Actor and director Clint Eastwood is so often associated with Westerns that it might be a surprise to learn that his favorite movie is not a Western. Though Eastwood’s first movie role was an uncredited appearance in the monster movie Revenge of the Creature, he had his career break in the Western TV series Rawhide. From then, Eastwood regularly starred in Western movies, including A Fistful Of Dollars and The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly. However, Eastwood’s directorial debut wasn’t a Western either, but the acclaimed psychological thriller, Play Misty For Me, which he also starred in.
Eastwood directed and starred in many of his own movies, which have often been critically acclaimed, including Gran Torino, Million Dollar Baby, and Unforgiven, which won him his first Academy Award at age 62. Now, Eastwood has remained working in the movie industry long after many actors and directors retire, and only acts in movies that he directs. As Eastwood’s favorite movie is a satirical horror story centered on an aging Hollywood movie star, it may not be surprising that its influence can be seen in both his work ethic and directing style.
Clint Eastwood’s Favorite Movie Is 1950’s Sunset Boulevard
Eastwood Would Play A Character In A Hypothetical Remake Of Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a movie that explores the dark side of fame through the relationship between an aspiring screenwriter and the fading silent movie star Norma Desmond, who loses her grip on reality throughout the movie. Sunset Boulevard is often considered one of the defining movies of the 1950s, and Norma’s iconic line “I’m ready for my close-up” is still referenced today. Though the movie was released five years before Eastwood began his acting career, it left an impression on him. Sunset Boulevard is Eastwood’s favorite movie, for the way director Billy Wilder combined classic and contemporary styles.
Eastwood has a sense of humor when it comes to aging in Hollywood, and he joked with Esquire magazine that he could play an Uber driver who tells his passengers, “I used to be in films years ago.” Esquire suggested a remake of Sunset Boulevard, with Eastwood replying, “Yeah right. Erich von Stroheim.” Like Eastwood, Stroheim was a director and actor, and he plays Norma’s former director and ex-husband turned butler. Though Eastwood might have made his final movie with the upcoming Jurror #2 and probably won’t become a butler, Sunset Boulevard’s cautionary tale and directing style have almost certainly influenced Eastwood’s filmmaking.
Sunset Boulevard’s Influence Can Be Seen In Clint Eastwood’s Filmmaking
Eastwood Keeps His Creativity With An Unusual Filming Technique
Eastwood’s directing style is often understated and minimal, without many of the fast cuts that often appear in modern movies. Eastwood relies on the actors to keep the audience’s attention, rather than using a vast array of editing tricks, and this technique makes his movies resemble older classics like Sunset Boulevard. Clint Eastwood’s best movies tend to be extremely character-driven, focusing on the internal battles of its protagonists, who, like Norma, are often at war with themselves. Like Sunset Boulevard, there is not a guaranteed happy ending, making Eastwood-directed movies both powerful and memorable.
Norma was lost in her status as a movie star, and Sunset Boulevard’s ending shows her performing to an imaginary director and camera crew. Eastwood turns this image on its head by taking away typical Hollywood staples like saying “action” or “cut” when he directs movies. Eastwood’s sets are famously quiet and relaxed, and he even films rehearsals to create a more organic atmosphere. This calmness is an interesting contrast because Clint Eastwood movies are usually gritty and intense, but as he admired Sunset Boulevard’s contrasting styles, perhaps his approach is not so surprising after all.