Thanks for another great Sunday read. Your insightful analysis turns what I think was a great but gory movie into so much more. It is hard for me to disassociate a fine creative mind from the guy talking to a chair and a 4547 supporter, albeit a tepid one, this diminishing my admiration of his work. I guess, my bad.
I’ve always viewed movies through the lens of a cinematographer/photographer/animator my field of study and work… you’ve broken down the theme and characters into today’s epoch. Colour me thankful, amazed and profoundly intoxicated by today’s piece Greg!!
Thanks, Patrick. I'd be interested what you think of the film from that perspective. Some of the shots are terrific, but sometimes it feels a bit dated to me, visually.
How could anyone overlook the homonymic name of Unforgiven's main character, Money? Munney equably and equally serves both good & evil. He's tried to retire from gun violence in his life and to live more in keeping with conventional ethics, farming to support his daughters after his wife's died. Yet the farm is failing humiliatingly (pigpen scene) and only a return to violent paydays can support them now. He's no sadist like the Hackman character, just a practical capitalist.
Nor is Eastwood in Unforgiven living to teach lessons to the whole town like the un-named avenger hired to save the corrupt town of Lago in my preferred Clinton hit, High Plains Drifter, who compels the townspeople to paint the town red and post a sign, Welcome to Hell. Eastwood/Munney just wants to do the work that the town whores need for closure for the abuse of their sister and go on to raise his motherless daughters in a life of some dignity. This is emphasized by the final line in Unforgiven, which ends Munney's story with the epitaphic note that in the remainder of his life, "he prospered in dry goods."
Greg, as a reviewer and a gifted, inspired essayist, please entertain my view that analysis shouldn't surmount or marginalize the plain, self-explanatory facts of a matter (or a movie), when metaphors aren't needed for its complete understanding. I get the impulse, in 2025's USA, to escape from one's processes of unadorned observation into a Sargasso sea of literary effort but with respect, your worthy efforts always have more vital work to do.
To your point: his first name is Bill. As in dollar bill. As in money. I think your read is not only valid, but almost certainly what Peoples was hinting at. But the political stuff is in there...we talked about all of this in class in '92.
But for a film to be timeless, I think, the universality of the message has to work from generation to generation. The review in The Guardian talks about George Bush, and how Hackman looks like him a little, and how Bush smiles and shrugs about violence. I read it and assumed he meant Dubya Bush, and then realized no, he wrote that in 1992, he was talking about Poppy. But it also works with Dubya.
One thing I forgot to put in the piece is that Little Bill and Munny have the same name. We have to choose which "Bill" we want to be.
Heroes , we must remember, are humans, and so are flawed. They operate in a moment when “evil” has established itself undeniably and swift heroic action is appropriate. Hero is the label earned when the majority recognizes and approves “ vigilante” action.
Thanks, Lisa. "Outlaw" means operating outside the law...which is what vigilantes do. Hollywood loves vigilantes, whether it's cowboys or Batman. What Americans love is justice.
Without looking it up on this great store of human knowledge, I think that's what John Wilkes Booth shouted from the stage after he shot Lincoln at Ford Theater. Booth obviously had a flair for the overly dramatic.
