News culture “When people talk to me, it’s about this movie.” The public’s favorite western starring Clint Eastwood is not what you think
If Clint Eastwood has earned part of his legendary reputation through westerns, his audience favorite is not the one we think of. In fact, it’s one of his lesser-known ones that doesn’t appeal to everyone.
What a holy monster of cinema Clint Eastwood is. With more than 70 years of career, the American actor still spends time both in front of and behind the cameraSince the release of Cry Macho in 2021, he has been rather reserved, but is already working on his next feature film, Juror No. 2. This does not stop him from giving interviews in which he also talks about his future and looks back on his career. This also happened on the occasion of one of themHe returns to the western he filmed and which he believes would become the audience favoriteand the answer is surprising.
Clint Eastwood and the Western, a long love story
Clearly, Clint Eastwood built part of his career on Westerns with films from the 60s and 70sWe have seen him in American cowboy movies as well as in “Spaghetti Westerns”, those famous westerns from Italy, whose biggest name is of course still Sergio Leone. In addition, theThe meeting between Leone and Eastwood produced several great classics of the genre like For a Fistful of Dollars, …And for a Few Dollars More and especially The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, probably the most famous western of all. And yet, despite all these names that appeal to everyone, The audience’s favorite western, in which Clint Eastwood played the leading role, was, according to the actor, completely different
“I recently rented it, it still holds up”
In 2017, Clint Eastwood explained in an interview with Empire that people who visit him regularly mention the same film:
When people stop me on the street, it’s often about Josey Wales. You seem to like this movie. I rented it recently, it’s still holding up.
Published in 1976, Josey Wales, Outlaw, tells of Wales’ revenge and his pursuit of Captain Terrill, who murdered his wife and sonIn this western, the actor is both in front of and behind the camera, because Clint Eastwood is also the director. And if it is not the actor’s best-known western or even the best-known film of all, Nevertheless, it is rated very highly by critics and the public with 91% recommendation
I think you should be able to read the movies, read what you’re seeing, and Josey Wales was filmed in the Vietnam era. I saw it as an allegorybut it was just as much about the Civil War, one of the bloodiest and most consequential wars in American history because it was between Americans. It was about a man who was disappointed by it.
If you’ve never seen it, this is a chance to rediscover one of the director and actor’s favorite films. Plus, it’s available to rent on both Apple TV+ and Prime Video.
