Did Clint Eastwood’s Best Picture Make Him Quit Making Westerns?

The star actor of the western said ‘goodbye’ to the genre to which he contributed so much 31 years ago. After this film, which met with great success, Clint Eastwood continued his career by focusing on directing in different genres with themes similar to westerns.

Ruthless, Clint Eastwood’s last true western?

In 1992 released on cinema screens around the world Ruthless. Clint Eastwood directs and plays in this western alongside Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman. The plot is classic but devilishly effective since it tells the story of a former outlaw, William Munny (Eastwood), responsible for returning to service at the request of a killer in order to avenge a prostitute disfigured because of a cowboy duo.

We find the Clint Eastwood style well, notably through his chiaroscuro photography and the redemptive and vigilant side of his characters, which the director has explored many times in his films, such as Gran Torino or more recently Cry Macho.

Ruthlessa major success in the world

Ruthless then becomes an undeniable success, the first of Clint Eatswood’s career to seduce critics, public and professional. It is only natural that the film will obtain the following year, in 1993, four Oscars among which that of best director for Clint Eatswood and the most prestigious of all, best film. The other two being Best Supporting Actor for Gene Hackman and Best Editing for Joel Cox.

Moreover, Ruthless enjoyed impressive commercial success. It thus collected $159,157,000 worldwide for an estimated production budget of $14,400,000. In France, the film brought together 753,000 spectators and allowed Clint Eastwood to reconnect with success on an international scale.

Ruthless is considered by many to be one of the greatest westerns ever made. A weighty argument that would probably explain why Clint Eastwood would have stopped making westerns afterwards.

Despite everything, Clint Eastwood never really abandoned the western. We always find traces in his films until his latest achievement. Cry Macho (2021). As a last tribute, Clint Eastwood has also dedicated Ruthless to two of his mentors, Sergio Leone and Don Siegel.