It's a terrific piece. And I did watch and appreciate the film in an actual movie theater when it was first released. But since Trump was allowed into the White House in an election that saw people lying and trashing the most qualified candidate for President, I cannot abide him. As much as I loathed the GOP since Nixon, which accelerated with Reagan and all that he ushered in -- "normal times" -- I was better able to separate things so that I did not write off people based on what I saw as binary choice between good and evil. As most of us know, these are not "normal times" though they certainly are becoming the "new normal." And so I admit that I believe survival necessitates binary choices and, while I am definitely not likening or even associating Eastwood to Hitler, there is no room for anyone who may think well, hey, there are some things Trump does that are good or acceptable. If Eastwood or anyone else wants to share how wrong they were and how their support (once, or up til now) has contributed to normalizing unspeakable evil laying waste to our country and freedoms, I am all ears. (And if I missed such comments, I am sorry.) Otherwise, these are the things I think of when I think of Eastwood and why I have not seen anything he is associated with since I became privy to them. https://entertainment.ie/trending/clint-eastwood-explains-why-he-supports-donald-trump-354009/
I have that issue too, and I'm not sure it's such a bad thing to have. I haven't watched or even VIEWED anything Tom Cruise is involved in for several years because anything going to support him also supports Scientology -- I also think he's kind of a glib, self-entitled asshole. Kevin Spacey is a creepy, gross predator, and that has also affected my ability to revisit any of his film performances though they are some of the best in film history. People still go on and on about Michael Jackson's music, and although I enjoyed his music at one time, while it was on the charts, I can't help but remember Jackson as the more-likely-than-not pedophile whenever I hear it now, his still rabid fan base notwithstanding. Woody Allen is off my charts. I can't even SEE the Miramax logo at the beginning of a film without thinking of that monstrosity, Harvey Weinstein. Ellen DeGeneres did her last dance for me a long time ago. With all that, I'm pretty neutral about Eastwood, although I wouldn't cross the street to see any film he makes now. His political leanings are annoying for sure, but I haven't seen them brought into any of his films. Even "Gran Torino" seems like an allegory AGAINST racism, but I'm not really Eastwood's audience anyway, so it's kind of a moot point for me.
It's hard, this stuff. Woody Allen is a lost cause...not only is he front and center in almost all of his movies, but he's also created this normalization of older man/young woman dynamic that I didn't like in the moment and now is, as you say, off the charts. Whereas it's easier to forget that Roman Polanski directed "Chinatown," even though he has a small role. I haven't seen any of the new Eastwood films, American Sniper and etc. Not interested. But the Westerns I like, and will always like. "The Good the Bad & the Ugly" is one of the best movies ever made.
Eastwood comments about Trump were a huge mistake.
Clint's over all personal philosophy is a comprehensive subject. Much of what one sees in his films.
Clint Eastwood is not a psychopathic as is Donald Trump accompanied by his sadistic ranting religious fanatical attack rat, Vance.
Note:
Unforgiven and Blade Runner are two of my favorite films embracing human activity.
They remind me to rewatch films such as Syriana(OIL)
and The Good German.
But today my favorite go to rewatch films (OIL) are The English version of The Day of the Jackal, and Three Days of the Condor and of Course for pleasure the 1979 Star Wars.
A valid point, of course. I think we all do this to some degree. For me, the calculus depends on how vociferous is the support, how much does it impact the work, and how much do I enjoy the work. Also how long ago was the work made. Jimmy Stewart was a staunch Republican, but I'm not not watching "It's a Wonderful Life."
I cringe inwardly when Clint gets Trumpy. It hurts. But the movie was made 33 years ago and is overtly against fascism and monarchy.
This is quite a thesis, Greg! I too, shudder about Clint’s empty chair display, but your take on the West and the movie’s true aspects was gobsmacking. I got to imagine Elon as English Bob, getting the shit kicked out of him. I so wish that to happen in any form. Thoroughly enjoyed the movie clips and seeing Hackman, a beloved actor, embrace that role. Thanks!
Brilliant Greg, & one of the movies that has truly affected me. Good to see that scene, but the gratuitous violence, which is probably the point, is tough. I had a flashback of tRump after he got “shot” with all that fake wrestler’s blood. My father was also a huge fan of Gene Hackmen’s. They favoured each other in dress & intellect so it was a touching moment this week. I remember watching my father watch The Conversation intently. There’s a rather enjoyable directors cut of The Conversation on YouTube.
Thanks, Amy. My father loved Eastwood and looked a bit like him. His older brother, my uncle, looks a lot like the Little Bill iteration of Gene Hackman: same twinkle in the eye, same charming smile. So it's hard for me not to see the characters as them playing around.
