Richard Brody Picks Three Favorite Clint Eastwood Films

Summary

Podcast Summary: Richard Brody Picks Three Favorite Clint Eastwood Films

Podcast Information:

• Title: The New Yorker Radio Hour
• Host/Author: WNYC Studios and The New Yorker
• Description: Profiles, storytelling, and insightful conversations, hosted by David Remnick.
• Episode: Richard Brody Picks Three Favorite Clint Eastwood Films
• Release Date: August 12, 2025

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Introduction to Clint Eastwood’s Enduring Legacy

[00:11] David Remnick opens the episode by highlighting Clint Eastwood as one of the few constants in many people's lives, alongside death and taxes. He marvels at Eastwood's unprecedented career longevity, noting that at 95 years old, Eastwood has directed 40 films and maintained his status as both a relevant filmmaker and movie star for seven decades. Remnick underscores Eastwood's determination to continue working, quoting Eastwood himself: "There’s no reason why a man can’t get better with age."

[00:45] David Remnick introduces Richard Brody, The New Yorker's film critic, as a fervent admirer and defender of Eastwood. The discussion is set against the backdrop of Shawn Levy’s newly published biography, "The Man in the Movies."

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Clint Eastwood’s Early Career and Directorial Aspirations

[02:14] Richard Brody praises Levy’s biography as a "fascinating" and "copiously researched" exploration of Eastwood’s life. He is particularly intrigued by Eastwood's early years and the innate charisma that preceded his Hollywood career. Brody reflects on Eastwood’s realization of his own screen presence: "People look at you when you walk into the room. Maybe you ought to consider the pictures."

[02:50] Richard Brody discusses Eastwood’s start in television with the 1950s series "Rawhide." He notes that while Brody himself didn’t watch much of it, Eastwood found the repetitive, formulaic storytelling of the show to be stifling. However, working with guest stars like John Cassavetes and Barbara Stanwyck provided Eastwood with invaluable experience and inspiration, fueling his desire to pursue directing.

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Eastwood’s Directorial Style and Influence

[04:22] Richard Brody delves into Eastwood’s reputation for efficient directing—staying under budget and minimizing takes. He attributes this approach to Eastwood’s business acumen and his ownership of a production company, which afforded him greater creative and financial control over his projects.

[05:00] Richard Brody emphasizes the diversity of Eastwood’s filmography, which includes mysteries, true crime stories, political thrillers, and biopics of figures like Charlie Parker and John Huston. Brody draws a parallel between Eastwood’s filmmaking methods and his passion for jazz, highlighting Eastwood's desire for spontaneity and improvisation on set, akin to jazz performance.

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Clint Eastwood’s Political Stance and Public Persona

[06:51] David Remnick transitions the conversation to Eastwood’s political positioning, noting him as a conservative icon. He references Eastwood's memorable moment at the 2012 Republican National Convention, where Eastwood addressed an empty chair representing then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

[07:07] Richard Brody recounts the exchange, emphasizing Eastwood’s improvisational nature:

Clint Eastwood: "I can’t tell him to do that."

Empty Chair: "Can’t do that to himself. You’re crazy. You’re absolutely crazy."

Brody suggests that while Eastwood is comfortable with his conservative image, his true passion lies in character exploration rather than political punditry. He commends Eastwood for his deeper curiosity about his characters compared to typical opinion-makers.

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Richard Brody’s Three Favorite Clint Eastwood Films

[08:22] David Remnick prompts Brody to share his top three Clint Eastwood films directed by Eastwood himself.

1. Play Misty for Me (1971)

[08:27] The film marks Eastwood’s directorial debut. A dialogue excerpt showcases Eastwood’s characteristic snappy exchanges:

Clint Eastwood: "I never lied to you."

Unknown Character: "Big deal. He never lied to me. Well, what do you want for that? The congressional Medal of honor?"

Clint Eastwood: "So what am I supposed to do?"

