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The legendary Clint Eastwood is one of the few veterans in the industry who has still managed to keep working even at the age of 93. The actor-director has helmed multiple acclaimed films such asMillion Dollar Baby, Unforgiven, American Sniper, Mystic River, and more. He currently working on the thriller,Juror No.2.
Eastwood’s films have been critical darlings and once ruled Awards seasons. Despite the long list of brilliant films in his filmography, theGran Torinostar namedLetters from Iwo Jimaas his best film. The Japanese-language war film spoke about the battle between the USA and Japan during WWII and reportedly irkedDo The Right Thingdirector Spike Lee.
Also read:Clint Eastwood’s Oscar Sweep Might Have Never Happened Without Kevin Costner’s Record Breaking Win at The Academy
Clint Eastwood ConsidersLetters from Iwo JimaTo Be His Best Film
From his first film as director forPlay Misty for Meto his latestJuror No.2,Clint Eastwoodhas made critical darlings that have tackled various genres. Eastwood has explored war films, Westerns, sports dramas, courtroom dramas, procedurals, and more. The man is 93 and is still going strong with artistically challenging films.
Eastwood has been nominated for the Oscar four times as Best Director and has won twice. He received his first Oscar for the WesternUnforgiven. He was also nominated for Best Actor for the film but lost to Al Pacino forScent of a Woman. Eastwood won the Oscar again forMillion Dollar Baby, which also won Best Picture the same year.
Also read:“That had never been explored before”: Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone Was Inspired by 1 Kevin Costner Western After Professing His Love for Clint Eastwood
However, Clint Eastwood preferred his other Oscar-nominated film as his best work. Talking toNHK, Eastwood named his war filmLetters from Iwo Jimaas his best work to date. The war film was a companion piece for his other WWII filmFlags of Our Fathers, which focused on the battle between the USA and Japan. He said,
“I tell you one that really was a long shot and it was in making a film Flags of Our Fathers some years ago. I got the idea to do The Letters from Iwo Jima, and I thought, ‘That’s so hard to do because it’s hard to find out much information on it’…I was fortunate to find a writer here in America…So that had a great satisfaction because I still think it’s one of the better films I’ve done.”
Letters from Iwo Jimawas filmed entirely in Japanese and told the war from the Japanese perspective. The film was nominated for Best Picture and Best Director. The film ultimately won in the Best Sound Editing category.
Also read:Quentin Tarantino Wanted To Mimic 1 Iconic Clint Eastwood Trilogy Despite His Aversion To Sequels
Why Does Spike Lee HateLetters From Iwo Jima?
While Clint Eastwood’s masterpieceLetters from Iwo Jimais the favorite of the hard-to-please filmmaker himself, the epic war drama irked another legendary filmmaker Spike Lee. Lee, the director of classic films such asDo The Right ThingandMalcolm X, took issue with Eastwood’s Japanese film due to the lack of Black soldiers in the film.
Lee spoke toThe Guardianwhile promoting his filmMiracle at St. Anna, a war film set during the Italian Civil War during WWII, which had Black representation. He said,
“[Clint Eastwood] did two films about Iwo Jima back to back and there was not one Black soldier in both of those films. Many veterans, African-Americans, who survived that war are upset at Clint Eastwood. In his vision of Iwo Jima, Negro soldiers did not exist. Simple as that. I have a different version.”
However, Clint Eastwood did not take this accusation silently. He argued back that the film was based on the soldiers who raised the infamous Iwo Jima flag and that none of them were Black. He said toThe Guardian,
“They didn’t raise the flag. The story is Flags of Our Fathers, the famous flag-raising picture, and they didn’t do that. If I go ahead and put an African-American actor in there, people’d go, ‘This guy’s lost his mind.’ I mean, it’s not accurate.”
Clint Eastwood also went on to disregard Spike Lee’s criticism as he had faced a similar reaction from theBlacKKKlansmandirector when Eastwood made the filmBird, which was based on the life of the saxophonist Charlie Parker.
Nishanth A
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2416
Nishanth A is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on TV shows with over 2,000 articles published. He has been an entertainment journalist for the past two years and a scriptwriter at various corporations before that, working on educational content. With a Communications, English Literature, and Psychology triple major, Nishanth usually covers news and analyses on Star Trek, particularly Strange New Worlds and The Next Generation; Doctor Who, the DCU, and more.A Nolan fan, Nishanth spends his time exploring the filmographies of various directors with an auteurial style or can be found making short movies of his own. He has also contributed as a feature writer for Film Companion, focusing on the South division.
