Eastwood was more sophisticated and often way ahead of his time. I’m also a John Wayne fan, for his common man style, simple-drive-forward motivation portrayals. People often say Wayne was not acting. Legend has it, that Wayne was offended by Eastwood’s HPD, but really only because he, Wayne, did not ‘get it’. Don’t know if he went to his grave before he figured out Eastwood’s movie.
It is a great movie… but much like this place, it can be confusing and misunderstood, even by the best of good guys.