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Clint Eastwood is the quintessential Western star, known for his steely gaze and quick draw, who went on to become one of the greatest directors of all time. He holds the record for being the oldest to win the Oscar for Best Director, receiving the award at the age of ripe old age of 74 for the boxing weepie "Million Dollar Baby." 20 years later, Eastwood is still making movies; at the age of 93, he released the intense courtroom drama "Juror #2." He also has a son, Scott Eastwood, who's taking advantage of his familial status by being featured in his dad's movies.

He's appeared in several of Clint Eastwood's films, including "Flags of Our Fathers," "Gran Torino," and "Invictus." Scott has also followed in his father's footsteps by stepping into the Western genre, although his efforts pale in comparison to the Sergio Leone classics that helped make Clint a legend. Two of...

Clint Eastwood’s filmography has covered multiple genres, including Westerns, sports dramas, war dramas, and actioners. He has won the Oscar twice for his directorial work, once for the revisionist Western Unforgiven and the second time for the Hilary Swank, Clint Eastwood, and Morgan Freeman starrer Million Dollar Baby.

Million Dollar Baby won four awards at the Oscars and was nominated for a total of six categories. It won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actor. It was also a commercial success, earning $216 million against a $30 million budget. However, Eastwood claimed that it was not easy to mount the project.

Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby was a black sheep before the filmmaker mounted it with two studios Clint Eastwood and Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby | Credits: Warner Bros.

Clint Eastwood’s projects are often philosophical yet fall under genres. While the Westerns have been his most explored genre,...

In recent years, Cannes’ increasingly standardized custom of drawn-out standing ovations — subject of sneers as well as sympathy — has received much attention: explained as sociology, critiqued as pathology. But as the 78th annual film festival gets underway, and the trend shows no sign of abatement, it’s worth considering the signal behind all the noise. The unrelenting, excessive applause isn’t just joyous. Underneath, it’s desperate, and a revealing indicator of the decline of what’s ostensibly being celebrated.

Which is to say, the ovations aren’t mere vexation. They’re damnation.

This extended cheering, reminiscent of rallies in authoritarian regimes, has been normalized and fanned by a couple of key institutional factors. First, at the conclusion of each premiere, the festival’s in-house production crew projects the faces of the director and their actors on the Palais’

big screen. The camera effect encourages everyone in the theatre to perform mania.

Clint Eastwood has reportedly bid his goodbye to Hollywood with last year’s directorial Juror #2. The nonagenarian filmmaker and actor has been one of the prolific creatives in Hollywood, with over forty credits as a director. He has explored a wide variety of genres, despite being known for his Westerns and war dramas.

Eastwood’s penultimate acting role came in The Mule, the 2018 crime drama based on the real-life World War II veteran, Leo Sharp. The film was a huge hit upon release, and Eastwood also served as the director for the film. Now, The Mule is reportedly on the top 10 list of popular movies on Netflix.

Clint Eastwood’s penultimate acting role tops Netflix charts seven years after release A still from The Mule | Credits: Warner Bros.

Some filmmakers are just timeless. Clint Eastwood rode into the scene with the Western TV drama Rawhide and became a global star...

Un momento para la historia. © Getty Images

Ayer arrancó el Festival de Cannes 2025 y, más allá del sabor agridulce que dejó Partir un jour como película inaugural, el verdadero acontecimiento de la jornada fue la entrega de la Palma de Oro honorífica a toda una carrera. El homenajeado: Robert De Niro. El encargado de entregársela: Leonardo DiCaprio. La respuesta del público: una ovación a pie en el emblemático Grand Théâtre Lumière. Un momento, sin duda, para la historia del certamen (y del cine).

Visiblemente emocionado, al actor estadounidense, de 81 años, protagonista de títulos clave de la historia del cine como Taxi Driver, Toro salvaje o Uno de los nuestros, no dudó en abordar temas de gran calado político, refiriéndose específicamente a la reciente y polémica propuesta de Donald Trump de imponer un arancel del 100% a todas las películas producidas fuera de Estados Unidos: «El filisteo presidente de Estados Unidos se...

The 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival got off to both a politically charged and Hollywood start on Tuesday evening as Robert De Niro was presented with an honorary Palme d’Or by Leonardo DiCaprio.

An impassioned De Niro used his acceptance speech to address issues he said are facing the artistic community and threatening democracy under the presidency of Donald Trump.

“In my country, we are fighting like hell for the democracy we once took for granted. That affects all of us here because the arts are democratic. Art is inclusive, it brings people together. Art embraces diversity and that’s why art is a threat, that’s why we are a threat to autocrats and fascists,” he said.

“America’s philistine president has had himself appointed head of one of our premier cultural institutions,” he continued. “He has cut funding and support to the arts, humanities and education.