Now I must out myself (no, not THAT again!) that I haven't seen "Unforgiven." There, I've said it! I am not a "westerns" kind of guy, and I kind of lumped it in with the rest of that genre without really looking at it. The funny thing is, this week, since Gene Hackman's death, I've realized how many movies I have that feature Gene Hackman -- there's 25 of them, everything from "Absolute Power" to "The French Connection" to "The Firm" to "Class Action," and beyond. I was actually looking for "Unforgiven," in there because I'd never seen it, but I don't have it. It looks like I'll have to put $3.99 in Jeff Bezos' pocket to rent it. Ugh!
Even though I haven't seen it, your analysis seems like one I'd regularly hear on other films in the film classes I took in college. The hidden allegories, metaphors, and meanings behind what we see on screen have always fascinated me. I had regular email conversations with a teacher I actually DIDN'T have in high school, about film. She died this past September -- ON her birthday, no less -- so I've missed that. Tonight's Oscar show was her Super Bowl and Christmas, all rolled into one. She and I firmly disagreed on that, but her love of film AND the Oscars never wavered no matter what I said about it. The last time I saw her in person, we saw "(500) Days of Summer" in a proper theater, and we argued about that one too!
At any rate, Sunday columns of film analysis are most welcome!
Incidentally, Friday's Five-8 was excellent, and Heather Thomas is a hoot! Love her!
Also incidentally, I watched the ENTIRE Oval Office debacle from Friday. It lasted almost an hour, and the first 40-45 minutes were (relatively) fine, except that Trump, over and over, kept talking about "raw Earth" and not "rare Earth," referring to the minerals in Ukraine, because he's a fucking moron who never knows what he's talking about. Everything was going pretty well until JD Vance got the opportunity to speak, and he infantilized Zelenskyy from the start: "have you even said, 'thank you' since you've been here today?" What the actual fuck? I mean, you may have an "issue" with sending Ukraine money and weapons to fight a war against Russia, but, and I don't care WHO you think you are, you DON'T talk to the duly elected president of an ally country like that! That, of course, set Trump off, and we all saw what happened after that. It was and still is, infuriating!
Thanks, Steve. I watched 20 minutes of the Debacle, and there was a part where Zelenskyy literally waves Trump off and goes, "Yeah yeah, we already heard it from Putin," and I actuall half gasped half chortled.
Raw Earth. These fucking idiots.
Thanks for watching the show. Heather was great! A lot of fun.
Eastwood's stuff, and this one in particular, is not for everyone. It's VERY violent. That's part of the point, but he also has his cake and eats it too. Which is, artistically, savvy. There are things about the movie I don't like, and it doesn't hold up as well as other films. But when it works, it works. Mostly I wanted to write about the English Bob stuff: "Why NOT shoot a president?" If you feel like watching a Western starred Clint, The Good the Bar and the Ugly is a better one.
Wonderful recap of Unforgiven. I haven't seen that movie in years but now will watch with a different view.
And tides may be turning here with the two toddlers throwing their shit fits on Friday. An in-law and Ride and Die Republican just liked a Facebook post where someone wrote "I Stand by Ukraine". I was stunned. If she was brave enough to do that publicly there must be others that feel that way. We can only hope.
Thanks, Anita. I do think Friday's debacle moved the needle. People can't laugh him off now. He threw it with Putin, publicly, decisively. MAGA has to own that.
Good read, thank you. The imagery it brought back had been forgotten.
A side to that,
I adored Clint Eastwood growing up.
But, experienced a harsh personal growth moment when I learned of his politics.
I can’t help but wonder if Clint has regrets about his support for the newest mad king.
(2016)
“November 8 by Kristine Guerra
Clint Eastwood for Trump
Clint Eastwood has said that he isn’t thrilled about Donald Trump, noting that the Republican candidate has said “a lot of dumb things.” But he’s supporting him anyway.”
