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Which actor is a better director? Round 2: Clint Eastwood vs. Ron Howard

posted 2 months ago by samoanjoes (58580)
27 replies | jump to latest

Dirty Harry:
Play Misty for Me (1971)
High Plains Drifter (1973)
Breezy (1973)
The Eiger Sanction (1975)
The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
The Gauntlet (1977)
Bronco Billy (1980)
Firefox (1982)
Honkytonk Man (1982)
Sudden Impact (1983 )
Tightrope (1984)
Pale Rider (1985)
Heartbreak Ridge (1986)
Bird (1988)
White Hunter Black Heart (1990)
The Rookie (1990)
Unforgiven (1992)
A Perfect World (1993)
The Bridges of Madison County (1995)
Absolute Power (1997)
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)
True Crime (1999)
Space Cowboys (2000)
Blood Work (2002)
Mystic River (2003)
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Flags of Our Fathers (2006)
Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
Changeling (2008)
Gran Torino (2008)
Invictus (2009)
Hereafter (2010)
J. Edgar (2011)
Jersey Boys (2014)
American Sniper (2014)
Sully (2016)
The 15:17 to Paris (2018)
The Mule (2018)
Richard Jewell (2018)
Cry Macho (2021)
Juror No. 2 (2024)

Richie Cunningham:
Grand Theft Auto (1977)
Night Shift (1982)
Splash (1984)
Cocoon (1985)
Gung Ho (1986)
Willow (1988)
Parenthood (1989)
Backdraft (1991)
Far and Away (1992)
The Paper (1994)
Apollo 13 (1995)
Ransom (1996)
EDtv (1999)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
A Beautiful Mind Yes (2001)
The Missing (2003)
Cinderella Man (2005)
The Da Vinci Code (2006)
Frost/Nixon (2008)
Angels & Demons (2009)
The Dilemma (2011)
Rush (2013)
In the Heart of the Sea (2015)
Inferno (2016)
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
Hillbilly Elegy (2020)
Thirteen Lives (2022)

Final tally: 7-3 Eastwood

Previous Rounds:
Ben Affleck vs. George Clooney

[–] Where (1597) 2 months ago

Wait, did Howard act after he became a director? The other two kept both careers going.

[–] samoanjoes (58580) 2 months ago

Mostly voice work. He was the narrator of Arrested Development.

[–] CaptBeefBlower (364) 2 months ago

Eastwood, hands down, though I'm sure Howard's films have made more money and had a wider (if not deeper) cultural impact.

[–] samoanjoes (58580) 2 months ago

One thing is for sure, they both have a lot of hit and misses.

[–] Dogiswhite (1426) 2 months ago

Clint should have done more westerns, crime and action movies. Not a big fan of his later flims after A Pefect World.
Ron was better at picking popular films, but lately is not so great either (The Grinch? Solo? Hillbilly Elegy?).
I guess Clint but only because I like most of his westerns.

[–] samoanjoes (58580) 2 months ago

I think both are vastly overrated. Without their acting careers, I think they would have been known for being above average filmmakers.

[–] Kowalski (78984) a month ago

I WOULD ARGUE....THE GRINCH IS BELOVED BY A WERIDO YOUNGER GENERATION.....SOLO WAS A SCAB JOB FOR HIM AND HILLBILLY IS ACTUALLY A FINE FILM IF IT WEREN'T FOR THE JACKASS IT IS ABOUT.

[–] VinceD (10391) 2 months ago

This one is too hard. I'm a fan of Clint because of his work in Spaghetti Westerns with Sergio Leone. I was never a fan of the Dirty Harry films, and I think he is a very boring director.

That said, my favorite movie out of both their director's filmographies is 'High Plains Drifter' (1973) -- Clint is on record saying that his directing of that film was inspired by Leone, and it shows; it's really his only film that has Italo-western flourishes in it. In other words, it's not representative of his characteristic filmmaking style. His broader directing work is overly minimalist and workmanlike, which I find uninspired and boring.

Howard, on the other hand, is a reliable storyteller who has worked across genres, directing polished films with mainstream appeal. Regardless, I find him to be a pretty boring director, too.

I'll go with Eastwood just because of High Plains Drifter.

[–] samoanjoes (58580) 2 months ago

I haven't seen High Plains Drifter, but I pretty much agree with everything else. They're fine directors, but nothing great. Both are capable of doing great films, but at the same time are completely capable of misses. Howard does seem a little more diverse of the bunch.

[–] Kowalski (78984) a month ago

They're fine directors, but nothing great. Both are capable of doing great films

THAT MAKES A LOT SENSE😂

LMAO...WHAT'S THE INSIDE OF VINCE'S ASS TASTE LIKE?🙂

[–] samoanjoes (58580) a month ago

Come on, they're both capable of doing good movies and complete shit. Clint has Unforgiven and Space Cowboys. Howard has A Beautiful Mind and The Dilemma. Neither of them are even Peter Weir territory.

[–] Melton (5560) 2 months ago

Beastwood

[–] PaladinNJ (21772) 2 months ago

I'd have to go with Eastwood.

[–] Keelai (36128) 2 months ago

I enjoy Howard's movies more so I'll vote for him.

[–] BillHicksFan (10712) 2 months ago

Clint Eastwood