Clint Eastwood’s 15 Best Western Quotes
The bandits, desperados, and outlaws played by Clint Eastwood across the Western genre have uttered some of the most iconic movie quotes of all time,
SUMMARY
- Eastwood’s iconic Western movie quotes showcase the uncertain nature of life in the Wild West and the peace that comes with having money.
- Eastwood’s portrayal of aging outlaw characters adds a layer of wisdom and life experience to his insightful quotes about life and death.
- The delivery of Eastwood’s famous lines, from serious threats to hilarious quips, solidifies his reputation as one of the most important actors in filmmaking history.
The Western movies of Clint Eastwood are packed full of iconic film quotes. As the definitive embodiment of a lone-man outlaw bandit, Eastwood is forever associated with Westerns and the Wild West as Eastwood can deliver an epic movie quote like no other. Characters such as The Man With No Name in Sergio Leone’s Dollars Trilogy have spoken some of cinema’s most iconic phrases and have solidified Eastwood’s reputation as one of the most important actors of the past seven decades of filmmaking.
Eastwood’s best Western movie quotes are as iconic as they are varied and consist of deathly serious threats by sinister outlaws, hilarious quips by brooding bandits, and words of wisdom from aging desperados. Having played troubled criminals with tragic backstories like in The Outlaw Josey Wales, as well as retired bounty hunters coming back for one last job such as in Unforgiven, Eastwood delivers always a commited performance and adds something unique to the delivery of his famous lines. Eastwood perfected the role of a loner outlaw in Western movies and Eastwood’s quotes will go down in cinema history as some of the best ever uttered on screen.
15. “When A Man’s Got Money In His Pocket, He Begins To Appreciate Peace”
A Fistful Of Dollars (1964)
As the first film in Sergio Leone’s Dollars Trilogy, A Fist Full of Dollars is the film that introduced Clint Eastwood’s iconic character of The Man With No Name to the world. This legendary movie quote about the peace a man feels when he knows he has some money highlights the uncertain nature of life in the Wild West. When a bandit is doing well financially, they have no reason to go out looking for trouble and start to enjoy the quiet and calm. However, when money is tight life is not as peaceful, and outlaws like The Man With No Name find themselves in the midst of conflict.
14. “We All Have It Coming, Kid”
Unforgiven (1992)
While the Western movies of Clint Eastwood are full of insightful quotes about the nature of life and death, this assertion that “we all have it coming” from Eastwood as William Munny feels like it is being spoken from a life of experience. Unlike his earlier Western films, Eastwood was already in his 60s when Unforgiven was made, and quotes like this take on an extra layer of significance due to wisdom and life experience that can be felt from his aging character.
13. “You See, My Mule Don’t Like People Laughing. He Gets This Crazy Idea You’re Laughing At Him.”
A Fistful Of Dollars (1964)
During an epic showdown in A Fistful of Dollars that would see The Man With No Name expertly kill four bandits in the blink of an eye, Clint Eastwood’s character jokingly gives the men time to apologize for laughing, not at him, but at his mule. Eastwood’s deadpan delivery and threatening nature make this quote as sinister as it is hilarious, and the humor quickly turns to action when the bandits realize they’re not going to make it out this confrontation alive. Before the bandits have time to even draw their guns, The Man With No Name quickly shoots and they’re dead.
12. “Alive Or Dead? It’s Your Choice”
For A Few Dollars More (1965)
As the second film in Sergio Leone’s Dollars Trilogy, In For A Few Dollars More audiences were already aware of Clint Eastwood’s The Man With No Name and his iconic portrayal of the outlaw bounty hunter. As Eastwood’s character fights to take Baby “Red” Cavanagh in for a $2,000 bounty, he tells him: “Alive or dead? It’s your choice.” The Man With No Name’s no-nonsense attitude and single-minded approach to achieving his goals make him a fearsome and difficult foe for any rival bandits, who would be wise to take his offer, give themselves up, and come out of the confrontation at least alive.
11. “It’s A Hell Of A Thing, Killin’ A Man”
Unforgiven (1992)
In a heart-to-heart between Clint Eastwood’s character of William Munny and Jaimz Woolvett as The Schofield Kid in Unforgiven, The Kid becomes emotional from having shot and killed several men. The aging killer Munny implies past days when he was young and innocent when he tells The Kid that “it’s a hell of a thing, killin’ a man.” Over the years Munny has likely killed countless people throughout the violent past of his outlaw days, and there is a sadness in Eastwood’s delivers of this line that implies a sense of regret about his past actions.
10. “Every Gun Makes Its Own Tune”
The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly (1966)
The Good the Bad and the Ugly
In The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Blonde states that “every gun makes its own tune” which highlights the unique and individual nature of every firearm. While it is true no two guns are identical, this iconic quote also highlights that every gun has a story to tell, especially in the Wild West when bandits like Blondie have faced countless foes and shot at many different enemies.
