Not only did Clint Eastwood star in a number of spaghetti Westerns directed by the great Sergio Leone, he also tackled the genre himself in his early years as a director. One of the most notable achievements came in 1976 with The Outlaw Josey Wales, a revisionist Western adapted from Forrest Carter's novel, The Rebel Outlaw: Josey Wales. Set during the American Civil War, it tells the story of the titular farmer who becomes an outlaw after the murder of his wife and son by a group of Jayhawkers. Having sided with their opponents after the burial of his family, Wales refuses to surrender at the end of the war, preferring to take the battle to those who wronged him and seek revenge. The beautiful cinematography by Bruce Surtees offers a stark contrast to the ugly world in which the action is set. Another classic film to have eventually found its way into the Library of Congress' National Film Registry, it's early Eastwood at its best, depicting an embattled man stoically facing his fate with resolution and determination. Eastwood himself referred to the film as a high point in his Western filmmaking career.