Robert De Niro took a fiery stand against Donald Trump at Cannes Film Festival’s opening ceremony on Tuesday night, calling him a “philistine president” and declaring him an enemy of the arts.

The legendary actor was on hand to accept the fest’s honorary Palme d’Or, which was presented to him by his “This Boy’s Life” and “Killers of the Flower Moon” collaborator Leonardo DiCaprio. After giving DiCaprio a kiss on the cheek, De Niro launched into an impassioned speech about the threat U.S. democracy is currently under.

“In my country, we’re fighting like hell for the democracy we once took for granted. And that affects all of us here because the arts are democratic,” De Niro said. “Art is inclusive. It brings people together, like tonight. Art looks for truth, art embraces diversity and that’s why art is a threat — that’s why we...

Stephen King has an unbelievable amount of influence. He has a massive social media following. And any time he shares a film, television, or literary recommendation, various outlets quickly pick up what he’s putting down and pass the news along to their audience, further amplifying the author’s substantial reach. On that very note, I have a cinematic suggestion from Stephen King to share with you. Can you even stand the excitement?

King is an occasional Entertainment Weekly columnist. And a while back, the It author penned an editorial fondly remembering some of his favorite movies. Among them is a classic Clint Eastwood Western. King’s write-up praises the picture, saying: “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is a film I’ve written about too often to rehash here; suffice it to say that I was astounded by the sheer size of things, and by the outrageous tricks...

Content warning: this article contains a mention of suicide.

1910s and 1920s Hollywood was the Wild West -- and not just because it was churning out so many Westerns. Damien Chazelle's "Babylon" isn't visually accurate, but it captures the spirit of the era. The first kinetograph camera had only been invented about 25 years earlier, and it proliferated quickly, giving birth to a new artistic medium and a new financial industry in swift order. Filmmakers in Los Angeles brought cameras out to the deserts of California, wrangled a few horses, hired actors from then-popular live Wild West shows, and almost deliberately created a genre. Westerns soon became one of the most cost-efficient and popular genres, and studios demanded that directors throw together as many as they could on as narrow a timetable as possible.

Hence, the filmographies of silent film stars and their directors were overwhelmingly plentiful when compared to filmmakers today.

If you count yourself a fan of Hollywood icon Clint Eastwood and additionally enjoy a good spaghetti Western, I have got a spot of good news for you, dear reader. What is this good news of which I speak? Well, here goes: A celebrated spaghetti Western is now free to stream, and would you believe that it stars Clint Eastwood in the lead role? Well, it does. If you haven’t already pieced it together, I’m talking about Sergio Leone’s lauded classic The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly amassed its fair share of controversy when it first played theaters in 1966. The film is unflinchingly violent. Though it may not be quite as spicy by modern standards, the flick is still plenty gritty.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, although too graphic for some back in its day, has something to say.

Imagine a director and actor duo who delivered some classics back-to-back, parted ways to never work together again. Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone delivered the legendary Man with No Name character in the Dollars trilogy, which has become a classic. The Spaghetti Western genre was started by the duo with A Fistful of Dollars.

However, after their trilogy came to a conclusion in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Eastwood and Leone seemingly parted ways to work on other stuff. Eastwood himself turned to directing and has been working nonstop. However, the two came close to collaborating on Leone’s masterpiece Once Upon a Time in the West.

Clint Eastwood rejected Sergio Leone’s masterpiece for one reason Clint Eastwood in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly | Credits: United Artists

One thing about Clint Eastwood’s filmography is that he rarely repeats and constantly pursues variety. Be it...

Quentin Tarantino Revealed His Favorite Movie—And It’s Not Kill Bill or Reservoir Dogs! ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

Quentin Tarantino is one of the most influential Hollywood filmmakers who has never exactly played by the rules. Whether it’s his quintessential visual style, stylized violence, or bold storytelling, Tarantino’s movies have always stood apart from the rest. The Academy Award-winning filmmaker was once asked to name his all-time favorite films, and his reply included films like Sergio Leone’s The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, and Steven Spielberg’s Jaws. But these were his favorite films directed by other filmmakers.

Quentin Tarantino’s Favorite Film Directed By Him

When Quentin Tarantino was asked to pick his favorite movie from his directorial filmography, the reply was prompt and surprised many fans. In an earlier interview with Howard Stern, the host quizzed Tarantino about the...

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The year was 1966, and actor Clint Eastwood had already established himself as a global movie star with "A Fistful of Dollars," directed by Sergio Leone. Leone's film hadn't yet been released in the United States, but "Fistful" was such a hit that actors in both America and Italy were taking notice. Eastwood had previously established himself in the TV series "Rawhide," playing Rowdy Yates in 217 episodes of the show. Leone's "Fistful" took Eastwood's already-known Western hero image and updated it in a more stylish manner, borrowing (quite heavily and without permission) from Akira Kurosawa's "Yojimbo." 

