Clint Eastwood in the 1980s
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Career
Mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea
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Clint Eastwood directed his first television episode in the 1980s and made several of his most notable films.
Television[edit]
In 1985, Eastwood directed his first television production in the Vanessa In The Garden, an episode ofAmazing Stories. It starred Harvey Keitel and Sondra Locke. This was Eastwood's first collaboration with writer/executive producer Steven Spielberg. (Spielberg later produced Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima[1]).
Filmography[edit]
Bronco Billy (1980)[edit]
Released on Wednesday, June 11, 1980, Eastwood directed and played the role of the main attraction in a traveling Wild West Show in the comedy film, Bronco Billy. Biographer Richard Schickel argued that the character of Bronco Billy is Eastwood's most self-referential work.[2][3] Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that the film was "the best and funniest Clint Eastwood movie in quite a while", praising Eastwood's directing and the way he intricately juxtaposes the old West and the new.[4] Later in 1980, he reprised his role in the sequel to Every Which Way But Loose entitled Any Which Way You Can. The film was another box-office success and was among the top five highest-grossing films of the year.
Any Which Way You Can (1980)[edit]
Later on Wednesday, December 17, 1980 he appeared in the movie Any Which Way You Can, one of the two hit movies Eastwood made with co-star Clyde the orangutan. Later on, he drives a Dark Maple Red Metallic 1980 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Regency 4-door sedan.
Firefox (1982)[edit]
In 1982, Eastwood also directed, produced and starred in the Cold War-themed Firefox, based on a 1977 novel with the same name by British novelist Craig Thomas.
Honkytonk Man (1982)[edit]
Eastwood directed and starred in Honkytonk Man, based on the novel by Clancy Carlile about an aspiring country music singer named Red Stovall, set during the Great Depression. Barry Corbin, who played Red's father in Honkytonk Man, with Clint Eastwood as a country western. Later on, Red Stovall (Clint Eastwood) suffers from tuberculosis at the Grand Ole Opry. He takes out on a stage to Nashville, Tennessee, Clint's son Kyle Eastwood is his nephew. The script was adapted slightly from the novel. A scene in the novel in which Red gives a reefer to his fourteen-year-old son (played by real-life son Kyle) was altered by Eastwood. The ending was also changed to a song playing on the radio written by Red on his death bed, shortly before his burial.[5]
Sudden Impact (1983)[edit]
The fourth Dirty Harry film Sudden Impact (1983), is widely considered to be the darkest, "dirtiest" and most violent film of the series. This is the last time Eastwood starred in a film with Sondra Locke. The line, "Go ahead, make my day", uttered by Eastwood is often cited as one of cinema's immortal lines and was famously referenced by President Ronald Reagan in his campaigns.[6] The film features multiple extrajudicial killings by Harry.
Tightrope (1984)[edit]
In 1984, Eastwood starred in the provocative thriller Tightrope, inspired by newspaper articles about an elusive Bay Area rapist. Set in New Orleans (to avoid confusion with the Dirty Harry films),[7] During filming, Eastwood had an affair with the first murder victim in the film, Jamie Rose.[8] J. Hoberman in the Village Voice describing Clint as " one of the most masterful under-actors in American movies" and David Denby commenting that he has become a "very troubled movie icon".[9][10] Others such as Jack Kroll of Newsweek noted the sexuality of the film and vulnerability of Eastwood's character, remarking, "He gets better as he gets older; he seems to be creating new nuances".[11]
City Heat (1984)[edit]
Eastwood next starred in the period comedy City Heat (1984) with Burt Reynolds. The film was initially running under the title, Kansas City Jazz under the directorship of Blake Edwards. During filming, Eastwood had conflicts with Edwards and producer Tony Adams. Citing "creative differences", Edwards was replaced with Richard Benjamin.[12]
Pale Rider (1985)[edit]
Eastwood revisited the western genre, directing and starring in Pale Rider. The film bears similarities to Eastwood's previous Man with No Name character, and his 1973 western High Plains Drifter in its themes of morality and justice and exploration of the supernatural. Pale Rider earned Eastwood wide critical acclaim that he'd desired for some time. Jeffrey Lyons of Sneak Previews said, "Easily one of the best films of the year, and one of the best westerns in a long, long time". Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune said, "This year (1985) will go down in film history as the moment Clint Eastwood finally earned respect as an artist".[13]
Heartbreak Ridge (1986)[edit]
In 1986, Eastwood starred in the military drama Heartbreak Ridge, about the 1983 U.S. invasion of Grenada, West Indies, with a portion of the movie filmed on the island itself. It co-starred Marsha Mason. However, the title comes from the Battle of Heartbreak Ridge in the Korean War, based around Eastwood's character of Tom Highway, an ageing United States Marine Gunnery Sergeant and Korean War veteran, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions there. Eastwood incorporated more scenes of action and comedy into the film than was initially intended by the original drafter, James Carabatsos, and worked hard with Megan Rose to revise it.[14] Eastwood and producer Fritz Manes meanwhile, intent on making the film realistic, visited the Pentagon and various air bases to request assistance and approval.[15] The U.S. army refused to help, due to Highway being portrayed as a hard drinker, divorced from his wife, and using unapproved motivational methods to his troops, an image the army did not want. They informed the production team that the characterisation lacked credibility and that Eastwood's character was an outdated stereotype and that he was too old for the role.