Once upon a time, long ago, Clint Eastwood was a sex symbol. For me, at that time, politics weren't even on my radar. I'm not talking about the movies he made with the Orangutan. The ones I enjoyed were called "spaghetti westerns" and they were old when I had my early teens crush on him. I loved the quiet, but strong, with a tattered good heart and on the fringes of society character. I feel a bit betrayed now. ;-)
Yeah, it's very disappointing. It also doesn't quite work, the support of MAGA...this film, his best as a director, is overtly anti-fascist and anti-monarchy. We shall see if he repudiates Trump. I hope so.
Greg, you are a gifted and insightful and powerful writer, and everything you write here is awesome, but the Sunday literary pieces are always particularly brilliant and moving. Thank you, sir, for this today. Yes, sic semper tyrannis indeed. There is right and wrong, there is good and evil, and with evil in charge now and widely celebrated, it is terrifying. These days it is surely hard to see that changing soon. As I have said here several times, I am a Christian, and an evangelical one at that, but I guarantee NOT of the genre today you all think of when “evangelical” comes to mind. I am a Jimmy Carter Baptist if that makes sense.
Anyway, my absolute favorite Christmas carol is “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” Of course, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow penned the poem during the “despair” of the Civil War.
Here is the verse where I am today from that carol.
“And in despair I bowed my head, there is no peace on earth I said, for hate is strong and mocks the song, of peace on earth, good will to men.”
Here is the verse that I am literally fervently praying for:
“Then pealed the bells, more loud and deep, God is not dead, nor doth He sleep, the wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on earth, good will to men.”
We are living in HISTORIC days. May we all do our part, to see that the right does prevail, as it finally did in the Civl War. Go read the backstory of Longfellow’s poem….it is a great inspiration.
I saw some of Unforgiven in the theater with my husband as he loved westerns. It was far too violent for me so I told him to stay and I’d find something else to do. Also, I’m not an Eastwood fan so there’s that too. If there was a message in that movie, for me it remained unsent and I can pick up on them only not when they are delivered in blood. I did, as usual, appreciate your write up.
Blood Letting is the the current path of the psycopath in the WHITE House (and he is going to murder the living Rose Garden). Pete Hegseth and Vance are Trumps "Little Bill."
With Dan ready and available to make sure it's as Donald intends. And Elon Musk is "Chain Saw Al" only much more dangerous. Will be interesting to see how Trump "tries" to eventually dispose of Musk.
It's not a film for everyone, and it's had to watch, having seen it already a few times. The violence is a lot to take. That it is purposeful doesn't make it any less horrifying. Thank you!
I'm with you, SPW. I have never seen the end of this film, although my husband watches it every time it comes on some movie channel. I've heard the end, but never watched it. Nor have I ever, ever though about the metaphors, symbols, and connections to international political systems. I won't look for it, but I do thank Greg for pointing all the intricacies I have missed. Another great read, that's for sure.
OMG. I thought it was just a movie great read! What can you make of Home Alone. Or, When Harry met Sally? Biblically speaking of course. Billserle.com
You never cease to surprise and amaze me with you insightful analyses. This one I'll reread from time to time as well as share.
Thanks again.
Thanks, Craig!
Sic semper tyrannis, hopefully leads to:
Sic semper benignis
Sic semper libertate
Thanks for another great Sunday read. Your insightful analysis turns what I think was a great but gory movie into so much more. It is hard for me to disassociate a fine creative mind from the guy talking to a chair and a 4547 supporter, albeit a tepid one, this diminishing my admiration of his work. I guess, my bad.
Thanks, Old Man. The chair talking was ridiculous, as are his personal politics. But the film is what it is.
I’ve always viewed movies through the lens of a cinematographer/photographer/animator my field of study and work… you’ve broken down the theme and characters into today’s epoch. Colour me thankful, amazed and profoundly intoxicated by today’s piece Greg!!
Thanks, Patrick. I'd be interested what you think of the film from that perspective. Some of the shots are terrific, but sometimes it feels a bit dated to me, visually.
