High Plains Drifter is my favourite Eastwood directed western.
Okay then, my list:
- The Good, the Bad & the Ugly 10/10
- For a Few Dollars More
- Pale Rider
- A Fistful of Dollars
- High Plains Drifter
- The Outlaw Josey Wales
- Unforgiven
- Hang 'em High
- Two Mules for Sister Sara
- Joe Kidd 6/10
I havenāt listed Paint Your Wagon. Havenāt seen it in 45 years and donāt remember that much about it (that song about a wandering star mostly)
All other movies between 6/10 (watchable) and 10/10 (magnificent)
The Leones are Leone films in which Eastwood appears as an actor, and Paint Your Wagon is another non-Eastwood film with Eastwood.
But the others (all produced by himself) are Eastwood films, no matter he directed them or not.
I think this is even true for the 2 Mules, while otherwise the films directed by Don Siegel are still Siegel films. (But also key Eastwood film to a certain kind)
But then, why not:
-
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
-
A Fistful of Dollars
-
For a Few Dollars More
-
Unforgiven
-
The Outlaw Josey Wales
-
Two Mules For Sister Sara
-
Pale Rider
-
Hang 'em High
-
High Plains Drifter
-
Joe Kidd
-
Paint Your Wagon
(edit: now thatās strange: there shouldnāt be a gap between 2. and 3., no gap between 4. and 5., none between 6. and 7. and none between 8.and 9., but Iām not able to change that. I still donāt like that new forum layout)
A Fistful of Dollars above For a Few Dollars More. Now themās fightinā words Sir 
Late for the party, but yee-haa, here we go (Iāll exclude SWs because thatās what Iāll do):
- Unforgiven 10/10
- The Outlaw Josey Wales 8/10
- High Plains Drifter 8/10
- Pale Rider 7/10
- Two Mules for Sister Sara 7/10
- Hang 'em High 7/10
- Joe Kidd 6/10
- Paint your Wagon 6/10
Itās been a while since I saw Josey and Joe, so my thoughts on them could be different now. Wagon was very dull, pretty big letdown for a movie with two of my all-time favourite actors, but hey, at least it has Lee singing that song, so extra point for that.
It is common opinion that Eastwood said everything he had to say in western with Unforgiven. A lot of movie-opinion-makers would even say that with Unforgiven whole genre said everything it had say. I agree (until I am proven otherwise). There were good genre excersises since, but Unforgiven is the last great western.
Well, I donāt watch westerns or any other films for what they have to say, but for how they tell what they have to say. For their style and story telling techniques.
And besides I think that everything Unforgiven has to say, had already been said in the 70s countless times. Unforgiven is a total 70s twilight western.
And then his Leone films are the kind of genre films which are made after in a genre everything was told.
I also donāt think that Unforgiven was the last great western, even there might not have been a better one since then.
And of course there is never a reasonable reason not to make just another western.
1 The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
2 The Outlaw Josey Wales
3 Unforgiven
4 For a Few Dollars More
5 A Fistful of Dollars
6. The Beguiled (is it a western? well, if Paint your wagon is listed as a western ā¦)
The other westerns are minor and do not appeal to me.
- Pale rider has too much of Shane in it (and high plains drifter as well) and is not really original. Only the beginning with the prayer (ā¦ and I saw a pale horse ā¦) was nice to me.
- High planes drifter: the story of supernatural avenger is not really worked out fine. Django thil bastaro was more original
- Hang em High: too close to the Hollywood western. With another director this could have been much better
- Two mules for sister Sara: too many open ends. Started fine with Siegel as director and music from Morricone. Fine basic idea but in the end they lost it
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Ulzanaās Raid (1972)
Simply great (seen it for the first time). The dialogue was among the best Iāve seen in western:
āI just donāt like to think of people left unprotected,ā
āYes. Itās best not toā
My favourite American western. 
Best cavalry and Indian film ever made!
This calls for another poll!
Letās do it slightly different:
Best classic: Fort Apache
Best revision-era: Ulzanaās Raid
Hidden gem: Fort Massacre
Best spaghetti: ? Canāt think of anyā¦
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May as well add my Clint list:
- GBU
- FAFDM
- Unforgiven
- High Plains Drifter
- AFOD
- The Outlaw Josey Wales
- Pale Rider
- Hang em High
- Joe Kidd
Still havenāt seen Paintā¦ or Two Mulesā¦ Itās terrible given I call myself a Clint fan.
Red Sundown, 1956ā¦ just needed to be 20-to-30 minutes longer, because itās a well-written piece. The dialogue, I mean. Rory Calhoun is the brother of a famous dead gunslinger, who decides to become a deputy-sheriff for a few days.
The local cattle-baron brought in a wagonload of barbwire to post-up, enraging all sorts of antagonists. Thatās the plot. Calhoun works to smooth everything out, culminating in a āshowdownā with another famous gunslinger.
" A hot gun isnāt a warm pillow. " ā¦ 6-out-of-10.
I had never seen this nice little western
Itās not a masterpiece but a very enjoyable āgirls powerā movie:
THE MAN WHO LOVED CAT DANCING
A western thatās probably more famous, or infamous, for things happening behind the scenes than for the action on-screen. But itās not a bad movie. Read all about it in my review:
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Yellow Sky - 4/5
Ulzanaās Raid - 3.5/5
Hombre - 4/5
The Assassination of Jesse James - 4.5/5
Interesting western or mood about the film. Reynolds looks good, especially the bearded look. The type of Reynolds movie I enjoyed before he got bogged down with what I call āThe Carā films .
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I liked the first Smokey & the Bandit movie, that was good fun, But he defenitely appeared in too many would-be funny movies. I like the guy, or better the actor, but he shouldāve done a lot more with his career, acting wise (I guess he did well financially)
Jeremiah Johnson - 4/5
The Tall T - 3/5
Forsaken (2015)
It seems every western cliche is squeezed in this. Gunman who wants to give up the guns. Hero returning from war. His love married someone else. Father/son issues. Big money vs small man. Railroad coming to town. Gang of hired hands terrorizing the town. Lone protector will stand for a small man and ride of into the sunset. Gunman dressed as Doc Holiday/Lee van Cleef.
Ok, the last cliche - duel in the street - was sabotaged in rare moment of playfulness, but not before the whole shootout scene from Unforgiven was recreated, with more bullets and less cool, and with Kiefer Sutherland doing one of the worst Clintās impression Iāve seen (he puts his coat on, holds it like he us about to flash a woman on the street and raises a mean old look from under the hat - all in slo-mo). Anthony Steffen looks a lot better to me now.
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The Far Country - 3/5
Destry Rides Again - 3.5/5