9. “The Dead Can Be Very Useful Sometimes”
A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
In A Fistful of Dollars, The Man With No Name carefully places the bodies of dead soldiers by a grave in a plan to stir up conflict between two rival families. Eastwood’s character states that the dead can often be very useful and highlights that the deceased have “helped me out of tough spots more than once” as they don’t talk and if done right, they can be made to look alive. This quote showcases the cunning nature of Eastwood’s The Man With No Name and how he always thinks outside of the box and bends situations to his favor.
8. “Dying Ain’t Much Of A Living, Boy”
The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
The 1976 revionist Western movie The Outlaw Josey Wales was directed by Clint Eastwood who also starred as the titular bandit. The film tells the story of a Missouri farmer and Confederate guerrilla who ends up on the run from Union soldiers who murdered his family. In the line “dying ain’t much of a living, boy” Josey Wales highlights the uncertain nature of life as an outlaw, but to keep afloat he is forced to persevere. While Josey’s life is one spent always on the move, the alternative is just to give up and die.
7. “I’m Here To Kill You, Little Bill”
Unforgiven (1992)
This line delivered by Clint Eastwood as William Munny in Unforgiven signals the most pivotal moment of the entire film. The journey of Munny’s character has been building up to the moment he confronts Sherriff Bill Daggett for killing his partner in crime Ned Logan. The calm and collective demeanor in which Eastwood delivers the line highlights the seriousness of the moment feeds into the themes of morality, vengeance, and the consequences of violence seen in Unforgiven.
6. “It’s What People Know About Themselves Inside That Makes ‘Em Afraid”
High Plains Drifter (1973)
In High Plains Drifter, a film that Clint Eastwood directed himself, Eastwood plays a mysterious nameless figure, known as The Stranger, who dishes out justice in a corrupt mining town. The quote perfectly encapsulates the insightful nature of Eastwood’s character who, despite not revealing much about his own life, appears to have some innate insight into what makes people tick and how the past catches up with those who have checkered histories. The quote recalls the themes of justice and revenge seen in High Plains Drifter.
5. “‘Bout Time This Town Had A New Sheriff.”
High Plains Drifter (1973)
Clint Eastwood’s character of The Stranger in High Plains Drifter is highly attuned to the corrupt nature of the mining town of Lago in the Old West. When the residents of the town hire The Stranger to protect them after he kills the three gunmen who had been tormenting them, The Stranger takes full advantage of his new role and appoints a downtrodden dwarf as both sheriff and mayor. Eastwood’s assertation that it is time the town had a new sheriff, highlights understanding that the town needs new authority figures if it is ever going to rise above its previous subjugated state.
4. “Sometimes, Trouble Just Follows A Man”
The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
The story of The Outlaw Josey Wales starring Clint Eastwood is one constant hardship that is best summed in his quote: “Sometimes, trouble just follows a man.” The circumstances of Josey Wales’ life is one of consistent trouble and difficulties starting with the murder of his family by a band of pro-Union militants. This unasked-for torment is what sets in motion the outlaw lifestyle of Josey Wales as he continually must flee and fight in the lawless land of the Old West.
3. “When You Hang A Man, You Better Look At Him.”
Hang ‘Em High (1968)
Clint Eastwood plays Marshal Jed Cooper in Hang ‘Em High, an innocent man who survives a hanging from a posse who accuses him of murder. In search of vengeance, Cooper hunts down one of the men and before taking his revenge shows him the scar on his next from the unsuccessful lynching. Cooper’s like of “when you hang a man, you better look at him” highlights the cold-hearted nature with which he was almost put to death, and the importance of an outlaw remembering the faces of all those they have wronged, because they might come one day.
2. “I Have A Very Strict Gun Control Policy; If There’s A Gun Around, I Want To Be In Control Of It.”
The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
Clint Eastwood’s character of Josey Wales in The Outlaw Josey Wales has experienced incredible hardship following the murder of his wife and child. As such, he is always on his guard and aware of how in the Old West bandits like him end up dead if they are not very careful. Josey Wales “gun control policy” is a humorous representation of the character’s alert and distrustful nature, and that if an outlaw wants to stay alive, they need to take control of the situations they are in and ensure all potential dangers have been addressed.
1. “You See, In This World, There’s Two Kinds Of People, My Friend. Those With Loaded Guns, And Those Who Dig.”
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Clint Eastwood’s The Man With No Name persona that is seen across Sergio Leone’s Dollars Trilogy is encapsulated by this iconic movie quote. The outlaw attitude of the Old West is heard in the way that Eastwood’s character, known in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly as Blondie, highlights the power his gun grants him and demands that the grueling work of digging for hidden treasure be done by Mexican bandit Tuco alone. It is a badass line that highlights both the serious and funny sides of the Spaghetti Western genre.
