Greg Whitmore June 22, 2014

Clint Eastwood’s directorial career so far – in pictures

With the release of Jersey Boys we thought it a good time to look back at the directorial career of the 84-year-old giant of cinema

Clint Eastwood in The Outlaw Josey Wales, which he also directed — Clint Eastwood in The Outlaw Josey Wales, which he also directed Photograph: Warner Bros./Allstar

Clint Eastwood: Play Misty For Me — Clint Eastwood made his directorial debut with the 1971 psychological thriller Play Misty for Me. He also produced and starred in the film as a late night radio DJ stalked by an obsessed female fan. The theatrical poster nodded towards Hitchcock's Psycho, a sure sign of a creepy film. Photograph: Bettmann/Corbis

Clint Eastwood: High Plains Drifter — Next up was High Plains Drifter in 1973. Eastwood directed and starred as The Stranger, a man with no name which betrayed the influence on the movie of the great Sergio Leone.
Here Clint is pictured with his long time collaborator, cinematographer Bruce Surtees. Photograph: Ronald Grant Archive

Clint Eastwood: On the set of The Eiger Sanction — In the 1975 movie The Eiger Sanction, Eastwood insisted on doing all his own climbing and stunts when he played an art professor, mountain climber and assassin. Following the death of body double and photographer, David Knowles, during a rock fall and injuries to others on set, Eastwood faced a lot of criticism and was accused of lacking preparation for the treacherous conditions on the mountain. Photograph: Sunset Boulevard/Corbis

Clint Eastwood: On the set of The Outlaw Josey Wales — 1976 saw the release of the American civil war set Western, The Outlaw Josey Wales, a film Eastwood has since described as anti-war. Eastwood directed Sondra Locke for the first time Photograph: Sunset Boulevard/Corbis

Clint Eastwood: The Gauntlet — Sondra Locke was to appear in six films alongside him (including the 1977 action film The Gauntlet) and they co-habited from 1975 to 1989. It didn't end well as the title of her autobiography, The Good, the Bad, and the Very Ugly – A Hollywood Journey, would seem to suggest. Photograph: Everett Collection/Rex Features

Clint Eastwood: Sudden Impact — 'Go ahead, make my day' is a quote from 1983 film Sudden Impact, the fourth film in the Dirty Harry series of five and the only one directed by Eastwood. Photograph: Everett Collection/Rex Features

Clint Eastwood: Pale Rider poster — The Man With No Name rides again in 1985's Pale Rider. The film was a massive success with the public and critics alike despite its similarities to Shane and High Plains Drifter. The film was entered into the 1985 Cannes film festival. Photograph: Alamy

Clint Eastwood: Bird — Bird, a biography of jazz saxophonist Charlie 'Bird' Parker played by Forest Whitaker, was the first major film Eastwood directed but didn't appear in. The 1988 movie displayed the director's love of music and earned him a Golden Globe for best director, the first award he had received since the now defunct and somewhat vague Henrietta Award at the 1971 Golden Globe Awards for world film favourite - male Photograph: Alamy

Clint Eastwood: Unforgiven — Clint Eastwood received universal acclaim and, at last, industry recognition for the 1992 dark western, Unforgiven. Eastwood, returning to his leitmotif of men drawn to violence, either knowingly or unwittingly, directs and stars as William Munny a former gunslinger and killer who takes on one last job. Photograph: Warner Bros/Allstar

Clint Eastwood: Clint Eastwood holding Academy Awards — Clint Eastwood is pictured on 29 March 1993 at the 65th Academy Awards ceremony. Unforgiven won numerous awards including Oscars for best picture and best director and the best director Golden Globe. Photograph: Steve Starr/Corbis

Clint Eastwood: The Bridges Of Madison County — In 1995 Eastwood turned his hand to romance with The Bridges of Madison County. Well received by the public, and with a Golden Globe nomination for Meryl Streep, the film demonstrated that he has many strings to his bow.
The following year Eastwood was awarded the lifetime achievement award by the American Film Institute. Photograph: Warner Bros/Allstar

Clint Eastwood: Mystic River — Sean Penn and Tim Robbins won Oscars for best actors in leading and supporting roles respectively in the 2003 dramatic thriller Mystic River, the first time this had been achieved since Ben Hur. The actors also won Golden Globes in the same categories but the awards eluded the director. This film was the first for which Eastwood wrote the score. Photograph: Everett Collection/Rex Features

Clint Eastwood: Million Dollar Baby — Eastwood only had to wait a year though for a big score. Eastwood directed and starred alongside Hilary Swank as a grizzled boxing trainer, in Million Dollar Baby, seeking redemption through helping Swank achieve her goal to turn professional. Eastwood won Academy Awards for best picture and best director, Swank won best actress and co-star Morgan Freeman won best supporting actor. Other awards are too numerous to mention. Photograph: Merie W. Wallace/Ronald Grant Archive

Clint Eastwood: Clint Eastwood and Hilary Swank — Clint Eastwood and Hilary Swank speak with Eastwood's mother Ruth at the Governors Ball following the 77th Academy Awards on 27 February 2005, in Los Angeles. Photograph: Kevork Djansezian/AP

Clint Eastwood: Flags Of Our Fathers — In 2006 Eastwood directed the first of two films about the battle of Iwo Jima during the second world war. Flags of Our Fathers was shot from the American perspective of the battle and focused on the life stories of the six men who raised the flag. Photograph: Dreamworks/Allstar

Clint Eastwood: Letters From Iwo Jima — The second part, Letters from Iwo Jima, also released in 2006, told the story from the Japanese perspective. This movie won a Golden Globe for best foreign language film. Photograph: Warner Bros/Allstar

Clint Eastwood: Gran Torino — Eastwood picked up his rifle again for Gran Torino in 2008. His first appearance on screen since Million Dollar Baby was a portrayal of a disgruntled Korean war vet taking on Detroit gangs to protect a family. He said it would be his last acting role. A fitting end. Photograph: Warner Bros./Rex Features

Clint Eastwood: Invictus — Eastwood directed Invictus in 2009 starring Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon as South African captain Francois Pienaar in the true story of Mandela's attempt to unite the nation through the 1995 rugby World Cup. Eastwood was nominated for best director at the Golden Globes. Photograph: Warner Bros/Allstar

Clint Eastwood: J. Edgar — Another biopic, J. Edgar, followed in 2011 telling the life story of J Edgar Hoover, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. Photograph: Warner Bros/Allstar

Clint Eastwood: Jersey Boys — This year sees the release of Jersey Boys, the first musical Clint Eastwood has gone anywhere near since Paint Your Wagon in 1969. The film tells the story of four young men from the wrong side of the tracks in New Jersey who came together to form the iconic 1960s band The Four Seasons. One of those men, Frankie Valli, is seen here with Clint. Photograph: Warner Bros/Rex Features

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