Top 10 Clint Eastwood Westerns

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Few performers are as inextricably woven into the tapestry of the Western genre as Clint Eastwood. As the mysterious loner with an arsenal-loaded six-shooter or as the director responsible for a new vision behind the lens, remaking the genre itself, Eastwood has been the face of gun-smoke justice and frontier grit for decades. His Westerns have defined not only a career, but a cinematic legacy, from ragged saloons to bloody quests for revenge. Saddle up—these are the 10 greatest Clint Eastwood Westerns, listed from excellent to legendary.

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10. Joe Kidd (1972)

As a prelude to Eastwood taking full command behind the camera, he acted in this spartan, revisionist Western by John Sturges. As former bounty hunter Joe Kidd, he is drawn into a tight-rope conflict between a rich landowner (Robert Duvall) and a revolutionary leader. With Elmore Leonard’s tightly written script, Joe Kidd brings fast-paced action and moral ambiguities. It scored 80% on Rotten Tomatoes and was one of the highest-grossing Westerns of its time, according to Collider.

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9. Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970)

This Eastwood-Shirley MacLaine pairing brings some surprising heat to the classic Western. Directed by Don Siegel, the picture tracks Hogan, a tough-talking gunslinger, and a spunky “nun” with hidden motives, as they fight their way through perilous times in Mexico during the revolution. It’s an action-wit-combination thing that is memorable due to an offbeat chemistry. While not as highly regarded as some of Eastwood’s other Westerns, its charm and character-driven energy establish it as a secret gem.

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8. Honkytonk Man (1982)

Breaking from his gunslinger image, Eastwood displays heart and sensitivity in Honkytonk Man. He directs and stars as Red Stovall, an ailing country musician with tuberculosis, pursuing his dream of playing the Grand Ole Opry. With his actual son Kyle Eastwood playing his younger nephew, this Depression-era story is more road movie than gunfight. Although it tanked at the box office, critics welcomed it—Collider references its 93% Rotten Tomatoes score and deems it “endearing and more than worth the watch.”

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7. Hang ‘Em High (1968)

Eastwood’s first big return to American Westerns since Leone is a tale of revenge dressed in law and order. Having escaped a mistaken lynching, Jed Cooper is a U.S. Marshal out to get his persecutors. With a 92% Rotten Tomatoes rating, Hang ‘Em High was a box office smash and paved the way for Eastwood’s production company, Malpaso Productions. A tough, morally ambiguous business that let Hollywood know Eastwood wasn’t going anywhere.

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6. Pale Rider (1985)

In this gloomy, atmospheric Western, Eastwood is a cryptic preacher who arrives to protect a group of prospectors against an avaricious mining tycoon. With Biblical undertones and a haunting atmosphere, Pale Rider is a spurs’-sounding ghost story. Similar to Shane, it demonstrated that Eastwood was still able to give life to a dying genre. Critics appreciated its style and suspense, and it was one of the most successful Westerns of the 1980s.

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5. High Plains Drifter (1973)

Eastwood’s follow-up directorial work is a macabre, atmospheric Western that teeters on the edge of the supernatural. As a nameless cowboy brought in to defend a morally corrupt town, Eastwood’s character is both an avenging ghost and a man. With its unnerving tone and open-ended conclusion, High Plains Drifter subverts Western conventions in daring ways. Collider applauds its twisty plot and solid direction, while critics appreciate its eerie atmosphere.

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4. The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)

Broadly considered one of Eastwood’s best directorial efforts, this Civil War-era drama tracks a farmer turned outlaw out for revenge when Union troops kill his family. The Outlaw Josey Wales mines deep into grief, redemption, and survival, and provides a rich, emotional interpretation of the Western mythology. It was a hit at the box office and with critics, and has since been included in the National Film Registry as being culturally significant.

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3. For a Few Dollars More (1965)

The second installment of Sergio Leone’s Dollars Trilogy raises the stakes, teaming Eastwood’s Man With No Name with Lee Van Cleef’s Colonel Mortimer as they pursue an elusive bandit. The picture seethes with suspense, iconic Morricone scores, and chic action. Its 92% Rotten Tomatoes score and enduring popularity have cemented its position as one of the all-time great Spaghetti Westerns.

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2. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

A widely agreed-upon classic of the genre, this epic sees Eastwood’s Blondie pitted against Tuco (Eli Wallach) and Angel Eyes (Lee Van Cleef) in a quest for treasure amidst the Civil War. Directed by Sergio Leone and featuring Morricone’s iconic score, it’s gold on screen. AL.com deems it “arguably the greatest of the spaghetti westerns,” and with its 97% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s not hard to disagree.

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1. A Fistful of Dollars (1964)

This is where it all started. Eastwood’s first starring role as the taciturn, poncho-wearing gunslinger redefined what a Western hero could be. Drawing from Yojimbo and leavened with Italian flair and toughness, A Fistful of Dollars launched a revolution in Westerns. At 98% Rotten Tomatoes, it’s not just iconic—it’s the template for the modern Western anti-hero. If you can only see one Clint Eastwood Western, this is the one that set the fuse aflame.

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Starting with gritty revenge stories and ending with genre-breaking ghost stories, Clint Eastwood’s Westerns range wide—and, where necessary, wide of the mark. Whether you’re seeing them for the first time or riding again through them, these 10 films show that when it comes to Westerns, Eastwood is the genuine article.

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