Entertainment
Clint Eastwood’s Controversial $60 Million War Movie Infiltrates New Streaming Home
A month after debuting on Peacock, one of Clint Eastwood‘s most controversial films is heading to the Paramount+ streaming service on December 1. The film in question, American Sniper, is over a decade old at this point, but it remains the highest-grossing hit that the legendary director has ever made. Not only was American Sniper a blockbuster despite strong backlash from a certain section of the audience, the movie was a hit during the awards season as well, going on to earn several Oscar nods. Starring Bradley Cooper as the real-life sniper Chris Kyle, who was known as the man with the most confirmed kills in American military history, the movie was released only a few years after Eastwood’s boldest foray into the war drama genre — Flags of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima.
However, in contrast to those anti-war movies, American Sniper‘s portrayal of Kyle seemed to suggest that it was glorifying violent combat. Eastwood went on the record to declare that American Sniper, like his earlier films in the genre, is staunchly anti-war. Meanwhile, Cooper underlined the point that the movie was trying to make; that there aren’t enough systems in place for returning combat vets to reintegrate into society. Released in 2014, American Sniper was an immediate hit; it eventually grossed a staggering $350 million domestically and around $550 million worldwide, against a reported budget of $60 million. It remains one of the biggest war movies in history, alongside Dunkirk, 1917, and Saving Private Ryan.
Bradley Cooper Has a New Movie Around the Corner
Despite the controversy, the movie earned mostly positive reviews. It’s now sitting at a “certified fresh” 71% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus reads, “Powered by Clint Eastwood’s sure-handed direction and a gripping central performance from Bradley Cooper, American Sniper delivers a tense, vivid tribute to its real-life subject.” The film earned a total of six Oscar nods, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Cooper. The 93-year-old Eastwood released what could potentially be his final film last year. The courtroom drama Juror #2 earned excellent reviews, and was released directly on the HBO Max streaming service domestically. Cooper is set to star in his third film as director, Is This Thing On? The comedy-drama premiered at the New York Film Festival to excellent reviews, and will be released theatrically in December.
Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
- Release Date
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January 16, 2015
- Runtime
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133 minutes
- Writers
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Jason Hall