Unknown Character: "Sit here all dressed up in my little horror suit, waiting for my lord and master to call?"

Clint Eastwood: "Nobody asks you to wait for anything."

Brody describes the film as a Hitchcockian thriller centered around a radio DJ being stalked by a listener. He highlights the film’s exploration of the fraught relationship between public and private life and the dangers of demagoguery, themes that resonate throughout Eastwood’s career.

2. Bird (Released Date Not Specified)

[11:19] A clip from Bird illustrates Eastwood’s authentic portrayal of jazz:

Clint Eastwood: "Yeah, go. Don’t fit all this off. I’m playing on B flat."

Richard Brody: "What makes Eastwood original is both his methods, which is to say he filmed Bird with the same level of jazz-like spontaneity that he films throughout his career."

Brody praises Bird for its spontaneous filming style and its deep thematic connection between Eastwood and jazz musician Charlie Parker. He discusses Parker’s internal struggles between his musical genius and the commercial limitations on his artistry, mirroring Eastwood’s own grappling with fame and creative control.

3. Sully (Released Date Not Specified)

[12:47] A poignant scene from Sully depicts the harrowing moments of an emergency plane landing:

Richard Brody: "This was dual engine loss at 2,800ft, followed by an immediate walk landing with 155 souls on board. No one has ever trained for an incident like that. No one."

The film tells the true story of pilot Chesley Sullenberger, who safely landed a malfunctioning plane on the Hudson River. Brody highlights Sully’s internal torment over the potential disaster he narrowly averted, emphasizing the moral and emotional burdens of heroic acts. The reenactment captures Sully’s haunted reflections on what could have been catastrophic, adding depth to Eastwood’s portrayal of heroism.

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Themes and Reflections on Eastwood’s Filmography

[14:00] Richard Brody discusses the recurring theme of the accidental hero in Eastwood’s work—characters who find themselves in situations beyond their control, achieving greatness yet being burdened by unforeseen consequences. He contrasts this with Unforgiven, acknowledging its significance in Eastwood’s career but noting it doesn’t rank among his personal favorites. Brody critiques Unforgiven for being overly literal in its exploration of the moral price of violence, suggesting it lacks the spontaneity and inspiration found in his top picks.

[15:08] Richard Brody briefly mentions Juror Number Two as his favorite recent film, commending its original tone and thematic depth despite following a conventional storyline. He appreciates how Eastwood subverts expectations, transforming a typical narrative into a complex exploration of foreboding and prosecutorial demagogy.

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Conclusion

[15:41] David Remnick wraps up the discussion, thanking Richard Brody for his insights. Remnick directs listeners to Brody’s film critiques available in his New Yorker column, "The Front Row."

[16:07] The episode concludes with standard closing credits and acknowledgments, followed by advertisements, which are beyond the scope of this summary.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• David Remnick [00:22]: "There’s no reason why a man can’t get better with age."

• Richard Brody [02:38]: "He learned a tremendous amount from working with classic movie heroes who were on the show that he wanted to direct."

• Clint Eastwood [08:27]: "I never lied to you."

• Richard Brody [11:19]: "What makes Eastwood original is both his methods, which is to say he filmed Bird with the same level of jazz-like spontaneity that he films throughout his career."

• Richard Brody [14:00]: "The accidental hero… achieving greatness yet being burdened by unforeseen consequences."

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Final Thoughts

This episode of The New Yorker Radio Hour offers an in-depth exploration of Clint Eastwood’s multifaceted career, as viewed through the lens of Richard Brody’s expert analysis. From Eastwood’s early days on television to his nuanced directorial choices and enduring thematic concerns, the conversation paints a comprehensive portrait of a Hollywood legend who continues to evolve and inspire. Brody’s selections—Play Misty for Me, Bird, and Sully—highlight Eastwood’s versatility and profound understanding of character-driven storytelling, solidifying his place as a master filmmaker.

