Clint
The Man and the Movies
by Shawn Levy
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From the acclaimed film critic and New York Times bestselling biographer of Paul Newman, the definitive biography of Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood, the most prolific and versatile actor-director in the history of the medium and an imposing icon of American culture.
C-L-I-N-T. In one short, sharp syllable, an emblem of American manhood and morality and sheer bloody-minded will, on screen and off, for more than sixty years. Whether he's facing down bad guys on a western street (Old West or new, no matter); staring through the lens of a camera; or accepting one of his thirteen Oscars (including two for Best Picture); he is as blunt, curt, and solid as his name, a star of the old school stripe and one of the most accomplished directors of his time, a man of rock and iron and brute force: Clint.
To tell the story of Clint Eastwood is to tell the story of nearly a century of American culture. No Hollywood figure has so completely and complexly stood inside the changing climates of post-World War II America. At age ninety-five, he has lived a tumultuous century and embodied much of his time and many of its contradictions.
We picture him most immediately as he has appeared to us on screen: squinting through cigarillo smoke in A Fistful of Dollars or The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly; imposing rough justice at the point of a .44 Magnum in Dirty Harry; sowing vengeance in The Outlaw Josey Wales or Pale Rider or Unforgiven; grudgingly training a woman boxer in Million Dollar Baby; standing up for his neighbors despite his racism in Gran Torino. Or we feel him present, powerfully, behind the camera, creating complex tales of violence, morality, and humanity such as Mystic River, Flags of Our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima,and American Sniper.But his roles, however well-cast and convincing, are two-dimensional in comparison to the whole life. And the films he makes as an artist are, too, mere pieces of the man. As New York Times bestselling author Shawn Levy reveals in this masterful biography--the most complete portrait yet of Eastwood--the reality is richer, knottier, and more absorbing. Clint: The Man and the Movies is a saga of cunning, determination, and conquest, a story about a man ascending to the Hollywood pantheon while keeping a gimlet eye on its ways and habits and one foot firmly planted outside its door.
About the Author:
Shawn Levy is the author of the bestsellers The Castle on Sunset, Rat Pack Confidential, Paul Newman: A Life, King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis, and Dolce Vita Confidential. The former film critic of The Oregonian, he has written for Sight and Sound, Film Comment, American Film, Interview, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, The Black Rock Beacon, and The Hollywood Reporter. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
Press Reviews:
"[This] absorbing, affectionate portrait manages to bring [Newman] back to us. . . . Paul Newman leaves readers with a surprisingly cheering message. If the rest of us can’t aspire to having Newman’s life, we can at least take inspiration from the way he lived his." — Washington Post
"A graceful tribute to a one-of-a-kind man." — Seattle Times on Paul Newman: A Life
"Newman’s life was never dull, and Levy re-creates it in vivid detail." — Parade
"Richly researched . . . Being able to bask in Newman’s Own insights is enough to bring this one-of-a-kind star back to life, however briefly. And to miss him terribly again when the final page is turned." — USA Today
"Eloquent and perceptive. . . Levy’s meticulously researched biography is as revealing a portrait as one could hope for." — Christian Science Monitor on Paul Newman: A Life
See the publisher website: Mariner Books
See the complete filmography of Clint Eastwood on the website: IMDB ...
> From the same author:
The Castle on Sunset (2020)
Life, Death, Love, Art, and Scandal at Hollywood's Chateau Marmont
by Shawn Levy
> On a related topic:
Clint Eastwood (2023)
The Iconic Filmmaker and his Work
by Ian Nathan
Subject: Director > Clint Eastwood
Tough Ain't Enough (2018)
New Perspectives on the Films of Clint Eastwood
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The Films of Clint Eastwood (2018)
Critical Perspectives
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The Philosophy of Clint Eastwood (2014)
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Clint Eastwood (2012)
Interviews
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Clint Eastwood (2025)
A Retrospective
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Clint Eastwood's Cinema of Trauma (2017)
Essays on PTSD in the Director's Films
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