Ranking the 40 Films Directed By Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood has had a hell of a career behind the camera. From Play Misty for Me all the way back in 1971 up until now with Juror #2, the 94 year old has left his mark on the industry. A pair of Academy Awards for Best Director, as well as a pair of Best Picture Oscars, only tell part of the tale. With Juror #2 now in theaters, it felt like a perfect time to look at the 40 works of Eastwood’s, ranking them from top to bottom.

In my review of Juror #2 here, I had the following to say about Eastwood:

For years now, it has been diminishing returns with Clint Eastwood. The past twenty years has seen his directorial efforts go from hotly anticipated A-list works for adults to, at best, a mixed bag, with some awful films to boot. Especially lately, the movies have appeared like signs that his time behind the camera is over. So, color me surprised that Juror #2 is a largely terrific flick. Is it occasionally flawed? Yes. Is it also massively entertaining? Oh yes. Warner Bros. is dropping the ball by not putting more efforts behind this one. It has got the goods.

Juror #2 is a crackerjack legal/moral thriller. They don’t make them like this anymore, both in terms of courtroom tales and also just this sort of mainstream entertainment for adults. Eastwood himself used to do this sort of thing, if not usually with this setting. Not only has it refreshed him, it works as a very satisfying potential swan song for the man.

Below, you can see my ranking of Eastwood’s films behind the camera. There are a few that I really don’t care for, as well as a few I’m really fond of, like Million Dollar Baby and Unforgiven, but the rest really does kind of lump together. Where does Juror #2 rank for me? There’s 40 flicks to choose from, so also be sure to let us know your rankings as well…

Here now is how I would rank the 40 movies directed by Clint Eastwood. Behold:

40. Cry Macho

39. The 15:17 to Paris

38. The Mule

37. Hereafter

36. J. Edgar

35. Gran Torino

34. True Crime

33. Jersey Boys

32. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

31. The Rookie

30. Firefox

29. White Hunter Black Heart

28. Sudden Impact

27. The Gauntlet

26. Bronco Billy

25. The Eiger Sanction

24. Blood Work

23. Invictus

22. Richard Jewell

21. American Sniper

20. Breezy

19. Honkytonk Man

18. A Perfect World

17. Space Cowboys

16. Absolute Power

15. Changeling

14. Flags of our Fathers

13. The Bridges of Madison County

12. Bird

11. Mystic River

10. Juror #2

9. Heartbreak Ridge

8. Pale Rider

7. Sully

6. High Plains Drifter

5. Play Misty for Me

4. Letters from Iwo Jima

3. The Outlaw Josey Wales

2. Unforgiven

1. Million Dollar Baby

What is your Clint Eastwood ranking? Let us know!