[16] They instead approached the United States Marine Corps, and Lieutenant Colonel Fred Peck was hired as a spokesman for the military during filming and to guide Eastwood's team to making the characters and scenes more realistic. The production and filming of Heartbreak Ridge was marred by internal disagreements, between Eastwood and long term friend Fritz Manes who was producing it and between Eastwood and the DOD who expressed contempt at the film.[16][17] During the film, Peck came to head with Eastwood over a scene involving Eastwood offering a drink in a flask to the Sergeant Major; Peck stood his ground and insisted this scene was laughable. Eastwood eventually relented but the relationship between the producers continued to sour.[18] Within months, Manes was fired and Eastwood had rid of his best friend and producing partner, replacing him with David Valdes.[19] The film released in 1470 theatres, grossing a very respectable $70 million domestically.[20]
The Dead Pool and Bird[edit]
Eastwood's fifth and final Dirty Harry film, The Dead Pool was released in 1988. It co-starred Liam Neeson, Patricia Clarkson, and a young Jim Carrey. The Dead Pool, grossed $37,903,295, relatively low takings for a Dirty Harry film and was generally panned by critics. Eastwood began working on smaller, more personal projects, marking a serious lull in his career between 1988 and 1992. He directed Bird (1988), a biopic starring Forest Whitaker as jazz musician Charlie "Bird" Parker, a genre of music that Eastwood has always been personally interested in. Filming commenced in late 1987 and was shot in the old districts of Los Angeles, Pasadena and the Sacramento Valley, with additional New York City scenes shot in Burbank.[21] Bird was screened at Cannes and received a mixed reception. Spike Lee, a long term critic of Eastwood, the son of jazz bassist Bill Lee, and alto saxophonist Jackie McLean criticized the characterisation of Charlie Parker, remarking that it did not capture his true essence and sense of humor.[22] Critic Pauline Kael published a scathing review, confessing to loathing the film and describing it as "a rat's nest of a movie", which looks as if Clint "hadn't paid his Con Ed Bill".[23] Others, particularly jazz enthusiasts,[22] however, praised the music of the film and Eastwood received two Golden Globes—the Cecil B. DeMille Award for his lifelong contribution and the Best Director award for Bird, which also earned him a Golden Palm nomination at the Cannes Film Festival. The film was not a major commercial success, earning just $11 million. Eastwood, who claimed he would have done the film biography even if the script was no good,[24] was disappointed with the commercial reception of the film, later saying that, "We just didn't seem to have enough people in America who wanted to see the story of a black man who in the end betrays his genius. And we didn't get the support through black audiences that I'd hoped for. They really aren't into jazz now, you know. It's all this rap stuff. There aren't enough whites who are. either...".[25]
Pink Cadillac[edit]
Carrey would later appear with Eastwood in the poorly received comedy Pink Cadillac (1989) alongside Bernadette Peters. The film is about a bounty hunter and a group of white supremacists chasing after an innocent woman who tries to outrun everyone in her husband's prized pink Cadillac. Pink Cadillac was shot in the fall of 1988 in the Rising River Ranch area and Sacramento.[26] The film was a disaster, both critically and commercially,[27] earning just $12,143,484 and marking the lowest point in Eastwood's career in years, causing concern at Warners that Clint had peaked and was now faltering at the box office after three unsuccessful films.[28] Pink Cadillac received poor reviews. Caryn James wrote: "When it's time to look back on the strange sweep of Clint Eastwood's career, from his ambitious direction of Bird to his coarse, classic Dirty Harry character, Pink Cadillac will probably settle comfortably near the bottom of the list. It is the laziest sort of action comedy, with lumbering chase scenes, a dull-witted script and the charmless pairing of Mr. Eastwood and Bernadette Peters." (New York Times, May 26, 1989.)
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ Halbfinger, David M. (September 21, 2006). "The Power of an Image Drives Film by Eastwood". The New York Times. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
- ↑ Schickel (1996), p.362
- ↑ Schickel (1996), p.365
- ↑ Maslin, Janet (June 11, 1980). "Bronco Billy (1980):Eastwood Stars and Directs 'Bronco Billy'". The New York Times. Missing or empty
|url=(help) - ↑ McGilligan (1999), p.344
- ↑ McGilligan (1999), p.352
- ↑ Schickel (1996), p.389
- ↑ McGilligan (1999), p.365
- ↑ Schickel (1996), p.393
- ↑ Denby, David (August 27, 1984). Beyond Good and Evil. New York. Search this book on
- ↑ Schickel (1996), p.394
- ↑ McGilligan (1999), p.366
- ↑ McGilligan (1999), p.378
- ↑ McGilligan (1999), p.395
- ↑ McGilligan (1999), p.397
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 McGilligan (1999), p.398
- ↑ McGilligan (1999), p.406
- ↑ McGilligan (1999), p.403
- ↑ McGilligan (1999), pp.410–413
- ↑ McGilligan (1999), p.407
- ↑ McGilligan (1999), p.423
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 McGilligan (1999), p.433
- ↑ Kael, Pauline (October 17, 1988). "Bird Thou Never Went". The New Yorker.
- ↑ Schickel (1996), p.424
- ↑ Schickel (1996), p.435
- ↑ McGilligan (1999), p.434
- ↑ Schickel (1996), p.442
- ↑ McGilligan (1999), p.437
Bibliography[edit]
- Avery, Kevin (2011). Conversations with Clint: Paul Nelson's Lost Interviews with Clint Eastwood, 1979 - 1983. Continuum Books. ISBN 978-1441165862. Search this book on
- McGilligan, Patrick (1999). Clint: The Life and Legend. Harper Collins. ISBN 0-00-638354-8. Search this book on
- Schickel, Richard (1996). Clint Eastwood: A Biography. Knopf. ISBN 978-0-679-42974-6. Search this book on
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