Transcript

[Unknown Host]

This is the New Yorker Radio Hour, a co production of WNYC Studios and the New Yorker.

[David Remnick]

This is the New Yorker Radio Hour. I'm David Remnick. For many of us, for most of our lives, there's been a handful of constants, death, taxes and Clint Eastwood.

[Clint Eastwood]

I know what you're thinking. Did he fire six shots or only five? Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I've kind of lost track myself. But Ian is a.44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off. You've got to ask yourself one question. Do I feel lucky? Well, do you, punk?

[David Remnick]

Clint Eastwood is now 95 years old, an actor and a director and a Hollywood institution. His career longevity is really unprecedented. He's directed 40 films and he's managed to remain a career, a relevant filmmaker and a movie star for seven decades. This spring, Eastwood confirmed that he has no intention of slowing down and that he is already planning his next project. He said that there's, quote, no reason why a man can't get better with age. And while some directors lose their touch as they grow older, as he says, he's not one of them. The New Yorker's Richard Brody wholeheartedly agrees. He's one of Eastwood's biggest fans and defenders. And we sat down to discuss Eastwood's legendary career following the publication of a new biography by writer Shawn Levy called the man in the Movies. Welcome to my friend Richard Brody. How are you?

[Richard Brody]

David? Good to see you. How are you?

[David Remnick]

Great to see you. We are here to talk Clint. Clint Eastwood, who is 95 years old, putting us young bucks to shame.

[Richard Brody]

And he's still making movies. And he's still making movies. And why wouldn't he? Why would anybody who loves what they're doing and is still able to do it physically and mentally and still has the approval of his peers stop doing it?

[David Remnick]

So he'll never retire?

[Richard Brody]

I suspect he won't unless he has to.

[David Remnick]

Now, you just read a new biography by Shawn Levy of Clint Eastwood. What did you make of it? What'd you learn?

[Richard Brody]

Oh, it's a fascinating book. It's a copiously researched book and it rummages through his life from beginning to the present day. What fascinated me above all are the origins of Clinton Eastwood Ness, the way that he had an aura about him that preceded his career in movies. He didn't really give it a thought until people said to him, you know, people look at you when you walk into the room. Maybe you ought to consider the pictures.

[David Remnick]

Mean when he was a kid, a.

[Richard Brody]

Student, teenager, young adult that he had the.

[David Remnick]

He had the thing.

[Richard Brody]

He had the thing and had no idea how to use it. I mean, he seems to have mainly used it for seduction at the time.

[David Remnick]

Successfully.

[Richard Brody]

Successfully. Apparently.

[David Remnick]

Good for him. Now he got his start as a TV actor in the 50s, in the series I don't think I watched, called.

[Clint Eastwood]

Rawhide, series called the Guitar. I guess he wouldn't mind if we exercise a little bit. Riding hard, riding fast, always on the go. This is just a drover's life. This is all I know.

[David Remnick]

Right.

[Richard Brody]

I saw it.

[David Remnick]

Could you watch that?

[Richard Brody]

Not much. My father did. So I saw it a little bit. I mean, it went off the air in 1960, I believe. So I was kind of a. But he.

[David Remnick]

Does it shape him.

[Richard Brody]

It shaped him in ways. It shaped him away from doing things like Rawhide. In other words, he learned what he didn't like, first of all. In other words, it bored him to do that sort of repetitive, formulaic story. On the other hand, he got to work with a remarkable bunch of actors ranging from John Cassavetes to Barbara Stanwyck, who all did guest appearances in the series. And I think he learned a tremendous amount from working with classic movie heroes who were on the show that he wanted to direct. He would be in scenes and he would essentially tell the director, look, there's some stuff going on here that you're not getting. Maybe give me a camera. They wouldn't do it. They claimed union problems. But it really did inspire him to become a director.

[David Remnick]

Now Eastwood is famous as a director for staying under budget, shooting as few takes as possible. In fact, it mystifies some actors when they work with him at first that he barely says, you know, roll him. How does it work?