The rest of the world immediately ran to imitate that film's success, and already-profitable Italian Westerns, nicknamed Spaghetti Westerns, continued to proliferate. At the time, a young and upcoming actor name Burt Reynolds was following a similar career arc to Eastwood. He had...

Steven Spielberg is often regarded for his invaluable contributions to cinema, but there's an argument to be made for his place in television. After his short film "Amblin'" made waves with Sid Sheinberg, the former head of Universal, Spielberg spent the late '60s and early '70s directing a number of shows including "Columbo" and "Night Gallery." Though his focus would cater toward the glamour of big screen adventures, he never lost sight of the medium that gave him the opportunities to flex his chops. Most of Spielberg's later television career consisted of executive producer credits, but there were some shows that he had an active hand in developing, with one that made a considerable splash in the mid '80s.

"Amazing Stories" was Spielberg's foray into the world of anthology television, as each episode spanned the genre-scope of fantasy, science fiction and horror. Invoking the series will undoubtedly...

Beyoncé soared across SoFi Stadium in a giant neon horseshoe, and then again in a red convertible Cadillac. She mounted and rode a gleaming, mechanical golden bull — all the while belting tunes from Cowboy Carter and her decades-spanning discography.

A year after releasing Cowboy Carter, the album’s accompanying tour finally kicked off in Los Angeles this week, with thousands of fans decked out in spangles, sequins and cowboy hats as Bey delivered a spectacular three-hour country hoedown that married Sergio Leone-esque filmed interstitials to eye-popping choreography and pyrotechnics.

After years of snubs in the major Grammy categories, Cowboy Carter finally nabbed Beyoncé the Grammy for album of the year back in February, a moment immortalized in the meme-worthy image of a stiff-armed Beyoncé reacting in shock. That image gets its due in one of the evening’s many captivating photo montages that track the artist’s iconic career.

Film directors are the masterminds behind the magic, the real wizards of the silver screen. While actors may get all the glory, it’s the directors who pull the strings, calling the shots (literally) and shaping the stories we love. From the old-school legends who defined cinema to the fresh talents shaking things up today, the film industry has been home to some of the most iconic filmmakers in history.

Some directors are known for their jaw-dropping action sequences, others for their mind-bending storytelling, and a few for making us cry into our popcorn. Whether it’s Steven Spielberg’s heartwarming adventures, Quentin Tarantino’s blood-soaked brilliance, or Christopher Nolan’s brain-busting timelines, each director brings something unique to the table. Here are 30 legendary directors from all over the world who spellbind us with their craft.

30. Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola in The Godfather Part III (Credits- Paramount)

Francis...

Quentin Tarantino is one of the most revered filmmakers of his generation. From Reservoir Dogs to Django Unchained, Tarantino has never failed to amaze fans and critics with his incredible genius and filmmaking talent. However, when many of us hear the name ‘Quentin Tarantino,’ his bloody Kill Bill saga is sure to come first to our minds.

Way back in 2003 and 2004, the filmmaker unleashed Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, a two-part cinematic spectacle that shocked the world with its brilliant infusion of samurai swordplay, spaghetti western grit, and anime-inspired violence. Essentially a revenge saga for the ages, the franchise has today assumed the status of cult classic, drawing in viewers even today.

At the heart was Beatrix Kiddo, aka the Bride, portrayed by Uma Thurman. A former assassin on a relentless quest for vengeance, both films not only turned out to be box office successes but also cemented their place in pop culture,...

Clint Eastwood began his professional screen acting career in 1955, and he was able to land multiple small roles almost right away. In his first year of employment, Eastwood appeared in an episode of "Highway Patrol" and in the TV movie "Allen in Movieland." On the big screen, he made his debut in Jack Arnold's "Revenge of the Creature," a sequel to his 1954 classic "Creature from the Black Lagoon." Eastwood only had one scene, but he left an impression as a forgetful lab technician. That same year, the young Eastwood also appeared in "Francis in the Navy," the sixth of seven ultra-successful Francis the Talking Mule movies, as well as an uncredited Saxon warrior in the period drama "Lady Godiva of Coventry." 

Eastwood rounded out 1955 by re-teaming with Jack Arnold for the creature feature "Tarantula." A relatively well-regarded matinée monster movie, "Tarantula" is about, you guessed it, a giant tarantula...

El dos veces ganador del Óscar se une al selecto grupo de homenajeados por el festival francés. © Getty Images

El próximo 13 de mayo, el legendario actor estadounidense Robert De Niro recibirá la Palma de Oro honorífica a toda su carrera en la ceremonia de apertura de la 78ª edición del Festival de Cannes, catorce años después de haber presidido el Jurado. Al día siguiente, De Niro participará en una masterclass en el Teatro Debussy.