How could anyone overlook the homonymic name of Unforgiven's main character, Money? Munney equably and equally serves both good & evil. He's tried to retire from gun violence in his life and to live more in keeping with conventional ethics, farming to support his daughters after his wife's died. Yet the farm is failing humiliatingly (pigpen scene) and only a return to violent paydays can support them now. He's no sadist like the Hackman character, just a practical capitalist.
Nor is Eastwood in Unforgiven living to teach lessons to the whole town like the un-named avenger hired to save the corrupt town of Lago in my preferred Clinton hit, High Plains Drifter, who compels the townspeople to paint the town red and post a sign, Welcome to Hell. Eastwood/Munney just wants to do the work that the town whores need for closure for the abuse of their sister and go on to raise his motherless daughters in a life of some dignity. This is emphasized by the final line in Unforgiven, which ends Munney's story with the epitaphic note that in the remainder of his life, "he prospered in dry goods."
Greg, as a reviewer and a gifted, inspired essayist, please entertain my view that analysis shouldn't surmount or marginalize the plain, self-explanatory facts of a matter (or a movie), when metaphors aren't needed for its complete understanding. I get the impulse, in 2025's USA, to escape from one's processes of unadorned observation into a Sargasso sea of literary effort but with respect, your worthy efforts always have more vital work to do.
To your point: his first name is Bill. As in dollar bill. As in money. I think your read is not only valid, but almost certainly what Peoples was hinting at. But the political stuff is in there...we talked about all of this in class in '92.
But for a film to be timeless, I think, the universality of the message has to work from generation to generation. The review in The Guardian talks about George Bush, and how Hackman looks like him a little, and how Bush smiles and shrugs about violence. I read it and assumed he meant Dubya Bush, and then realized no, he wrote that in 1992, he was talking about Poppy. But it also works with Dubya.
One thing I forgot to put in the piece is that Little Bill and Munny have the same name. We have to choose which "Bill" we want to be.
Thanks for your comment, which I appreciate!
This one! I felt like I was there as I read on…
Heroes , we must remember, are humans, and so are flawed. They operate in a moment when “evil” has established itself undeniably and swift heroic action is appropriate. Hero is the label earned when the majority recognizes and approves “ vigilante” action.
Thanks, Lisa. "Outlaw" means operating outside the law...which is what vigilantes do. Hollywood loves vigilantes, whether it's cowboys or Batman. What Americans love is justice.
Lol. Only one paragraph in and your unexpected, but ALWAYS luscious, descriptive wording has me cracking up: “wilting in the malarial D.C. humidity.”
Truth.
Back to my Sunday reading, now. 🤓
Another great Sunday read.
And lesson. Had to look up: Sic semper tyrannis. #StayCurious (bonjouryall)
Without looking it up on this great store of human knowledge, I think that's what John Wilkes Booth shouted from the stage after he shot Lincoln at Ford Theater. Booth obviously had a flair for the overly dramatic.
Yup. AND it’s the motto for the state of VA. Eeeps.
I looked it up again and apparently Brutus said it first, when he stabbed Caesar. [citation needed]
LOL thanks. And yes: I spent a summer there once, I know!
