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After Cannes fest president Gilles Jacob presented the award with a glowing tribute to Eastwood's career, the "Dirty Harry" star said: "Though you did diminish the size of the Magnum I used from a .44 down to a .38, it seems like everything else was pretty accurate."
Eastwood had never won the prestigious Palme d'Or for best film during the annual festival, but last year's jury led by actor Sean Penn also presented him with a lifetime achievement award.
The California native was in Paris for Wednesday's release of his latest movie "Gran Torino," which he directs and also stars in the leading role.
In his first return to acting since the Oscar-winning "Million Dollar Baby," Eastwood plays a prejudiced Korean War veteran who befriends a troubled Hmong youth who tried to steal his car, a Ford Gran Torino.
Eastwood reminisced Wednesday about his first time in Paris in the 1960s for his film "A Fistful of Dollars," which he called "a very small film with an unknown director and an unknown actor.... Fortunately, it went over."
With his wife and two of his children nearby, he thanked the French film community for supporting him early on, saying the same appreciation was not always apparent in the United States.
"When I first directed a film in 1970, 39 years ago, French cineastes and critics encouraged me to go on, where in my own country people were much more reticent.... Everybody was saying we're not sure we even like this guy as an actor, much less as a director."
His directorial debut was the thriller "Play Misty For Me." He went on to receive widespread acclaim, particularly with "Unforgiven" in 1992.
Cannes, the world's leading film fest set to be held in May, rarely gives out such awards outside the festival itself. Legendary Swedish director Ingmar Bergman and French film star Jeanne Moreau have been similarly honoured.
"We wanted to tell him that we love him," Jacob told AFP when asked why the festival had decided to grant the special Palme d'Or to Eastwood.
"He is a great artist, a man with exceptional human qualities and who has reached a simplicity in his way of acting and directing, which is true of the great American auteurs."
In the coming days, Eastwood will begin filming his next project in South Africa, a movie based on Nelson Mandela and his appearance at the 1995 Rugby World Cup final, seen as a turning point in the country's post-apartheid history.
Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman will star in the film.
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Eastwood had never won the prestigious Palme d'Or for best film during the annual festival, but last year's jury led by actor Sean Penn also presented him with a lifetime achievement award.
The California native was in Paris for Wednesday's release of his latest movie "Gran Torino," which he directs and also stars in the leading role.
In his first return to acting since the Oscar-winning "Million Dollar Baby," Eastwood plays a prejudiced Korean War veteran who befriends a troubled Hmong youth who tried to steal his car, a Ford Gran Torino.
Eastwood reminisced Wednesday about his first time in Paris in the 1960s for his film "A Fistful of Dollars," which he called "a very small film with an unknown director and an unknown actor.... Fortunately, it went over."
With his wife and two of his children nearby, he thanked the French film community for supporting him early on, saying the same appreciation was not always apparent in the United States.
"When I first directed a film in 1970, 39 years ago, French cineastes and critics encouraged me to go on, where in my own country people were much more reticent.... Everybody was saying we're not sure we even like this guy as an actor, much less as a director."
His directorial debut was the thriller "Play Misty For Me." He went on to receive widespread acclaim, particularly with "Unforgiven" in 1992.
Cannes, the world's leading film fest set to be held in May, rarely gives out such awards outside the festival itself. Legendary Swedish director Ingmar Bergman and French film star Jeanne Moreau have been similarly honoured.
"We wanted to tell him that we love him," Jacob told AFP when asked why the festival had decided to grant the special Palme d'Or to Eastwood.
"He is a great artist, a man with exceptional human qualities and who has reached a simplicity in his way of acting and directing, which is true of the great American auteurs."
In the coming days, Eastwood will begin filming his next project in South Africa, a movie based on Nelson Mandela and his appearance at the 1995 Rugby World Cup final, seen as a turning point in the country's post-apartheid history.
Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman will star in the film.
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