My Top Five Clint Eastwood-Directed Movies

Clint Eastwood's directing career has progressed in a sort of arc that sees his work only getting better as he keeps making movies. The last twenty years have seen him hone his storytelling to a point where nothing extra makes it to the final product. Everything on the screen contributes in some fashion to the furthering of the story. And he has become more discerning about what interests him in terms of the subject matter. He has been able to elicit natural performances from his actors by allowing them the latitude to flesh out the character. You can always count on an interesting treatment of subject matter that means something. So here are my top five Clint-directed movies:

5. Space Cowboys
Eastwood delves into a science setting that he has not had any experience with but manages to keep to the story line without letting any scientific explanations get in the way. The cast is top notch with Donald Sutherland, James Garner, Tommy Lee Jones, and Blondie himself as the leader of the group. Each character is uniquely developed and believable. The history section is handled is an economical way and the introduction of the main characters is done in a classic show, not tell manner.
While the mission to disarm the revolving missile is similar to "Armageddon," the main focus is on developing the characters. Eastwood accomplishes this by giving his actors room to inhabit their roles. This really is a buddy movie that has its share of laughs and moments of tension. Where it stands out from others of this genre are the performances by all of the cast. Sutherland, in particular, gives his smooth-talking, thrill ride-designing character a more complex side than the role called for. "Space Cowboys" is an enjoyable, somewhat rueful movie with just the right dose of pathos at the end.