CONCLUSION

Orson Welles was quoted in 1980 after Bronco Billy was released stating 'I suppose Clint Eastwood is just about the most under appreciated director working in movies today' (9) As a director, Eastwood was influenced by taking risks and being outside the studio system, much like Welles was and with a career of nearly 40 years, Eastwood has experienced the highs of lows of movie making, but he has learnt from the best. Although, he had never worked with any of the great Golden Age Directors, Eastwood’s admiration for directors like Howard Hawks, Raoul Walsh and Preston Struges shows how much Eastwood studied these directors, understanding the way they presented their storytelling methods and characters to visualizing their end product on screen. Eastwood molded himself from working with the crews on Rawhide, highly regarding the work of Hitchcock, Ford, Capra and Huston and finally learning the trade from his mentors Leone and Siegel emerging as a humble, story and character driven director that was motivated to develop genuine and entertaining pieces of work guiding old and new audiences through each scene.

Eastwood still remains notoriously efficient on set as well as bringing out hit movie one after another, disregarding special effects, allowing the story to grow as well as the actors to perform in a natural way, so the audience can connect with Eastwood humane stories. Eastwood uses the environment making the story interesting and appealing to himself and audiences, gripping audiences like the classic Directors of the 1930’s to 1950’s would do allowing the actors to feel for their role. For example, In Inviticus, Eastwood filmed in South African areas like Ellis Park where the 1995 final was held and Robben Island where Mandela was held prisoner. As Eastwood has learned from his projects, letting the actors gradually grow into their roles makes it more believable for the viewer. His casting techniques he learned from The Outlaw Josey Wales influenced his decision for a Hmong cast in Gran Torino.

His diverse body of work has influenced new a generation of genre films, for example: Play Misty For Me set up a new type of sexy, psychological stalker thrillers, like Fatal Attraction and Basic Instinct. The Outlaw Josey Wales and Unforgiven helped renew the Western revenge story like The Proposition and The Assassination of Jessie James as well as changing the perspective of Native Americans in Oscar winning films like Dances with Wolves and Last of the Mohicans. Few actor / directors have been so prolific in both dynamics. From The Bridges of Madison County to Gran Torino, Eastwood still refers to the methods and processes he learned from Siegel and Leone as well as experimenting with HD technology. His passion for personal movie making projects is still burning, his life long obsession for jazz music led to his Charlie Parker Biopic Bird as well as waiting a decade to make Unforgiven because he felt he should be an older, wiser actor to portray the role. Eastwood also inspires other filmmakers in the classic Hollywood style and story, for example: The Coen Brothers and Paul Thomas Anderson.

In my opinion, Eastwood is an honest, intelligent and original filmmaker with storytelling techniques that are crucial to his filmmaking style. Eastwood’s evolution from a bit part actor in Universal Studios to a much-admired film star and Award winning Director has led to him overcoming his idols and from what Welles said 30 years ago, Eastwood is now the most highly respected and highly praised director working in Hollywood.

“I figure I’m just a guy doing pictures, that’s all. I’m trying to tell stories and I do the best I can with them” (10)