It's a terrific piece. And I did watch and appreciate the film in an actual movie theater when it was first released. But since Trump was allowed into the White House in an election that saw people lying and trashing the most qualified candidate for President, I cannot abide him. As much as I loathed the GOP since Nixon, which accelerated with Reagan and all that he ushered in -- "normal times" -- I was better able to separate things so that I did not write off people based on what I saw as binary choice between good and evil. As most of us know, these are not "normal times" though they certainly are becoming the "new normal." And so I admit that I believe survival necessitates binary choices and, while I am definitely not likening or even associating Eastwood to Hitler, there is no room for anyone who may think well, hey, there are some things Trump does that are good or acceptable. If Eastwood or anyone else wants to share how wrong they were and how their support (once, or up til now) has contributed to normalizing unspeakable evil laying waste to our country and freedoms, I am all ears. (And if I missed such comments, I am sorry.) Otherwise, these are the things I think of when I think of Eastwood and why I have not seen anything he is associated with since I became privy to them. https://entertainment.ie/trending/clint-eastwood-explains-why-he-supports-donald-trump-354009/
I have that issue too, and I'm not sure it's such a bad thing to have. I haven't watched or even VIEWED anything Tom Cruise is involved in for several years because anything going to support him also supports Scientology -- I also think he's kind of a glib, self-entitled asshole. Kevin Spacey is a creepy, gross predator, and that has also affected my ability to revisit any of his film performances though they are some of the best in film history. People still go on and on about Michael Jackson's music, and although I enjoyed his music at one time, while it was on the charts, I can't help but remember Jackson as the more-likely-than-not pedophile whenever I hear it now, his still rabid fan base notwithstanding. Woody Allen is off my charts. I can't even SEE the Miramax logo at the beginning of a film without thinking of that monstrosity, Harvey Weinstein. Ellen DeGeneres did her last dance for me a long time ago. With all that, I'm pretty neutral about Eastwood, although I wouldn't cross the street to see any film he makes now. His political leanings are annoying for sure, but I haven't seen them brought into any of his films. Even "Gran Torino" seems like an allegory AGAINST racism, but I'm not really Eastwood's audience anyway, so it's kind of a moot point for me.
It's hard, this stuff. Woody Allen is a lost cause...not only is he front and center in almost all of his movies, but he's also created this normalization of older man/young woman dynamic that I didn't like in the moment and now is, as you say, off the charts. Whereas it's easier to forget that Roman Polanski directed "Chinatown," even though he has a small role. I haven't seen any of the new Eastwood films, American Sniper and etc. Not interested. But the Westerns I like, and will always like. "The Good the Bad & the Ugly" is one of the best movies ever made.
Eastwood comments about Trump were a huge mistake.
Clint's over all personal philosophy is a comprehensive subject. Much of what one sees in his films.
Clint Eastwood is not a psychopathic as is Donald Trump accompanied by his sadistic ranting religious fanatical attack rat, Vance.
Note:
Unforgiven and Blade Runner are two of my favorite films embracing human activity.
They remind me to rewatch films such as Syriana(OIL)
and The Good German.
But today my favorite go to rewatch films (OIL) are The English version of The Day of the Jackal, and Three Days of the Condor and of Course for pleasure the 1979 Star Wars.
I've known all those animals in that BAR.
Thanks, Cal. Director's cut of Blade Runner is on my top ten list for sure.
A valid point, of course. I think we all do this to some degree. For me, the calculus depends on how vociferous is the support, how much does it impact the work, and how much do I enjoy the work. Also how long ago was the work made. Jimmy Stewart was a staunch Republican, but I'm not not watching "It's a Wonderful Life."
I cringe inwardly when Clint gets Trumpy. It hurts. But the movie was made 33 years ago and is overtly against fascism and monarchy.
This is quite a thesis, Greg! I too, shudder about Clint’s empty chair display, but your take on the West and the movie’s true aspects was gobsmacking. I got to imagine Elon as English Bob, getting the shit kicked out of him. I so wish that to happen in any form. Thoroughly enjoyed the movie clips and seeing Hackman, a beloved actor, embrace that role. Thanks!
We all shudder. I wish Clint would come back to the light. Thanks, Marlene!
Brilliant Greg, & one of the movies that has truly affected me. Good to see that scene, but the gratuitous violence, which is probably the point, is tough. I had a flashback of tRump after he got “shot” with all that fake wrestler’s blood. My father was also a huge fan of Gene Hackmen’s. They favoured each other in dress & intellect so it was a touching moment this week. I remember watching my father watch The Conversation intently. There’s a rather enjoyable directors cut of The Conversation on YouTube.