«Hay rostros que representan el Séptimo Arte, y líneas de diálogo que dejan una huella indeleble en la cinefilia», declara el comunicado oficial. «Con su estilo interiorizado, que aflora en una sonrisa amable o en una mirada dura, Robert De Niro se ha convertido en una leyenda del cine».

Con esta distinción, el actor se suma a otros intérpretes galardonados recientemente con el mismo reconocimiento, como Meryl Streep, Harrison Ford y Jodie Foster. En sus primeras declaraciones,...

On the edge of honor...lies revenge. The Old West collides with the swordplay of the Samurai in the first trailer for your new favorite martial action movie, Tornado. Set in 1790, Tornado follows the journey of a young woman who must confront the merciless thieves who are chasing her, with newly released footage teasing a gripping and gloriously violent tale of survival and revenge. You can check out the new trailer for Tornado below.

From the director of Slow West, John Maclean, and starring Tim Roth (The Hateful Eight), Jack Lowden (Slow Horses), Takeiro Hira, and Kōki as the titular Tornado, the action drama has also revealed a release date alongside the trailer. Following its world premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival back in February, Tornado is now all set to hit theaters on June 13, 2025. You can check out the official synopsis below.

“Set in the rugged landscape of 1790s Britain,...

Robert De Niro will be honored with an honorary Palme d’Or for lifetime achievement at the opening ceremony of the 78th Festival de Cannes, the festival announced Monday.

De Niro will be honored on May 13, marking 14 years after the two-time Oscar-winning served as President of the Cannes jury in 2011.

De Niro has a long history with Cannes. In 1976, he appeared in two films in the festival’s official selection: Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1900 and Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, with the latter winning the Palme d’Or. In 1983, he opened the festival with Scorsese’s The King of Comedy, following up a year later with Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America. In 1986 he was back with Roland Joffé’s The Mission, the second De Niro film to win a Palme d’Or. More recently, in 2023, he was back on the Croisette with Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon.

Robert De Niro will receive the Cannes Film Festival‘s honorary Palme d’Or at the opening night ceremony of the 78th edition, the festival has confirmed.

As part of the honor, De Niro wil also give an onstage masterclass in the Debussy Theatre for festival-goers on May 14.

De Niro has been a frequent presence at Cannes over the years. He was last on the Croisette in 2023 to debut Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. De Niro was president of the Cannes jury in 2011.

“I have such close feelings for Festival de Cannes,” De Niro said in a statement provided by the festival. “Especially now, when there’s so much in the world pulling us apart, Cannes brings us together — storytellers, filmmakers, fans, and friends. It’s like coming home.”

De Niro is one of contemporary cinema’s most beloved figures. His history at the Cannes Film Festival is stacked.

Every principal cast member on the CBS western drama "Gunsmoke" had their part to play, and for the most part, they maintained their small screen occupations over the course of their tenures. If trouble ever came to the Long Branch Saloon, Amanda Blake's (unmarried) Miss Kitty was always thrust in the middle of it. Should an outsider present a threat to the folks of Dodge City, James Arness' Marshal Matt Dillon was often the purveyor of justice. But Milburn Stone's Galen Adams, otherwise referred to as Doc, was always front and center whenever someone fell ill or needed a bullet pulled out of them.

Where most of the "Gunsmoke" characters are proficient at taking lives, Doc is saddled with the greater responsibility of saving them. Stone was the only other actor in the "Gunsmoke" lineup, besides Arness, who was present throughout its staggering 20-season run. He brought a grandfatherly approach to the role,...

Not every actor can be one of the greats, but they make a memorable impression based on how filmmakers play to their strengths. Charles Bronson is one of those actors. He didn't exactly break the mold as an expressive actor, but there's a flexibility in his stoicism that could present a two-way mirror depending on the kind of character he was playing. Legends like Sergio Leone ("Once Upon a Time in the West") and John Sturges ("The Great Escape") knew as much.

If there's one film that defines the definitive Bronson look and feel, it's Michael Winnerman's revenge fantasy "Death Wish." Paul Kersey is an architect turned nighttime vigilante who vows to clean up the streets after his wife is murdered and his daughter is sexually assaulted during a home invasion. Not much changes when it comes to Bronson's performance across the increasingly ridiculous five film series, as the character's quiet bloodthirst remains fairly consistent.

Between 1939 and 1964, John Wayne was the face of the Hollywood Western. There were major stars who thrived within the genre at the same time, but they were too artistically ambitious to keep making the same kinds of movies over and over again. Wayne didn't mind playing outright bastards (see "Red River" or "The Searchers"), but he never would've played a disturbingly obsessed protagonist like Scottie Ferguson in "Vertigo," nor would he have allowed himself to be putty in the hands of Barbara Stanwyck in "The Lady Eve" or "Ball of Fire" (though she did make quick work of a pre-stardom Duke in "Baby Face"). When Wayne wanted to stretch, he made a war movie. And on the off-chance he did step outside of his comfort zone, he paid for it (possibly in more ways than one with "The Conqueror").

