Calling Clint Eastwood Hollywood royalty would be an understatement, especially because he deserves equal acclaim for his best movies as a director as well as his work as an actor. While his long career can't be defined by a single genre, audiences still associate him with the gun-slinging heroes he once played.

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This is understandable because the western genre runs deep in Eastwood's life as an actor. The TV '50s/'60s show Rawhide launched him to stardom, and his second feature as a director was a western. Many of his films have a western influence, even if they clearly belong in a different genre. So, which Eastwood-directed western ranks the highest amongst fans?

Cry Macho (2021) - No Rating Yet

Clint Eastwood in Cry Macho

Eastwood directs and stars as a former rodeo rider and horse breeder who has bred Kentucky Derby winners in the past. Those days are long behind him, however, and he's struggled after the death of his wife and child. His trip to Mexico, to fetch his boss's son, might be his redemption.

The reason that this movie has no rating yet is that it isn't scheduled to be released until October 2021. Cry Macho is a neo-western so, like Eastwood's other recent offerings, might not end up as highly-ranked as his classics. However, it is a welcome return to the genre that he hasn't visited in nearly thirty years.

Bronco Billy (1980) - 6.1

Clint Eastwood in Bronco Billy

Antoinette Lilly is having some bad luck. Her husband stole her things and disappeared the day after their marriage, her stepmother fakes her death to steal her inheritance, and she just took a job at "Bronco Billy's Wild West Show," a rundown traveling circus. She discovers that Bronco Billy (Eastwood) and his troupe aren't cowboys but mostly ex-cons. Shortly after Lilly joins the show they start to make a little money, but their tent burning down threatens to shut them down for good. With nowhere else to go, they'll do anything to save the show, even if they have to rob a train.

Among Eastwood's directorial westerns, Bronco Billy stands out for being a comedy and a contemporary western. Eastwood is also playing a totally different character than usual, instead of his usual hard-jawed dusty types who are typically thought of as the best movie cowboys. Instead, he plays an actor putting on that tough-guy persona and he's masterful at it. While Bronco Billy ranks lower than other Eastwood westerns, likely because of its differences from his other work in the genre, it's still a great movie. Critics reviewed the movie positively, praising Eastwood's performance and the juxtaposition of the old west with the modern.

Honkytonk Man (1982) - 6.6

Clint Eastwood in Honkytonk Man

In an Oklahoma farmhouse, Red Stovall (Eastwood) wants to spread the news that he has an audition at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. While the news is good, it doesn't change the fact that Red is dying of tuberculosis and can't make the drive. Seeing an opportunity to escape the farming life, his nephew, Whit (Kyle Eastwood), convinces his mom to let him help Red make the drive to Nashville.

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This depression-era road trip movie certainly isn't a typical western and, like life in the country, it moves quite slowly, so fans of Eastwood's action movies might not find it as engaging as his other westerns. However, Honkytonk Man rewards those who stick with it and ultimately received wide critical praise. This music-heavy movie is a well-crafted and directed drama that will move many to tears.

Pale Rider (1985) - 7.3

Clint Eastwood in Pale Rider

Eastwood plays a mysterious preacher who rides a pale horse into a small mining community, conveniently just after a young girl was praying to God to save them from the wealthy mining company trying to scare them off. When the Preacher starts impacting their profits, the mining company enlists the aid of corrupt marshal Stockburn, who seems to have a history with the Preacher.

Though Eastwood only directed a few westerns, Pale Rider shares many thematic qualities with his first western as a director, High Plains Drifter. In both films, Eastwood plays a wandering spirit in search of vengeance for their death. Pale Rider, however, is more upfront with the supernatural nature of the protagonist and his goal. Unfortunately, it lacks the haunting atmosphere that elevates High Plains Drifter to the higher ranking.

High Plains Drifter (1973) - 7.5

Close-up of Clint Eastwood in High Plains Drifter

A mysterious stranger (Eastwood) rides into the small town of Lago after he appears to manifest out of the desert haze. A trio of gunfighters tries to run him out of town at the cost of their lives. In exchange for anything that he wants, the local council hires the stranger to protect the town from a group of outlaws.

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After his directorial debut in 1971, with the thriller Play Misty For Me, the gunslinging icon directed his first entry into the genre and it remains one of Eastwood's best westerns according to IMDb. Eastwood brought lessons he learned from directors Sergio Leone (The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly) and Don Siegel (Dirty Harry) and paid a rather grim homage to them by putting their names on tombstones in the cemetery scene.

The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) - 7.8

Josey rests in The Outlaw Josey Wales

Josey Wales (Eastwood) was a farmer until his wife and son were killed by union army soldiers. To avenge his family, Josey learns to fire a gun and joins a group of Confederate-leaning guerilla fighters. But when the Civil War ends, Josey becomes the sole survivor of a Union massacre. He sets off with an eclectic group of companions to find a quiet home, but the bounty hunters in pursuit will stop at nothing to prevent his peace.

The Outlaw Josey Wales almost wasn't directed by Clint Eastwood. Philip Kaufman co-wrote the script and was the original director, but differences in opinion between him and Eastwood lead to him being fired and replaced by Eastwood. This led to, the Directors Guild of America creating "the Eastwood Rule," which states that a director can't be replaced by the actor or producer who fired them. Despite the somewhat messy behind-the-scenes, this film emains a beautifully shot western with great action.

Unforgiven (1992) - 8.2

A silhouette of two riders in Unforgiven

A group of sex workers pool their money to hire a gunfighter to kill the men who brutally assaulted one of them. Eastwood plays William Munny, an infamous former outlaw who is struggling to provide for his children and reluctantly agrees to help a young gunfighter kill the cowboys and split the reward money. But Munny isn't the outlaw he used to be, and the cruel sheriff might just be his match.

Eastwood's subversive movie was one of the best westerns of the '90s and so conclusive that, until recently, he appeared to retire from the genre altogether afterward. With superb direction and acting, Eastwood manages to subvert normal western movie tropes and celebrate them at the same time.

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