Thanks, Amy. My father loved Eastwood and looked a bit like him. His older brother, my uncle, looks a lot like the Little Bill iteration of Gene Hackman: same twinkle in the eye, same charming smile. So it's hard for me not to see the characters as them playing around.
Now I must out myself (no, not THAT again!) that I haven't seen "Unforgiven." There, I've said it! I am not a "westerns" kind of guy, and I kind of lumped it in with the rest of that genre without really looking at it. The funny thing is, this week, since Gene Hackman's death, I've realized how many movies I have that feature Gene Hackman -- there's 25 of them, everything from "Absolute Power" to "The French Connection" to "The Firm" to "Class Action," and beyond. I was actually looking for "Unforgiven," in there because I'd never seen it, but I don't have it. It looks like I'll have to put $3.99 in Jeff Bezos' pocket to rent it. Ugh!
Even though I haven't seen it, your analysis seems like one I'd regularly hear on other films in the film classes I took in college. The hidden allegories, metaphors, and meanings behind what we see on screen have always fascinated me. I had regular email conversations with a teacher I actually DIDN'T have in high school, about film. She died this past September -- ON her birthday, no less -- so I've missed that. Tonight's Oscar show was her Super Bowl and Christmas, all rolled into one. She and I firmly disagreed on that, but her love of film AND the Oscars never wavered no matter what I said about it. The last time I saw her in person, we saw "(500) Days of Summer" in a proper theater, and we argued about that one too!
At any rate, Sunday columns of film analysis are most welcome!
Incidentally, Friday's Five-8 was excellent, and Heather Thomas is a hoot! Love her!
Also incidentally, I watched the ENTIRE Oval Office debacle from Friday. It lasted almost an hour, and the first 40-45 minutes were (relatively) fine, except that Trump, over and over, kept talking about "raw Earth" and not "rare Earth," referring to the minerals in Ukraine, because he's a fucking moron who never knows what he's talking about. Everything was going pretty well until JD Vance got the opportunity to speak, and he infantilized Zelenskyy from the start: "have you even said, 'thank you' since you've been here today?" What the actual fuck? I mean, you may have an "issue" with sending Ukraine money and weapons to fight a war against Russia, but, and I don't care WHO you think you are, you DON'T talk to the duly elected president of an ally country like that! That, of course, set Trump off, and we all saw what happened after that. It was and still is, infuriating!
Let's see what the shitshow has for us this week!
Thanks, Steve. I watched 20 minutes of the Debacle, and there was a part where Zelenskyy literally waves Trump off and goes, "Yeah yeah, we already heard it from Putin," and I actuall half gasped half chortled.
Raw Earth. These fucking idiots.
Thanks for watching the show. Heather was great! A lot of fun.
Eastwood's stuff, and this one in particular, is not for everyone. It's VERY violent. That's part of the point, but he also has his cake and eats it too. Which is, artistically, savvy. There are things about the movie I don't like, and it doesn't hold up as well as other films. But when it works, it works. Mostly I wanted to write about the English Bob stuff: "Why NOT shoot a president?" If you feel like watching a Western starred Clint, The Good the Bar and the Ugly is a better one.
BRAVO GREG.
FOR ME THIS WILL REMAIN A FAVORITE.
GRACIAS
CAL
Thanks, Cal!
Wonderful recap of Unforgiven. I haven't seen that movie in years but now will watch with a different view.
And tides may be turning here with the two toddlers throwing their shit fits on Friday. An in-law and Ride and Die Republican just liked a Facebook post where someone wrote "I Stand by Ukraine". I was stunned. If she was brave enough to do that publicly there must be others that feel that way. We can only hope.
You mean the relentless revenge shit show might have turned some MAGAts off. Glory hallelujah
Indeed!
Thanks, Anita. I do think Friday's debacle moved the needle. People can't laugh him off now. He threw it with Putin, publicly, decisively. MAGA has to own that.
Good read, thank you. The imagery it brought back had been forgotten.
A side to that,
I adored Clint Eastwood growing up.
