The highest-grossing film of Clint Eastwood‘s directorial career earned him a rather controversial reputation. Combined with his infamous interaction with an empty chair, Eastwood was crowned a conservative king by the right-wing. However, the movie that resonated most with that crowd was secretly more progressive than it let on. In fact, most of Eastwood’s late-period work is mostly even-headed, unbiased, and introspective. The point of his film American Sniper, which grossed nearly $550 million worldwide, was largely misinterpreted. It was declared an accurate representation of conservative values, which is ironic because the film comments on the power of propaganda. The movie told the story of Chris Kyle, a soldier with the most confirmed kills in U.S. military history. Kyle was paraded as a mascot for American intervention, but the job he was assigned to do took a toll on his life. Eastwood made similar commentary in Flags of Our Fathers.
American Sniper, starring Bradley Cooper in the role of Kyle, was released around 13 years after another film that dealt with similar themes. The earlier film was set during World War II; it revolved around another real-life sniper who was used as a pawn in his nation’s propaganda. The movie starred Jude Law, Joseph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Ron Perlman, Bob Hoskins, and Ed Harris. It received middling reviews and underperformed at the box office. 25 years after its theatrical release, the film has been made available to stream for free in the United States this month.
Collider Acrostic — The Collider Movie Quiz!
Can you answer these movie questions, wherein each correct response begins with a successive letter of the word “Collider”?
The Jude Law WWII Movie That Every Clint Eastwood Fan Must Seek Out
The film in question is Enemy at the Gates. It was directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, who had previously made Seven Years in Tibet with Brad Pitt in 1997. Enemy at the Gates fell just short of the coveted $100 million mark at the worldwide box office, against a reported budget of nearly $70 million. It holds a 53% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus reads, “Atmospheric and thrilling, Enemy at the Gates gets the look and feel of war right. However, the love story seems out of place.” The movie was released during a particularly high-profile period for Law; incidentally, he had just worked with Eastwood on the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. He’d go on to star in <em>The Talented Mr. Ripley</em> and A.I. Artificial Intelligence.
You can watch Enemy at the Gates for free on Pluto TV. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
- Release Date
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March 16, 2001
- Runtime
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131 Minutes
- Director
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Jean-Jacques Annaud