[Richard Brody]

Well, I think that the economics of it have a great deal to do with his aesthetics as well. Partly because he had his own production company. When he was working with Sergio Leone, which made him a star on three spaghetti Westerns, he said, I'm going to start a production company. I'm going to star in and direct my own movies. And he did so.

[David Remnick]

But he worked with good. I mean, Sergio Leone is a good director. Why was he. Was he disgusted by working with him?

[Richard Brody]

No, he simply wanted to do things on his own. He wanted to sh. His own career.

[David Remnick]

And what kind of stories did he want to tell? I mean, we think of him, at least for a while, in two modes. One is in westerns and the other as a cop.

[Richard Brody]

Clint Eastwood's career has been extraordinarily wide ranging, which I think is one of the reasons for his endurance and his artistic success. He's told mysteries, he's told true crime stories, he's told political thrillers. He's done biopics of characters ranging from Charlie Parker to John Huston.

[David Remnick]

He himself is a fairly decent jazz.

[Richard Brody]

Pianist He's a fairly decent jazz pianist who was struck by the thunderbolt of Charlie Parker in the mid-1940s.

[David Remnick]

Wow. And he so in real time.

[Richard Brody]

In real time. But I think that when you ask about his methods on the set, I think that they're very connected to his love for jazz. In other words, that his one takeness, sometimes even films rehearsals has a lot to do with the desire to make his films be and feel spontaneous. The way that Meryl, when she acted with him in the Bridges of Madison county is it only has to happen once, and he understands that.

[David Remnick]

The New Yorker's Richard Brody this is the New Yorker Radio Hour. More to come.

[Tommy Vitor]

The headlines never stop and it's harder than ever to tell what's real, what matters, and what's just noise. That's where Pod Save America comes in. I'm Tommy Vitor and every week I'm joined by fellow former Obama aides Jon Favreau, Jon Levitt, and Dan Pfeiffer to break down the biggest stories, unpack what they mean for the future of our democracy, and add just enough humor to stay sane. Along the way, you'll also hear honest, in depth conversations with big voices in politics, media and culture like Rachel Maddow, Gavin Newsom, and Mark Cuban that you won't find anywhere else. New episodes drop every Tuesday and Friday with deep dives every other weekend. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, watch on YouTube or subscribe on Apple Podcasts for ad free episodes.

[David Remnick]

We can't get through a conversation about Clint Eastwood without mentioning politics, and I think it's probably fair to say that he's positioned on the right. I recall him talking to an empty chair at the 2012 Republican convention.

[Richard Brody]

Roger, what do you want me to tell Romney?

[Clint Eastwood]

I can't tell him to do that.

[Richard Brody]

Can'T do that to himself. You're crazy. You're absolutely crazy.

[David Remnick]

Is he comfortable as a conservative cultural icon?

[Richard Brody]

He's put himself out there enough that he is obviously not completely uncomfortable with it. On the other hand, Clint Eastwood is not the only filmmaker who is much more intelligent as a filmmaker than as a political pundit.

[David Remnick]

I think that's fair to say.

[Richard Brody]

And I think that the level of curiosity that he has with respect to his characters is far greater than the level of curiosity than he, in that most people have when they're just opinion making. One thing about the chair is that that too was an improvisation. He walks to the stage, sees a chair, and says to himself, hey, maybe I'll use that. It did not please the managers of.

[David Remnick]

The convention in front of 20,000 people on national television.

[Richard Brody]

They also had no idea what he would say. He had no idea what he would say. They vetted everybody's speech except his because they said, we don't vet Clint Eastwood. Perhaps they should have.

[David Remnick]

Now, Richard, you're going to recommend three Clint Eastwood films directed by him that you think are, if not his greatest and at least among his greatest as a filmmaker. Is that correct?

[Richard Brody]

That is correct.

[David Remnick]

So what is the first?

[Richard Brody]

Well, the first is his first feature as a director. Play Misty for me from 1971.