But, experienced a harsh personal growth moment when I learned of his politics.
I can’t help but wonder if Clint has regrets about his support for the newest mad king.
(2016)
“November 8 by Kristine Guerra
Clint Eastwood for Trump
Clint Eastwood has said that he isn’t thrilled about Donald Trump, noting that the Republican candidate has said “a lot of dumb things.” But he’s supporting him anyway.”
Don’t all his fans support the dumb things. And his relentless revenge and hatred
Once upon a time, long ago, Clint Eastwood was a sex symbol. For me, at that time, politics weren't even on my radar. I'm not talking about the movies he made with the Orangutan. The ones I enjoyed were called "spaghetti westerns" and they were old when I had my early teens crush on him. I loved the quiet, but strong, with a tattered good heart and on the fringes of society character. I feel a bit betrayed now. ;-)
Yeah, it's very disappointing. It also doesn't quite work, the support of MAGA...this film, his best as a director, is overtly anti-fascist and anti-monarchy. We shall see if he repudiates Trump. I hope so.
Greg, you are a gifted and insightful and powerful writer, and everything you write here is awesome, but the Sunday literary pieces are always particularly brilliant and moving. Thank you, sir, for this today. Yes, sic semper tyrannis indeed. There is right and wrong, there is good and evil, and with evil in charge now and widely celebrated, it is terrifying. These days it is surely hard to see that changing soon. As I have said here several times, I am a Christian, and an evangelical one at that, but I guarantee NOT of the genre today you all think of when “evangelical” comes to mind. I am a Jimmy Carter Baptist if that makes sense.
Anyway, my absolute favorite Christmas carol is “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” Of course, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow penned the poem during the “despair” of the Civil War.
Here is the verse where I am today from that carol.
“And in despair I bowed my head, there is no peace on earth I said, for hate is strong and mocks the song, of peace on earth, good will to men.”
Here is the verse that I am literally fervently praying for:
“Then pealed the bells, more loud and deep, God is not dead, nor doth He sleep, the wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on earth, good will to men.”
We are living in HISTORIC days. May we all do our part, to see that the right does prevail, as it finally did in the Civl War. Go read the backstory of Longfellow’s poem….it is a great inspiration.
Thank you again, Greg.
Thanks, Rick. These pieces are the most fun to write, and I'm glad you like them.
I don't know that poem, but I LOVE the line you cite. Let peel the bells!
And yes, Jimmy Carter Baptist makes perfect sense.
I saw some of Unforgiven in the theater with my husband as he loved westerns. It was far too violent for me so I told him to stay and I’d find something else to do. Also, I’m not an Eastwood fan so there’s that too. If there was a message in that movie, for me it remained unsent and I can pick up on them only not when they are delivered in blood. I did, as usual, appreciate your write up.
Blood Letting is the the current path of the psycopath in the WHITE House (and he is going to murder the living Rose Garden). Pete Hegseth and Vance are Trumps "Little Bill."
With Dan ready and available to make sure it's as Donald intends. And Elon Musk is "Chain Saw Al" only much more dangerous. Will be interesting to see how Trump "tries" to eventually dispose of Musk.
I don't think he's allowed to dispose of Musk. Musk is his handler now. He reports to him, or he's out...the Cabinet is there, they can 25th him now.
Interesting
It's not a film for everyone, and it's had to watch, having seen it already a few times. The violence is a lot to take. That it is purposeful doesn't make it any less horrifying. Thank you!
I disliked Unforgiven but High Plains Drifter is a film I've enjoyed more times than I can count. Nothing needing film class analysis there either.
Yep high five foe that Spaghetti Western
I'm with you, SPW. I have never seen the end of this film, although my husband watches it every time it comes on some movie channel. I've heard the end, but never watched it. Nor have I ever, ever though about the metaphors, symbols, and connections to international political systems. I won't look for it, but I do thank Greg for pointing all the intricacies I have missed. Another great read, that's for sure.