Basically, for two decades and change, when people thought of Westerns,...

Fans already know Sergio Leone is the father of the "Spaghetti Western" and has had a significant impact on cinema. There will truly be no greater masterpiece in the sub-genre than The Good, The Bad and the Ugly or a more masterful body of work than the Dollars Trilogy. Leone shaped the direction of Westerns worldwide in the '60s and then continued to prove he was one of the greatest auteurs of all time throughout the rest of his career. He's usually the only Sergio fans think of when they think of Spaghetti Westerns. However, there was another Sergio who had just as big an impact on the sub-genre. In fact, Sergio Corbucci made more Spaghetti Westerns in his career than Sergio Leone.

Perhaps his most iconic film is the 1966 film Django, which got mainstream publicity after Quentin Tarantino's 2012 film Django Unchained. However, Corbucci made several great Spaghetti...

We've been waiting all season for Wallace Boden (Eamonn Walker) to return. We were promised the character would pop up in season 13 despite leaving Firehouse 51, and we are finally getting our wish with the episode "In the Rubble."

Boden's return will not be a lovefest, however. The timing could not be worse for his successor, Dom Pascal (Dermot Mulroney). The Chief is still reeling from the death of his wife, and his ability to lead in the field is compromised. Chicago Fire showrunner Andrea Newman claimed that Boden and Pascal's dynamic a little but, but Mulroney went into much more detail during his recent interview with TV Insider.

Dermot Mulroney promises "super intense" scenes Chicago P.D. -- "In The Trenches: Part III" Episode 12014 -- Pictured: (l-r) Taylor Kinney as Kelly Severide, Steven Weber as Dr. Dean Archer, Dermot Mulroney as Chief Dom Pascal, Toya Turner as Kiana Cook...

For over five phenomenal decades, Robert De Niro has remained a beloved presence on the silver screen, dazzling audiences all across the world with one unparalleled performance after another. Widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of his generation, the two-time Academy Award-winner is no stranger to starring in critically acclaimed hits, and in 1984, he partnered up with cinema pioneer Sergio Leone for his epic crime masterpiece Once Upon a Time in America, an adaptation of Harry Grey's The Hoods.

With a stacked ensemble cast including James Woods, Joe Pesci, and Elizabeth McGovern, the powerful picture chronicled the friendship between two close friends as they fought to get themselves out of poverty and become some of New York City's most feared and respected gangsters during the '20s and '30s. De Niro has undeniably made the gangster genre his bread and butter as a performer, with the Hollywood...

It's no accident that when you envision Clint Eastwood in his most iconic roles, it's often accompanied by a cowboy hat and the scowl that made him one of our great movie stars. He's had a prolific career across just about every genre from action movies ("Dirty Harry") to psychological thrillers ("Play Misty For Me") and even romance dramas ("The Bridges of Madison County"). But let's face it, the man has a face that was born to star in westerns.

Eastwood's hail mary casting on the western television show "Rawhide," which he describes as a fluke, opened the door for more opportunities in the industry. He didn't take many roles across his impressive eight season stretch as cattle poker Rowdy Yates, but it didn't matter because the one he did secure led to the birth of one of his most recognizable characters and some of the best spaghetti westerns ever made.

One of the best Westerns of the '90s, and certainly the most entertaining, is George P. Cosmatos' Tombstone, which stars a ton of legendary actors in roles big and small. Telling the story of Wyatt Earp's vendetta against a gang of outlaws who murder his brother, Tombstone is without a doubt one of the most stylistically charged American Westerns in history. With Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp and Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday in arguably the greatest role of his career, Tombstone has some of the best character-driven scenes of any Western in the '90s. Kilmer's Doc Holliday is the undeniable scene-stealer of the film with his charismatic presence and clever one-liners. However, Doc also proves to be one of the coolest Western heroes to hit the big screen because of his toughness as much as his quips.

While the character is a real historical figure,...

The Western genre of cinema has, since its origin during the earliest days of American cinema, played a vital role in exploring the history and mythology of the United States. Centered around the rough and rugged American frontier of the nineteenth century, these films have had a profound influence on American culture, establishing some of cinema's best tropes and archetypes. Often centered around gunslingers and lawmen, the genre has produced many great movies.

Westerns, like any genre, owe their success to some influential and transformational films, some so captivating that their success lifted the genre for a new generation. Ranging from tales of frontier justice in a lawless land to the rebellion of outlaws against corruption, these films continue to be some of the strongest in cinema. Some Westerns continue to have their impact felt today, and their significance cannot be denied.

