Is it "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly," the 1966 conclusion to his "Dollars" trilogy? Or is it "Dirty Harry," the 1971 flick that really catapulted Eastwood into superstardom? Or perhaps it is "Unforgiven," the 1992 film that finally earned Eastwood some Oscar recognition for his directorial work?
Which movie line do you think of when you hear Clint Eastwood's name?
Do you think of Clint as Dirty Harry, asking "the punk" if he feels lucky?
Or ...
maybe it was the time he said, "Make my day" in 1983's "Sudden Impact," which was noteworthy mostly for giving 1980s' pop culture — and a president — an identifying catch phrase.
Perhaps you think of one of Eastwood's lesser film projects when you think of his astonishing career. And, when I say "lesser," I don't mean to diminish his work in any way. His is a resume that includes "A Fistful of Dollars," "For a Few Dollars More," "Hang 'Em High," "Play Misty for Me," "Escape From Alcatraz," "In the Line of Fire," and Million Dollar Baby," among others.
Well, today is Eastwood's 80th birthday.
And Turner Classic Movies is showing a 24–hour salute to his films in honor of the occasion.
In TCM's defense, the "Dollars" trilogy was shown this morning, and "Hang 'Em High" was shown this afternoon.
So some deserving films have been on today's schedule.
But couldn't they have come up with something better for prime time?
"Kelly's Heroes" is showing at 7 p.m. (Central). It isn't a bad flick, and maybe it suffered from what could be called overexposure — with "M*A*S*H" and "Catch–22" being released the same year. But I was never overwhelmed with it. It had its moments, but I always felt that it just missed its target.
"Dirty Harry" will be showing at 11:15 p.m. (Central), which is good news for the folks in the western time zones, but I've been thinking that prime time would have been a good time to see movies like "Unforgiven" and "Million Dollar Baby," his directorial triumphs.
Well, happy birthday, Clint.