[Clint Eastwood]

I never lied to you.

[Unknown Character]

Big deal. He never lied to me. Well, what do you want for that? The congressional Medal of honor?

[Clint Eastwood]

So what am I supposed to do?

[Unknown Character]

Sit here all dressed up in my little horror suit, waiting for my lord and master to call?

[Clint Eastwood]

Nobody asks you to wait for anything.

[Unknown Character]

You're not jumping me, buster Blue eyes.

[Clint Eastwood]

Get off my back, Evelyn.

[Unknown Character]

Get off your back? That's where you've been keeping me, isn't it? You're nothing. You're not even good in bed.

[David Remnick]

Snappy repartee. Clint Eastwood is lousy in bed.

[Richard Brody]

Yeah. Headline, no Dave Garver. Dave Garver, the jazz DJ is not good in bed. Oh, okay. I feel better already.

[David Remnick]

What's that movie about? It's a film that I think a lot of younger people may not have gotten to yet.

[Richard Brody]

Yeah, it's a thriller. It's a Hitchcockian style thriller in which Eastwood plays a DJ who is essentially being stalked by a listener. But the story, which of course has to do with jazz, A longtime love of Eastwood reaches very far into his, let's say, his intellectual life. Something that people wouldn't be inclined to say with Eastwood very often. But in fact, there's one theme that has dominated his career, and it's the fraught nature of the relationship between public and private life, the danger of demagogy. Here's a DJ who is a very successful serial seducer and makes great use of his public image to do so. And now it goes a little further than he had anticipated.

[David Remnick]

Did he direct the Dirty Harry movies he directed?

[Richard Brody]

Only one which has the line in.

[David Remnick]

It, ah, make my day.

[Richard Brody]

Yes.

[David Remnick]

And what do you make of those movies?

[Richard Brody]

Um, I think he's been repenting for them his entire career.

[David Remnick]

You want him to repent or he's actually repenting?

[Richard Brody]

No, no. I think that the character fascinates him in a way that has also been a through line of his work, namely the accidental hero. Somebody who's thrust into a situation that is larger than they'd anticipated. And they go above and beyond and find that, on the one hand, they manage to do things they didn't anticipate, and on the other hand, it takes control of their lives in ways they didn't have success.

[David Remnick]

I was watching one of them a couple months ago, and it really. It feels like a racist film.

[Richard Brody]

Yeah. And he's repented for that. I'm not saying he's publicly repented in words. I'm not sure whether he has or he has not. But more or less throughout his career, he, as Shawn Levy points out in the biography, has taken on the theme of the moral and emotional burden of acts of violence.

[David Remnick]

Richard, let's talk about your second pick from the Clint Eastwood canon. And am I wrong? I think we saw this movie together many, many years ago.

[Richard Brody]

We did indeed. It's Bird, his biopic of Charlie Parker.

[David Remnick]

Which I have to say, I expected to be awful. And it was really kind of good. Let's hear a little bit from it. Hey, Burr, what's going on?

[Clint Eastwood]

When did Buster start playing rhythm and blues? Whoa, whoa.

[David Remnick]

Ain't no such thing as rhythm and blues, man.

[Richard Brody]

DJs don't like to call it that.

[David Remnick]

This is rock and roll, man.

[Tommy Vitor]

Music of today.

[Clint Eastwood]

Yeah, go. Don't fit all this off. I'm playing on B flat.

[Richard Brody]

Shit. You figure it out, man.

[David Remnick]

B flat tonight. F sharp, tomorrow.

[Richard Brody]

12 notes in a scale.

[Tommy Vitor]

Buster's got himself 12 different shows without repeating himself once.

[Clint Eastwood]

Don't fit.