Updated on March 19, 2025, by Arthur Goyaz: The western...

Robert De Niro has been a consistent presence in mob movies for the past five decades. One of his first Mafia movies was 1973's Mean Streets, which marked De Niro's first of several collaborations with Martin Scorsese and is considered by many to be one of the greatest gangster movies ever made. The following year, De Niro played a younger Vito Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather Part II, and won an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, his first of eight Oscar nominations over his illustrious career.

Over the years, De Niro has collaborated with Scorsese on many more mob movies, including Goodfellas and Casino, both of which were co-written by Nicholas Pileggi based on his nonfiction books, and frequently rank among the greatest Mafia movies ever made. Other mob movies that De Niro has starred in over the years include Sergio Leone...

A classic Sergio Leone gangster movie is making its way to the free streaming service, Tubi. Once Upon a Time in America will hit Tubi on April 1. The movie stars Robert De Niro, James Woods, Treat Williams, Elizabeth McGovern, Joe Pesci, Danny Aiello, and William Forsythe. The film won two BAFTA Awards in 1985, one for Best Score and another for Best Costume Design.

Leone, who died in 1989 at the age of 60, was known for directing Spaghetti Westerns like The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (1966), Once Upon a Time in the West(1968), and Duck, You Sucker! (1971). Once Upon a Time in America was directed by Leone and based on the 1952 novel The Hoods by Harry Grey. The screenplay was written by Leonardo Benvenuti, Piero De Bernardi, Enrico Medioli, Franco Arcalli, Franco Ferrini, and Sergio Leone.

The Director Had to Cut the Movie Down from 10 Hours

With a running time of 3 hours and 49 minutes,...

Anyone who knows Western cinema knows the history of the popular cinema genre and its evolution over the last hundred or so years. What's most fascinating about the genre is how it has affected audiences and audience appeal throughout the different eras of cinema. It seems there are multiple watershed films that either flip the script on the entire genre, pushing it in a different direction, or stand on their own as staples of the genre at any given time. From the classical era that influenced all Westerns to the stylized Italian "Spaghetti Westerns" and the contemporary revisionist Westerns, the genre has a plethora of important films to experience. Although they are not made as often in modern cinema, Westerns remain an important cultural cornerstone of cinematic storytelling.

Occasionally, a Western will come along that cements its place among the best in the genre, because the film knows exactly how...

Quick LinksThe Showdown Between Doc Holliday and Johnny Ringo is One of Tombstone's Best ScenesHow Does Tombstone Pay Tribute to The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly?Tombstone's Influence Continues What The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Started

Tombstone has held down a legacy as one of the best and most influential Westerns for over thirty years. It has also often been credited for revitalizing the genre for a whole new generation. Even though it's influenced many of the Westerns that have since followed, that certainly doesn't mean that it didn't take any inspiration from the ones that came before. In one of the film's best scenes, western fans may have noticed a few similarities between it and another famous scene from an equally beloved Western classic, and it is certainly no accident. As thematically different as the third and final chapter in Sergio Leone's 'Dollars' trilogy,...

Dave Bautista said his In the Lost Lands character is inspired by Clint Eastwood’s Westerns. Eastwood starred in a handful of genre films before the Dollars Trilogy, where he played his career's most iconic role.

In the Lost Lands cast Dave Bautista in a uniquely familiar role. He plays Boyce, a hunter who joins a witch in her search for a magical gift that would transform their queen to a werewolf. That premise screams adventure fantasy, but Bautista’s character has all the earmarks of a Spaghetti Western cowboy. The actor confirmed this with DiscussingFilm, describing the movie as a “Western stuck in a fantasy world”. He knew he was onboard after reading the opening narration. “I’d been looking to play a cowboy, and all day long I was just thinking ‘Clint Eastwood, what would Clint Eastwood do?’” he explained.

The Dollars Trilogy, Unforgiven, and High Plains Drifter...

With each film hailed as three of the best spaghetti Westerns to ever be produced in the genre, Italian director Sergio Leone’s Dollars Trilogy not only popularized the subgenre due to impressive filmmaking and characters, but it also redefined the entire Western genre for moviegoers. Consisting of 1964’s A Fistful of Dollars, 1965’s For a Few Dollars More, and 1966’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, all three films offer an exciting narrative that grips viewers.

At the same time, The Dollars Trilogy constructs tales that range in stakes and whether crafting a revenge plot, a traditional hero vs. villain narrative, or an epic spectacle-filled ride, the storytelling in each film engages audiences throughout. Additionally, every film utilizes exciting fights to heighten the violence.

Tuco’s Bathtub Quickdraw Offers a Brief but Great Fight Eli Wallach’s Delivery Makes the Scene Work

Presented as a great payoff to a joke,...

