Clint Eastwood’s Surprising Grudge Against Four Beloved Classic Films

Clint Eastwood, a Hollywood icon with decades of experience both in front of and behind the camera, is not one to casually criticize the work of his peers. He understands the immense effort that goes into making a film, no matter the outcome. Still, there have been rare moments when Eastwood couldn’t keep his opinions to himself. For someone as respected and reserved as he is, it’s striking to hear him admit there are certain movies he just can’t stand. While he’s been candid about his own missteps, it’s unusual for him to single out other films—especially when those films are widely considered classics.

Yet, a handful of movies have managed to get under his skin. What’s even more surprising is that each of these films holds a special place in cinema history. One is even hailed as a masterpiece by one of the most celebrated directors of all time. But for Eastwood, not even critical acclaim could change his mind about these titles.

The Karate Kid: A Personal Grudge

Eastwood’s dislike for John G. Avildsen’s 1984 coming-of-age hit, The Karate Kid, is rooted in personal disappointment rather than artistic critique. According to Sondra Locke, Eastwood was once in talks to direct the film, but he had one condition: his son, Kyle, would play the lead. When Columbia Pictures turned down his request, Eastwood walked away from the project. The rejection stung so much that he reportedly refused to even look at Coca-Cola products, since the beverage giant owned the studio at the time.

The Missouri Breaks: A Western Miss

Few genres are as closely tied to Eastwood’s legacy as the western, so it’s notable that he has little patience for Arthur Penn’s The Missouri Breaks. The film, which brought together Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson for their only on-screen collaboration, failed to impress critics and audiences when it premiered in 1976. Over the years, it’s gained a reputation as an underrated gem, but Eastwood remains unconvinced. He dismissed it as

“ridiculous,”

adding,

“wasn’t a good script and they obviously felt so, too.”

He even speculated that Brando treated the production as a vacation, saying the actor just wanted to

“go off and screw off somewhere.”

Dersu Uzala: Disappointment from a Master

Akira Kurosawa’s Dersu Uzala may not be his most famous work, but it’s still considered a classic, especially since Kurosawa is credited with inspiring Eastwood’s own career. Despite his admiration for the director, Eastwood had harsh words for this 1975 film. He said he

“thought that was terrible,”

though he did concede it featured

“a nice wind sequence in it.”

Even though Dersu Uzala won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, Eastwood wasn’t swayed by its accolades or Kurosawa’s reputation.

The Shining: No Love for Kubrick’s Horror

Eastwood has never been drawn to horror, and he’s made no secret of his distaste for Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. He shares this opinion with Stephen King, the author of the original novel, though for different reasons. Eastwood found it laughable that the film was promoted as a horror masterpiece before it even hit theaters. After watching it, he remarked,

“they would have bombed it right out of the building”

if anyone but Kubrick had directed it. He went on to say,

“there just wasn’t anything at all terrifying about it,”

and described a key scene as

“dead as a dick.”

Summing up his feelings, he called it

“just a giant failure.”