Unforgiven (1992): Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman and Richard Harris

     Designed to be Clint Eastwood's farewell to the Western genre, Unforgiven (1992) became a new benchmark for the category. Full of grit, violence, honesty and redemption, the film is undeniably powerful. Honored by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest American films ever made, Unforgiven was a tour-de-force in directing for Eastwood, who won the Best Director Academy Award that year for his work. The film also snagged the Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor and Best Editing awards as well. The entire cast is spellbindingly good, including Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman and Richard Harris.

     After a prostitute is cut up by two drunken, rowdy cowboys, the other ladies pool their cash to offer a reward for vigilante justice... 

     Miles away, The Schofield Kid recruits the aging former gunslinger and killer-turned farmer, William Munny (Clint Eastwood)...

Unforgiven. 1992: Clint Eastwood

     and his friend Ned (Morgan Freeman) to join him in collecting the reward, by dispatching the two cowboys... 

Unforgiven. 1992: Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman

Unforgiven. 1992: Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman

     Meanwhile, others have come to collect the bounty, including English Bob (Richard Harris)... 

Unforgiven. 1992: Richard Harris and Gene Hackman

     but all comers must face Sheriff Little Bill Daggett (Gene Hackman)... 

Unforgiven. 1992: Gene Hackman

     whose harsh, vicious ways prove a formidable deterrent... 

Unforgiven. 1992: Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman

     but after tense tragedy strikes, William Munny vows that he will not go down easily...

Unforgiven. 1992: Clint Eastwood

Unforgiven. 1992: Clint Eastwood

Pale Rider (1985): Clint Eastwood

     Both directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, Pale Rider (1985) was the most acclaimed Western of the 1980's. The film alluded to Eastwood's previous "Man with No Name" Westerns from the 1960's and 70's, but also added a new dimension to his Iconic Old West, no-nonsense vigilante hero character. Adding a spiritual sense, the film contains many Biblical references, and the title itself refers to The Book of Revelations 6:8, "And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him." The locales in Pale Rider are breathtakingly beautiful, shot mostly in Idaho's Boulder Mountains. The supporting cast is excellent as well, including Chris Penn, Richard Kiel, Michael Moriarty and Sydney Penny.

     Independent gold prospectors near the town of Lahood, California in the 1880's are being forced off their land and terrorized by the neighboring big-shot Coy Lahood (Richard Dysart) and his son, Josh (Christopher Penn)... 

Pale Rider. 1985: Clint Eastwood

     Desperate, after they kill her pet dog, young Megan Wheeler (Sydney Penny) prays to God to send a savior...

Pale Rider. 1985: Clint Eastwood

     and soon thereafter, a rough stranger, a preacher (Clint Eastwood), arrives on a pale horse, beating the snot out of some of Lahood's goons... 

Pale Rider. 1985: Clint Eastwood

     The preacher becomes a hero and inspiration to the poor mining families... 

Pale Rider. 1985: Clint Eastwood

     and a protector as well... 

Pale Rider. 1985: Clint Eastwood

Pale Rider. 1985: Clint Eastwood

     but the Lahoods won't give up their dominance easily, and pay for hired killers to rid the area of the pesky miners and the preacher... 

Pale Rider. 1985: Clint Eastwood

     who will prevail...

Pale Rider. 1985: Clint Eastwood

For a Few Dollars More (1965): Sergio Leone, Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef

     After completing principle production on A Fistful of Dollars (1964), Italian director Sergio Leone was eager to start filming a follow-up to kickstart his new stylized brand of Western films (now commonly referred to as "Spaghetti Westerns"). He wanted Clint Eastwood to return for the next film, as he was very happy with Eastwood's performance in the first. Eastwood would not immediately consent to a second role, however, as he had yet to see a rough cut of his work in the first film. Leone sent him an Italian language print (the English version had not been made yet, as Leone's films were shot silent, then recorded dialogue was added later) and Eastwood was so elated, even without understanding the words, that he agreed to work for Leone again. Eastwood required a heftier than usual salary, though, which cut into Leone's limited budget. Thankfully veteran Western villain actor, Lee Van Cleef signed on for a modest sum. The resulting film, For a Few Dollars More (1965) expanded on Eastwood's "Man with No Name" character and proved to be a defining film, the second in a trilogy. 