Westerns have always worked uncommonly well with ghost stories, which occupy a small part of their ethos and can be readily used to serve story needs. Crossovers aren't entirely common, but have produced some striking movies and TV shows. They run the gamut from bloody updates of traditional Westerns like Bone Tomahawk to wilder genre mash-ups like From Dusk Til Dawn, and while the best of them tend to be modern, the roots of Western horror stretch back to the pulp days.

It should come as no surprise that one of the best old-school examples of Western horror came with Rod Serling's classic seriesThe Twilight Zone. Cowboys were all the rage when the series first premiered, and multiple episodes used Western tropes as the jumping-off point for their various spooky premises. One of them -- Season 3, Episode 7, "The Grave" -- is as good as anything The Twilight Zone has ever produced.

To say that Clint Eastwood is one of the most influential Hollywood stars and directors of all time would undersell the contributions of the star. From Westerns like Hang 'Em High to war movies like Kelly's Heroes, the star has been a symbol of American masculinity and stoic heroism since the 1960s. Looking at his most iconic characters and best films, it's not hard to see why multiple generations looked up to him as a genuine movie legend.

Clint Eastwood's career has seen him take on a variety of genres, but it's hard to deny his Western and action-thriller movies are his most iconic. Whether behind the camera or on the big screen, his films have given audiences a long line of hard-boiled heroes, skilled detectives and grizzled gunslingers. Ranging across genres, he has too many brilliant movies to count, but some are as close to perfect as it gets.

Given the phenomenal success of “Game of Thrones,” which began broadcasting 14 years ago, it’s somewhat surprising that “In the Lost Lands” represents only the second time author George R.R. Martin’s work has been adapted for the big screen (the other being 1987’s low-budget sci-fi horror “Nightflyers”). Fans of that cable series and its spinoffs shouldn’t expect the same scale or intricacy of epic storytelling from this feature, which is taken from a short story. But on its own terms, the ninth collaboration between director Paul W.S. Anderson and star Milla Jovovich is perfectly serviceable popcorn fantasy entertainment — an attractive, action-packed ride, making up for in fun what it lacks in depth.

A begrimed Dave Bautista as mercenary drifter Boyce begins relating this “tale of magic and witches, of quests and of monsters, of good and of evil” in direct camera address. Actually, that description is a bit grandiose for what ensues,...

Spaghetti Western fans who are looking for something new for them may want to consider the 1972 western/comedy film Man of the East. The movie, directed by Italian filmmaker Enzo Barboni, is now streaming on Prime Video.

The film fits perfectly into the definition of a Spaghetti Western, a genre of low-budget Westerns by European directors mainly produced in Italy in the 1960s and 1970s.Man of The East features Terence Hill as a young Englishman named Sir Thomas Fitzpatrick Philip Moore, who is sent to the American West to become a man - the dying wish of his late father. Three friends of Tom’s father are tasked with helping him find himself, but find that it is more difficult than they thought.

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Elon Musk has time for cameos, at least when it suits him. The Tesla CEO and X enthusiast (now a chain-saw-wielding Doge employee) has cultivated a pop culture presence quite fitting of his relentless quest for influence, especially over our eyeballs and immediate senses. There is no telling what the man will do next.

Elon Musk in the Simpsons episode, titled “The Musk Who Fell to Earth” | Credits: Fox

With Musk’s evolution as an individual best described by the title of the Sergio Leone film The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, here are all the films and shows Elon Musk has made a cameo in. He’s made almost a dozen appearances in both films and television shows, often playing himself. Some are quick blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments, while others are a bit more substantial.

12. Iron Man 2 (2010)

This is arguably Elon Musk’s most famous cameo. He and...

Tombstoneis no ordinary Western. This early ‘90s ensemble piece has such a wealth of talent strapping on their spurs that audiences are spoiled for choice. Kurt Russell is at the peak of his movie star powers, Michael Biehn barely has Terminator 2 in his rearview mirror, and Val Kilmer can do no wrong. Released in 1993, between Unforgiven and Sam Raimi’s The Quick & The Dead, Tombstone occupies a cinematic sweet spot. In the wake of revisionist Westerns like Clint Eastwood’s classic, and sitting alongside Mario van Pebble’s Posse, Tombstone feels like a return to genre traditions.

George P. Cosmatos was coming off Peter Weller’s Leviathan, and screenwriter Kevin Jarre had the Oscar-winning Glory as his calling card. With a script that clung to conventions and an ensemble that included up-and-coming actors Billy Bob Thornton and Michael Rooker, Tombstone had aces in places. Produced by Andrew G. Vajna,...

