Now in his 90’s, Clint Eastwood, is still one of the most recognizable names on the planet when it comes to the world of movies. Without a doubt he’s one of the most popular actors ever. EVER. Beginning with a bit part in 1954’s Revenge of the Creature to becoming The Man With No Name, Dirty Harry and one of the finest directors of his generation, Clint’s many films as both actor and or director continue to be favorites among film fans.
But where exactly do they place when held up against each other? Let’s find out using the ratings system at the IMDB and the votes cast by movie fans worldwide. To do so I’m only going to list the films that starred Clint from 1964 onward omitting the many bits and small roles he appeared in from ’54 till his appearance in Sergio Leone’s groundbreaking western.
To be fair to Clint’s directing career I’ll include two lists of titles. First the films he starred in and in many cases directed followed by a secondary list of films he chose to serve strictly as the film’s director.
The IMDB allows it’s readers to use a 10 point rating system so I’ll list the films from his highest scoring title to the lowest. I’ll also include the amount of registered votes for each movie and the year of it’s release. In the event of a tie I’ll list them according to the highest vote total downward.
His highest ranking film should come as no surprise.
- The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966) 8.8/10 …. 745,000 votes
- Unforgiven (1992) 8.2/10 …. 405,000 votes
- For a Few Dollars More (1965) 8.2/10 …. 252,000 votes
- Gran Torino (2008) 8.1/10 …. 763,000 votes
- Million Dollar Baby (2004) 8.1/10 …. 677,000 votes
- A Fistful of Dollars (1964) 7.9/10 …. 214,000 votes
- The Outlaw Josie Wales (1976) 7.8/10 …. 73,000 votes
- Dirty Harry (1971) 7.7/10 …. 154,000 votes
- Escape From Alcatraz (1979) 7.6/10 …. 132,000 votes
- The Bridges of Madison County (1995) 7.6/10 …. 80,000 votes
- Where Eagles Dare (1968) 7.6/10 …. 58,000 votes
- Kelly’s Heroes (1970) 7.6/10 …. 49,000 votes
- A Perfect World (1995) 7.5/10 …. 80,000 votes
- High Plains Drifter (1973) 7.5/10 …. 55,000 votes
- Pale Rider (1985) 7.3/10 …. 59,000 votes
- In the Line of Fire (1993) 7.2/10 …. 102,000 votes
- Magnum Force (1973) 7.2/10 …. 61,000 votes
- The Beguiled (1971) 7.2/10 …. 18,000 votes
- The Mule (2018) 7.0/10 …. 134,000 votes
- Hang’Em High (1968) 7.0/10 …. 39,000 votes
- Two Mules For Sister Sara (1970) 7.0/10 …. 28,000 votes
- Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) 7.0/10 … 25,000 votes
- Play Misty For Me (1971) 6.9/10 …. 28,000 votes
- Trouble With the Curve (2012) 6.8/10 …. 64,000 votes
- Heartbreak Ridge (1986) 6.8/10 …. 44,000 votes
- Absolute Power (1997) 6.7/10 …. 55,000 votes
- The Enforcer (1976) 6.7/10 …. 45,000 votes
- Sudden Impact (1983) 6.6/10 …. 45,000 votes
- True Crime (1999) 6.6/10 …. 36,000 votes
- Paint Your Wagon (1969) 6.6/10 …. 14,000 votes
- Honkytonk Man (1982) 6.6/10 …. 8800 votes
- Space Cowboys (2000) 6.5/10 …. 81,000 votes
- White Hunter, Black Heart (1990) 6.5/10 …. 12,000 votes
- Blood Work (2002) 6.4/10 …. 45,000 votes
- The Gauntlet (1977) 6.4/10 …. 23,000 votes
- Joe Kidd (1972) 6.4/10 …. 18,000 votes
- Coogan’s Bluff (1968) 6.4/10 …. 17,000 votes
- Every Which Way But Loose (1978) 6.3/10 …. 27,000 votes
- The Eiger Sanction (1975) 6.3/10 …. 20,000 votes
- Tightrope (1984) 6.3/10 …. 18,000 votes
- The Dead Pool (1988) 6.2/10 …. 46,000 votes
- Any Which Way You Can (1980) 6.1/10 …. 19,000 votes
- Bronco Billy (1980) 6.1/10 …. 12,000 votes
- The Witches (1967) 6.0/10 …. 1700 votes
- Firefox (1982) 5.9/10 …. 27,000 votes
- The Rookie (1990) 5.9/10 …. 27,000 votes
- Cry Macho (2021) 5.7/10 …. 25,000 votes
- City Heat (1984) 5.5/10 …. 9,900 votes
- Pink Cadillac (1989) 5.3/10 …. 12,000 votes
Of the 49 acting credits I’ve included I have seen all but 3. For the record I don’t cast votes on the IMDB site but use it daily in researching movies and film history. What surprised me with the rankings? Some films for me should rank higher while others I’d drop but that’s always open for discussion no matter who comes up with a list. I’d move Dirty Harry into 3rd, Josie Wales to 4th and nudge Gran Torino into 5th.
Escape From Alcatraz is a decent film but I’d much rather watch the lower ranked Where Eagles Dare, In the Line of Fire or Space Cowboys when given the opportunity. Again, up for discussion.
The voting numbers surprise me at times. Just as much a reflection of popularity as they are the worth of a film, the rankings don’t shine brightly on the 1980’s for Clint. The top ranked title of the ’80’s, Pale Rider, coming in at number 15 and the only one in the top 24. I’m rather surprised that Trouble With the Curve has a substantially higher number of votes than Heartbreak Ridge. Backing up Clint’s longevity as a major star is the fact that the top five films alone range from 1964 through to 2008. That’s staying power.