     The "Man with No Name" (Clint Eastwood) is back, now working as a bounty hunter, prowling the West and killing crooks (never taking them alive), and collecting reward money... 

For a Few Dollars More. 1965: Clint Eastwood

     He is not the sole practitioner of this profession in the Territory, however. Colonel Douglas Mortimer (Lee Van Cleef) makes his living tracking down and killing bad guys as well... 

For a Few Dollars More. 1965

     When they find themselves in pursuit of the same outlaw, El Indio (Gian Maria Volonte), they are placed at an impasse and decide to join forces... 

For a Few Dollars More. 1965: Clint Eastwood

     Killing El Indio and his 14 cohorts must become a team effort... 

For a Few Dollars More. 1965: Clint Eastwood

     Their prospective financial prize changes, however, when El Indio and his gang rob a bank in El Paso...

For a Few Dollars More. 1965: Clint Eastwood

     But one of the bounty hunters may have ulterior motives, beyond reward money, is desiring El Indio dead...

For a Few Dollars More. 1965: Clint Eastwood

A Fistful of Dollars (1964): Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood

     By the early 1960's, the American Western film genre had pretty much run it's course. Italian director Sergio Leone, a fan of the genre, still saw tons of potential in marketing Westerns to European audiences though. He devised to come up with a Western in his own style, a grittier panorama more focused on realism and atmosphere. With a limited budget and minimal salary to offer, Leone's top picks (Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, James Coburn) all turned down the role... but Clint Eastwood, a TV actor in the Rawhide series, was more than happy to accept. The resulting film, A Fistful of Dollars (1964), was shot in Spain but made to resemble the American West. It became the first "Spaghetti Western" and the first in Leone's "The Man with No Name" series. With the addition of a great musical score by Ennio Morricone, Leone invented a whole new genre of film making. One with it's own technical and visual characteristics that have now become Iconic.

     An unnamed man (Clint Eastwood), quiet but skilled with a gun, rides into a Western town...

A Fistful of Dollars. 1964: Clint Eastwood

     He makes it clear from the start that he won't be pushed around...

A Fistful of Dollars. 1964: Clint Eastwood

     The town is divided between two warring factions: The Baxters and the Rojos...

A Fistful of Dollars. 1964: Clint Eastwood

     The man with no name intelligently concocts a plan to play one side against the other, all the while collecting wages for himself from both sides for his services...

A Fistful of Dollars. 1964: Clint Eastwood

     This scheme is not without it's difficulties...

A Fistful of Dollars. 1964: Clint Eastwood

A Fistful of Dollars. 1964: Clint Eastwood

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966): Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach

     Directed by Sergio Leone, with an unforgettable musical score by Ennio Morricone, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) is one of the preeminent Spaghetti Westerns, and the third installment in Leone's "Dollars Trilogy". The story concerns three gunfighters out to find hidden Confederate gold during the chaos of the Civil War. Sweeping cinematography and close-up frames create stunning atmosphere. The cast is great, including Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach in the title roles.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. 1966: Clint Eastwood and Eli Wallach

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. 1966: Clint Eastwood

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. 1966: Eli Wallach

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. 1966: Eli Wallach

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. 1966: Clint Eastwood

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. 1966: Lee Van Cleef

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. 1966: Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. 1966: Clint Eastwood

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. 1966: Lee Van Cleef

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. 1966: Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. 1966: Clint Eastwood

Hang 'Em High (1968): Clint Eastwood

     Directed by Ted Post, Hang 'Em High (1968) was an Americanized version of the Spaghetti Western combined with Rawhide. It was also the first release for the Malpaso Company, Clint Eastwood's production house. The story concerns a former lawman who is wrongly lynched by a group of men… he survives, and proceeds to go after them one by one. Clint Eastwood is great in the lead role. The rest of the cast is good as well, including Ed Begley, Inger Stevens, Bruce Dern and Pat Hingle.

Hang 'Em High. 1968: Clint Eastwood

Hang 'Em High. 1968: Clint Eastwood

Hang 'Em High. 1968: Clint Eastwood

Hang 'Em High. 1968: Clint Eastwood

Hang 'Em High. 1968: Clint Eastwood

Hang 'Em High. 1968: Clint Eastwood

Hang 'Em High. 1968

Hang 'Em High. 1968

Hang 'Em High. 1968

Hang 'Em High. 1968

Hang 'Em High. 1968: Clint Eastwood