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He rode out of the desolate frontier, a man with no name. Stone-faced and unflinching, this Western hero was a man of few words, far more brutal than John Wayne, Tom Mix and all the movie cowboys that preceded him. After struggling in Hollywood B-movies and television for nearly a decade, Clint Eastwood proved himself as a new type of hero in a series of low-budget Westerns directed by Sergio Leone.Beginning with A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and For a Few Dollars More (1965), the archetypal loner -- The Man with No Name -- came into focus. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) was the culmination of Leone and Eastwood's trilogy. Searching for stolen gold, Eastwood's character is only 'Good' relative to Lee Van Cleef's perverse 'Bad.' Eli Wallach takes on the role of the 'Ugly,' as a Mexican bandito. This film was Leone's definitive spaghetti Western-sun-baked locations are beautifully captured in widescreen as Ennio Morricone's haunting score brings a mythic weight to each scene. While his character onscreen was strong and silent, offscreen Eastwood had something to say. He watched as Leone and Siegel commanded their sets and by 1971 was ready to direct himself. One of his efforts, The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), was a return to his stoic cinema of violence. Josey Wales follows a former Confederate soldier's journey into the untamed West. Pursued by the U.S. cavalry, Josey find companionship with an Indian, a woman and her feisty grandma also on the trail. These wandering misfits seek a place to live, and almost find some peace and quiet. While Leone's anti-hero was a consummate loner, Eastwood's own vision included a community of friends and family. Was the Man with No Name hanging up his hat? It would be a decade until Eastwood directed another western, Pale Rider (1985). Furious gunplay and macho posing was gone; Pale Rider was a thinking man's Western. Richard Dysart plays a ruthless strip-miner, raping the land for profit and threatening independent gold-panners. Despite his shady past, Eastwood's Preacher stands up for the little man and good old-fashioned American values. After making Pale Rider, it seemed that Clint Eastwood's wanderlust was all played out. He focused his filmmaking on a jazz bio in Bird (1988) and on one of Hollywood's most macho directors in White Hunter, Black Heart (1990). Then in the wake of Dances with Wolves (1990), Eastwood brought his own revisionist western to the screen. Unforgiven (1992) at last brought him Hollywood's recognition-in the form of a Best Director Academy Award. Turner Classic Movies celebrates the Man with No Name's Birthday. Born in 1930, Clint Eastwood turns 70 years old-and he's still going strong. Don't miss a four-film Birthday celebration on May 31. LIST of FILMS 31 WEDNESDAY 8:00 PM - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly ( 1966 ) Three men seek hidden loot during the Civil War. Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef. D: Sergio Leone. C 180 m. 11:00 PM - Two Mules for Sister Sara ( 1969 ) A wandering cowboy escorts a gunrunning nun through rough territory. Clint Eastwood, Shirley MacLaine, Manolo Fabregas. D: Don Siegel. C 116 m. 1:00 AM - The Outlaw Josey Wales ( 1976 ) A peaceful farmer turns vigilante when soldiers murder his family. Clint Eastwood, Chief Dan George, Sondra Locke. D: Clint Eastwood. C 135 m. 3:30 AM - Pale Rider ( 1985 ) A mysterious avenger helps the innocent citizens of a corrupt gold-mining town. Clint Eastwood, Michael Moriarty, Carrie Snodgress. D: Clint Eastwood. C 115 m. |