Some of the titles don’t have as many votes cast as I would think they should. Kelly’s Heroes doesn’t have many votes in comparison to the popularity I’ve always believed it held. Clint’s musicals don’t fare well and for Honkytonk Man I think that’s unfortunate. I’ve always been fond of that one being a fan of classic country music and the fact that it’s just an enjoyable picture.
Moving on to Clint’s efforts as director only.
- Mystic River (2003) 7.9/10 …. 450,000 votes
- Letters From Iwo Jima (2006) 7.9/10 …. 162,000 votes
- Changeling (2008) 7.8/10 …. 253,000 votes
- Richard Jewell (2019) 7.5/10 …. 84,000 votes
- Sully (2016) 7.4/10 …. 266,000 votes
- American Sniper (2014) 7.3/10 …. 476,000 votes
- Invictus (2009) 7.3/10 …. 158,000 votes
- Flags of Our Fathers (2006) 7.1/10 …. 123,000 votes
- Bird (1988) 7.1/10 …. 12,000 votes
- Breezy (1973) 7.0/10 …. 5,200 votes
- Jersey Boys (2014) 6.8/10 …. 35,000 votes
- Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil (1997) 6.6/10 …. 39,000 votes
- J. Edgar (2011) 6.5/10 …. 128,000 votes
- Hereafter (2010) 6.5/10 …. 93,000 votes
- The 15:17 to Paris (2018) 5.3/10 …. 33,000 votes
Clint’s directorial choices don’t always interest me when he’s not in front of the camera doing double duty but I will say his films are generally well made winners. He has no trouble enlisting some of the screen’s best including Tom Hanks as Sully when casting roles in his films. I believe it’s worth noting that between his acting and directing careers there’s not a “dog” among the 64 titles combined. By “dog” I mean not a single film is being slammed by voters resulting in a score of less than 5.3 That’s pretty impressive over the course of 7 decades.
Total number of votes cast for Clint films (rounded off I’m sure by IMDB) comes to 7,301,600.
So what do you think of the rankings? Do you think Leone’s classic deserves the top spot? I do. Do you have a favorite you’d rank higher? Is Pink Cadillac in it’s rightful spot?
Feel free to voice an opinion and if Clint gives us another title I’ll do my best to update the list.
Mike's Take On the Movies 
I’m glad GBU and Unforgiven got #1 and #2 respectively as they’re the best Eastwood did. Besides those two films, Hang ’em High , I tend to have to be in the mood for Clint Eastwood, he’s one of those actors who one time I’ll think he was great and another time I’ll think he’s the most overrated actor ever. It’s strange how my mind works with him.
We all have actors and actresses like that I suppose. “Take’em or leave’em types. Then there are those that grow on us. I used to think Robert Ryan wasn’t too much until I discovered his earlier films and now I see everything I can with him in it.
Fascinating lists. I guess very few people saw Breezy which is one of my faves. An interesting play-off between the percentages given and the actual number of votes cast. Surprised that Unforgiven is not seen as his best western. On the other hand, the sheer consistent quality of his output is just amazing. One of the all-time greats.
I saw Breezy ages ago and mainly cause I knew Clint had directed it before I even caught on to Bill Holden and Kay Lenz. At the time it didn’t hold any interest for me but I’d like to revisit it. He has maintained a high standard of product for decades which is in itself commendable.
I’ve seen it several times, Big fan of Holden and Lenz and this late-career weary Holden is always interesting.
Hey, a post about my favorite actor of all time…thanks, Mike! And I must say, some of the rankings did take me by surprise…especially his #1, which I expected to be ‘Dirty Harry’. And with ‘The Outlaw Josey Wales’ being my favorite of his, I was a bit disappointed to see it ranked below a couple others (AND it had only 73K votes)…it would be my #1, with ‘Dirty Harry’ and ‘Unforgiven’ coming in #2 and #3. And I’ve always been a fan of ‘Joe Kidd’, but…at #36? Ouch!
There’s only two from that list I haven’t seen: ‘Honkytonk Man’ (which I’m saving for a point in time when he’s no longer with us) and ‘Cry Macho’, which I’m sure I’ll see eventually…though I’d always assumed ‘The Mule’ would be his last, and was satisfied to have him bow out with that one. Which three of his haven’t you seen?
Like you, I’ve never had much of a desire to see films he’s directed but didn’t star in…not sure why. But of the few I have seen, ‘Sully’ would definitely be my favorite, and I agree, they are well-made, and for me ‘Sully’ especially. And discounting ‘Cry Macho’, I’d say those other three bottom dwellers deserve to be right where they are.
I can see Harry as Number 1 though I do think GBU the better film but Callahan for me his best character. It’s like Rocky or Rambo I guess. Last time I rewatched Josie Wales I was struck by the beauty of the film and realized that it deserved some Oscar nominations but Clint wasn’t yet a darling of the Awards just yet. Had it been made in the late 80’s early 90’s it surely would have scored some nods. Yeah I’m just not a big fan of Kidd though I love the cast. I do love to revisit Honkytonk Man on occasion and a nice bit of trivia is Jimmy Stewart turning Clint down to costar as Grandpa. John McIntire took the role instead and is wonderful. I’ve yet to see Cry Macho, The Witches and Madison County (really should watch that one). Mule was good and for a long time it looked like Gran Torino was gonna be the farewell and if it had it would have ranked pretty close to Duke’s The Shootist as the greatest swan song of them, all.