file under "talent takes time, sometimes"

[lagilman]

from a recap of the Oscars last night:

"Eastwood, whose first credited screen role came in the 1955 Francis the Talking Mule flick "Francis in the Navy," has climbed in the ensuing half-century to the ranks of Billy Wilder, David Lean, Robert Wise and Steven Spielberg, other filmmakers who have won two or more directing Oscars."


Think about it. Walk away hopeful.

Comments

[eeknight.livejournal.com]

Love Eastwood. His directorial debut "Play Misty For Me" had several scenes ripped off by "Fatal Attraction." "Unforgiven" is really high on my personal Top Ten Movie list -- I show a couple of scenes from that in my genre fiction class.

[redstarrobot.livejournal.com]

I'm not hugely fluent in Eastwood, I wouldn't call myself a fan. But everything I hear or see from the guy convinces me he's really on the ball. I suspect those wins were well-deserved.

[lagilman]

As an actor, I'm very much meh about Eastwood. As a director, he really is one of the greats. More, he seems to be both an actor's director and an audience's director, which seems to be damned rare.

Just took a while to figure it all out.

Mind you, there have been a few clunkers in his directing career, make no mistake... (personal opinions vary, but I think Bridges of Madison County is worth a few lashings with the spagehtti western noodle of shame. And he had a few in his earlier career [Bronco Billy, anyone?] that should have been smothered in the conception.)

But with Unforgiven, a lot of people scoffed ("Eastwood? What, he's making a spaghetti western again?") and then were knocked off their feet when he blew the proberbial barn doors down. Dude. I hate westerns. I would never willingly watch a movie with that subject matter. I loved that movie. Even his clunkers since then, I've been willing for the most part to give a looksee. Even "A Perfect World," which, well, wasn't.

[redstarrobot.livejournal.com]

I have a lot of respect for people who make some mistakes among their gems, especially when they make their mistakes by trying new things or going against type. It shows they're working at it and trying to stretch. I also have a lot of respect for people who show a lot of commitment to (and competence at) things that aren't what makes them famous. When he nails it, he really seems to nail it, and I think it's solidly deserved when he does.

I sort of get the impression that he knows commercially appealing movies, and he knows good movies, and when he sets out to make a good movie, he makes a good movie. Million Dollar Baby, from what I know of it, doesn't seem like a movie with commercial prospects, it seems like a personal project.

[neutronjockey.livejournal.com]

Talking Mule flick "Francis in the Navy,"
*chuckle*
(name) is a ____-ass in the Navy(as in mule you jack-ass!)
Sorry, focused in on the movie and not the message. Thanks. It was unintentional but brightened my day a bit.
-=Jeff=-

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

I was thinking about it. I am hopeful.

"Unforgiven" was an awesome movie. I remember "Pale Rider" impressing me, too, but I don't automatically see his films--just on occasion. Haven't seen the new one yet--I think it's going to be a sad one.

[bookshop.livejournal.com]

Meh. I don't know. I have much hate (http://www.livejournal.com/users/wayfairer/500918.html) for Million Dollar Baby, and I personally think any and all of his achievements should be negated by the monstrosity of putting his daughter's very inferior jazz cover of "Come Rain or Come Shine" on the soundtrack of the very inferior Midnight and the Garden of Good and Evil. *shudder*

[kalligraphy.livejournal.com]

Should I point out that the relatively young Hillary Swank, at just 31, has just won her SECOND best actress Oscar. The first one being for "Boys Don't Cry" in 1999. And she also gave a sterling performance as Alice Paul in "Iron Jawed Angels". And of course who can forget that by the time Mozart reached my age (38), he had been dead 3 years. Kind of puts MY life in perspective.