What's so great about Westerns? Well, for starters, the genre's approach toward morality might seem clear-cut at a glance, but the best Westerns languish in morally grey landscapes and constantly redefine codes of honor. Violence is often at the heart of these stories because, without this component, we would be painting a sanitized and inauthentic picture of a society on the cusp of change. This violence can manifest in different forms and reflect bitter truths about human history, or it can simply highlight universal human traumas from a specific point of view. Moreover, lawless spaces demand lawless men who are in tune with the West and its ethos, and sometimes, these men undergo a transformation. The rich history of Westerns extends beyond the moving image, with writers like Cormac McCarthy and Annie Proulx having reshaped the definitions of how Westerns can reveal the worst impulses in humanity.

Deciding which Westerns...

Oscar-winning filmmaker, actor, and composer, Clint Eastwood, is a Hollywood icon who is universally recognized for his Western classics such as The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, The Outlaw Josey Wales, and Unforgiven. Eastwood initially made his mark in cinema with his signature role as the Man with No Name in Sergio Leone's spaghetti Western Dollars trilogy, becoming one of the greatest stars of the Western genre.

Quick LinksShades of Gray in a Black and White MythosWhen the Legend Becomes Fact...Turning the Western Genre Right-Side up at Last

In 1992, Clint Eastwood crafted one of the all-time great Westerns in cinema history, the Oscar-winning end-of-the-West epic Unforgiven. It's easy to look at the film and appreciate the masterful work of Eastwood both in front of and behind the camera with a story he'd been eyeing since the 1970s. By 1992, Eastwood was already an aging icon even then, having starred in and directed countless classic Westerns as well as multiple other massive hits. Unforgiven would become his farewell to the genre, a love letter to the conventions while also being a condemnation of the dark, ugly truths beneath the facade of the American West.

These are just a few of the powerful themes the film pulls off, but none of it would have been possible without Gene Hackman...

As far as crime movies go, 1990's "Goodfellas" remains the gold standard as one of the best mob movies ever made. The film offered a more humanistic perspective into the world of organized crime through the eyes of aspiring mobster Henry Hill (Ray Liotta). With this focus, "Goodfellas" offered a look at how the dangers and vices of crime impacted domestic lives, influencing the entire genre. Fortunately, for fans of "Goodfellas," there are plenty of crime movies to check out that share similar themes and sensibilities.

From sagas spanning generations of mobster families to classic rises to illicit power, there are countless crime movies like "Goodfellas." Many of these movies even share major cast members and the behind-the-scenes crew, bringing another level to these visible similarities. While each of these crime films stand proudly on their own, they also share DNA with Martin Scorsese's 1990 enduring crime story. 

Here are the 15 best movies like "Goodfellas.

When it was released in 2012, Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained shattered box office records when it became the biggest box office haul in the history of the Western genre. A love letter to Spaghetti Westerns from directors like Sergio Corbucci and Sergio Leone, the film gave audiences a gritty revenge tale perfect for the director's bloody style. In the thirteen years since its release, the genre has seen plenty of great movies released to critical and audience acclaim.

Western movies continue to bring audiences well-acted, meaningful explorations of life on the frontier, from its challenges to its charms. Delivering interesting messages of revenge, forgiveness and everything in between, Tarantino's 2012 epic has been succeeded by an array of brilliant stories. While they might not all match the tone of Jamie Foxx's quest for vengeance, these movies all bring something unique to the genre in their own right.

The Sisters...

Whether an in-joke among movie fans or broad references, director Quentin Tarantino has cemented his reputation over the past 30-plus years by being a walking repository of cinema history. He's arguably more knowledgeable than many film professors. And while these asides may allude to mainstream movies, his creative reinterpretations of other films' ideas often come with a wink and a nod to film geeks, requiring citations for those casual movie-watchers.

To call him a cinephile is an understatement. But in the eyes of one of the medium's greatest creators, Tarantino is "detestable." His harshest critic wasn’t even around to see his first film. Orson Welles predicted, or rather warned against, Tarantino’s style of movie-making. Near the end of his life, Welles observed that younger directors were "marinated" in movies to their detriment. He accurately anticipated the ascent of pop-culture-quoting meta-movies that rely on having an audience that has consumed thousands of films.

Many fans of the genre will vehemently argue that Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West is the greatest spaghetti western ever made. Audiences will soon have the opportunity to revisit the classic film on a free streaming platform.

Once Upon a Time in the West will arrive on Tubi on March 1. The legendary movie stars the iconic Charles Bronson opposite Henry Fonda's villain. The revenge-western follows Bronson's character, Harmonica (a role originally intended for Clint Eastwood), as he tracks down Fonda's outlaw Frank to right a past wrong. The movie's ensemble includes Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards, Gabriele Ferzetti, Paolo Stoppa, Marco Zuanelli, Keenan Wynn, Frank Wolff, Lionel Stander, Woody Strode, Jack Elam, Al Mulock, Benito Stefanelli and Aldo Sambrell.

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