I am a fan of Clint Eastwood both as an actor and a director. Sergio Leone's 'Dollar' films range among my all-time favorites (especially "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly"), and Eastwood continued to be the epitome of coolness in "Dirty Harry" and its successors. His work as a director is impressive, "High Plains Drifter" (1973), "The Outlaw Josey Wales" (1976), and "Unforgiven" (1993) are my personal favorites of the films Eastwood has directed, and other films of his, such as "Pale Rider", or more recently "Mystic River" are also very impressive. Having expressed my respect and admiration for this great actor and director, I must say that his directorial debut "Play Misty For Me" of 1973 is slightly overrated, in my opinion. Not that it was a bad film - on the contrary: The film has some great elements. The performances are great, the locations impressive and I personally also liked the jazzy score a lot. Also, the 'stalking'-topic is interesting, especially for a time when stalking was not yet an issue as it is today. Nevertheless, I was a bit disappointed with "Play Misty For Me", not least due to its reputation as a cult-favorite and essential thriller of the early 70s.
Dave Garver (Eastwood) is a popular radio disc-jockey in Carmel, California. After picking up a seductive woman named Evelyn (Jessica Walter) in a bar, the womanizer's life is about to change. Evelyn, who has been repeatedly calling Dave on his show and requested the song 'Misty', soon turns out to be quite obsessive...
Clint Eastwood is cool as always. Donna Mills and John Larch are also very good in their roles. The best performance, however, is delivered by Jessica Walter, who is truly great and believable in the role of the psychotic and obsessed Evelyn. The locations are beautiful and impressive, and the score is very cool. What disappointed me a little was the fact that it wasn't as suspenseful as I had expected. Also, Eastwood throws in some superfluous elements that just make the film less interesting. To some people these sequences may seem ingenious, but even though I like the music in the film, I personally don't want to watch a concert (that has nothing to do with the plot) for about 10 minutes in the middle of a movie. All things considered, "Play Misty For Me" is certainly worth watching, and Eastwood fans should definitely give it a try. It is just a little overrated, in my opinion, and as far as I am concerned, Eastwood has directed films that are much better, such as the cynical and brutal Western "High Plains Drifter" of 1973 (which was his next work as a director, and one of his greatest). Even though "Play Misty For Me", is not one of my favorites from Eastwood, it is a decent film, however, and definitely recommended to his fans.
Dave Garver (Eastwood) is a popular radio disc-jockey in Carmel, California. After picking up a seductive woman named Evelyn (Jessica Walter) in a bar, the womanizer's life is about to change. Evelyn, who has been repeatedly calling Dave on his show and requested the song 'Misty', soon turns out to be quite obsessive...
Clint Eastwood is cool as always. Donna Mills and John Larch are also very good in their roles. The best performance, however, is delivered by Jessica Walter, who is truly great and believable in the role of the psychotic and obsessed Evelyn. The locations are beautiful and impressive, and the score is very cool. What disappointed me a little was the fact that it wasn't as suspenseful as I had expected. Also, Eastwood throws in some superfluous elements that just make the film less interesting. To some people these sequences may seem ingenious, but even though I like the music in the film, I personally don't want to watch a concert (that has nothing to do with the plot) for about 10 minutes in the middle of a movie. All things considered, "Play Misty For Me" is certainly worth watching, and Eastwood fans should definitely give it a try. It is just a little overrated, in my opinion, and as far as I am concerned, Eastwood has directed films that are much better, such as the cynical and brutal Western "High Plains Drifter" of 1973 (which was his next work as a director, and one of his greatest). Even though "Play Misty For Me", is not one of my favorites from Eastwood, it is a decent film, however, and definitely recommended to his fans.