[Richard Brody]

What makes Eastwood original is both his methods, which is to say he filmed Bird with the same level of jazz like spontaneity that he films throughout his career. But also he understood something personally about Charlie Parker that connects thematically with him. And that is the secret. The contrast between Charlie Parker's knowledge of what he's got in the way of music filling his head, and on the one hand, the limitations of what he's able to do on the bandstand, and also the awareness that his role in the world is not commensurate with his musical ability. The scene that we've just heard is one in which he realizes that his place in the world is being taken over by pop music, by rock and roll. One of the key Themes in the movie is the inability of a jazz musician, especially a modern jazz musician like Charlie Parker, to even make a living.

[David Remnick]

Yeah, and the third film is.

[Richard Brody]

The third film is Sully.

[David Remnick]

I'm so surprised by this one. Let's hear a little clip and then we'll talk about it.

[Richard Brody]

This was dual engine loss at 2,800ft, followed by an immediate walk landing with 155 souls on board. No one has ever trained for an incident like that. No one.

[David Remnick]

This, of course is the story of an airline pilot who managed to land an about to crash plane in the Hudson river with no loss of life.

[Richard Brody]

Exactly. Chesley Sullenberger. The world was receiving Chesley Sullenberger as a hero. He did not feel like a hero. He was haunted by tragedy. This has one of the greatest openings of any movie I know. And it's a reenactment of the flight that he safely landed in the Hudson River.

[David Remnick]

And why does he see it as.

[Richard Brody]

A tragedy, but with his imagining of how it could have gone wrong? In other words, it looks like another September 11th. It looks like him crashing an airplane into skyscrapers in Manhattan. He's a haunted man because he knows that the responsibility for the lives of his passengers is far greater than his ability to actually control the situations in question.

[David Remnick]

Why do you see it as a tragedy he succeeded in not having that happen?

[Richard Brody]

He sees it as a tragedy. That's why it's fascinating. He's haunted by what could have happened. He understands precisely that there is no way to prepare for an incident of this sort. And the fact that he pulled it off against all odds is what haunts him. It's the against all odds part that dominates the character of Sully in the movie.

[David Remnick]

That things could so easily have been a horrific disaster.

[Richard Brody]

Exactly.

[David Remnick]

But you're not naming the one that's the most obvious. I guess Unforgiven is the western that people always allude to.

[Richard Brody]

I am sorry to say that Unforgiven is not one of my favorite Clint Eastwood films. I think that it plays a very significant role in his career for exactly the reason we were discussing, namely the moral price of violence. But I think that he was so taken with the theme that it actually comes off as a fairly literal film. Not a bad movie, but not one of his most spontaneous or inspired films.

[David Remnick]

And what about his last movie, his most recent?

[Richard Brody]

Oh, I like Juror Number Two very much. The story of it is nothing unusual. The story of it is like, you know, many popular novels. What's original about it is the tone and the ideas.

[Clint Eastwood]

They found her body in a creek bed about a quarter mile from Rowdy's Hideaway last October. What are you telling me?

[David Remnick]

Maybe I didn't hit it here.

[Clint Eastwood]

I don't know what to do.

[Richard Brody]

He turns it on its head and turns it into a film of dire forebodings and a prosecutor's demagogy. He connects it to the very start of his career.

[David Remnick]

Richard Brody, thanks so much.

[Richard Brody]

Thank you David.

[David Remnick]

The New Yorker's Richard Brody. You can find more of Richard's writing on film in his column the Front row on new yorker.com I'm David Remnick. Thanks for listening and see you next time.

[Unknown Host]

The New Yorker Radio Hour is a co production of WNYC Studios and the New Yorker. Our theme music was composed and performed by Meryl Garbus of Tune Yards, with additional music by Jared Paul. This episode was produced by Max Balton, Adam Howard, David Krasnow, Jeffrey Masters, Louis Mitchell, Jared Paul and Ursula Sommer, with guidance from Emily Botin and assistance from Michael May, David Gable, Alex Barsch, Victor Guan and Alejandra Deckett. The New Yorker Radio Hour is supported in part by the Cherina Endowment Fund.

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