb boards and I think on a general basis that is almost starting to show through.
NATHAN: Good to see you have varying opinions for your viewpoint on his films. You didn’t think Million Dollar Baby was emotionally incisive? I think that most of the people who didn’t like it (that I’ve talked to) was because they felt it was melodramatic.
This all being said, I will agree that the trailer for Gran Torino baffles me. Though you have to watch the film to judge it :)
Hes easily the most overrated director of recent years. I understand that he likes to shoot his films quickly, not to many takes etc… unfortunately this gives his films a truly amateur feel. His movies are also prone to undeveloped characters and subplots (for example, Maggies parents in Million Dollar Baby).
Its unfortunate because he usually gets pretty decent actors and his films have a quiet, gentle feel to them thats very pleasant.
David – well, my opinion is that Eastwood is a hack and makes very poor films. If you are looking for the reasons behind my feelings, that is another story.
Glad you agree about Gran Torino. I think the film could almost work if it didn’t take itself as seriously as it clearly will. In the end Clint will learn the error of his racist, bigoted way and all will be better. If it attempted to be grumpy ol’ Clint with a shotgun and no morals, it might have stood a chance of being somewhat enticing.
As for the IMDb board similarities – I don’t think I would totally agree. The complete and utter lack of people calling each other and each other’s film preferences “gay” seems to me to be a great dissimilarity. Though obviously, like all boards, there will be some level of bickering and a differing of opinions.
Amateur feel, I don’t think I’ll have to strain myself on this one.
First off, he shoots films quickly with not a lot of extra takes because he knows when you have prepared actors and you’ve got it on a take, then there is no reason to keep shoot. How much do you actually know of his production methods? Have you seen his behind the scenes or read any interviews with his actors concerning this?
How were the characters such as Maggie’s parents undeveloped? The whole idea of their existence was that her family didn’t accept and understand her decisions for becoming a boxer. Only caring about what they understood and their own problems. The whole idea that they were a void in her life was the reason for them not being overly developed. That makes the relationship that much more disconnected and it perfectly represents what happens in the end.
And may I ask how his films have a quiet, gentle feel? have you seen any of them? dirty harry, mystic river, iwo jima/flags, bloodwork, unforgiven, changeling, man I could go on especially if you include all the dirty harry films.
David, are you talking about films he has acted in or films he has directed? Because the two seem to be getting confused here,
Well I was referring only to the films hes directed so Dirty Harry would not be on that list. I have yet to see Changeling or either of his Iwo Jima films and I was referring mostly to Million Dollar Baby and Mystic River. I find them to have a sort of languid, gentle feel to them. You can disagree if youd like. I wont hold it against you.
I dont wanna comment to much because I have yet to see a great number of Eastwoods films, but all the films of I have seen dont give me a particularly strong desire to run out and watch more.
Changeling was cute. When I see a film about misogyny, corruption, kidnapping and serial killing, I REALLY want it to be cute, ya know.
Ach, maybe I’ll give the guy a break, but basically, he needs to get over himself and just make movies that work, not ones that are on message. His messages are too simple and he slaps you around with them for a few hours til your bloodied and tired.
But if he were to reprise his role as Blondie a la Rocky Balboa, well, who wouldn’t pay to see that? “I’m the one doing the shootin’”
I started this thread and agree completely that Clint Eastwood does not remotely resemble a hack. He crafts films that are uniformly very well made, with the exception of a few strange aesthetic choices (i.e. the lighting in Million Dollar Baby). I mainly disagree with the amount of praise he gets for being a great auteur and tend to abhor what seems to be his worldview.
I have watched the special features on Mystic River not to mention read numerous articles on him and his process. I know enough about his production and I disagree: I think he needs to take more time choosing more interesting, shaping the script and the performances. The only great performance Ive seen in any of his films is Sean Penn in Mystic River.
Maggies parents were unbelievably one dimensional. They were simply evil, stupid, white trash. Anthony Mackies character was similarly one dimensional and undeveloped.
This isnt all Eastwoods fault. Haggis has to take some of the blame as well.
I have watched the special features on Mystic River not to mention read numerous articles on him and his process. I know enough about his production and I disagree: I think he needs to take more time choosing more interesting, shaping the script and the performances. The only great performance Ive seen in any of his films is Sean Penn in Mystic River.
Maggies parents were unbelievably one dimensional. They were simply evil, stupid, white trash. Anthony Mackies character was similarly one dimensional and undeveloped.
This isnt all Eastwoods fault. Haggis has to take some of the blame as well.
Okay, my bad on the Dirty Harry films, but that doesn’t make my point any less valid. Nor have I heard any opinion to refute it. And how do you think Mystic River is a gentle film?
Are you serious? Eastwood as a bigot? If anything he’s shown that he is in fact the exact opposite and he considers the most despicable human characteristic to be racism.
I think a lot of people are very misinformed about Mr. Eastwood, both as a director and person.
Sorry for the double post.
David, I was referring to the character he portrays in Gran Torino. Not the man himself.
When did I ever say he was a bigot?
Michael Furman
I love the guy as an actor and I will admit that he has directed some pretty tight movies, but come on…
Critics slurp all over this guy like everything he does is groundbreaking.