The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writers:

Forrest Carter (book)
Philip Kaufman (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

30 June 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller | Western

Tagline:

...an army of one.

Plot:

A Missouri farmer joins a Confederate guerilla unit and winds up on the run from the Union soldiers who murdered his family.

Plot Keywords:

Farmer | Vengeance | Missouri | Farm | Surrender

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win

Cast

Clint Eastwood	...	Josey Wales
Chief Dan George	...	Lone Watie
Sondra Locke	...	Laura Lee
Bill McKinney	...	Terrill
John Vernon	...	Fletcher
Paula Trueman	...	Grandma Sarah
Sam Bottoms	...	Jamie
Geraldine Keams	...	Little Moonlight
Woodrow Parfrey	...	Carpetbagger
Joyce Jameson	...	Rose
Sheb Wooley	...	Travis Cobb
Royal Dano	...	Ten Spot
Matt Clark	...	Kelly (as Matt Clarke)
John Verros	...	Chato
Will Sampson	...	Ten Bears

Runtime:

135 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Iceland:16 | Norway:16 (1976) (heavily cut) | Peru:18 | Argentina:Atp (re-rating) | Argentina:16 (original rating) | Canada:14A | Finland:K-18 | Norway:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (edited tv version) | UK:18 (video rating) (1986) | UK:AA (original rating) | USA:PG | West Germany:16 | Australia:M | Australia:MA (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Glen Canyon, Utah, USA

Company:

Malpaso Company, The

Trivia:

In the novel, Lone Watie is identified as the nephew of General Stand Watie, a Cherokee from Indian Territory, who was the last Confederate general to surrender at the end of the U.S. Civil War.

Goofs:

Continuity: After the bounty hunters are killed by Josey and Terrill, he spits on the forehead on one of the dead men who's eyes are closed, then it shows him again as they ride away and the dead man's eyes are open.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Josey's wife: Little Josey! C'mon in, let's get you cleaned up!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Seinfeld: The Strike (#9.10)" (1997)

Eastwood's Best

Certainly Clint Eastwood's best complete movie, the story of a man drawn into hell by the inhumanity of others (specifically, the Redlegs and the Senator), who is redeemed by the humanity of others (the settlers, Lone Wattie and Ten Bears) to recover some semblance of a life after the Civil War. Eastwood's acting is economical (but a far cry from the man-with-no-name character he made famous), and carries the story very well, and his directing style is practically invisible (which is exactly what it should be -- if the director does his job, you should never even notice his contribution). The viewer is entirely caught up in the story of the man. All in all, a brilliant bit of film from Eastwood (who clearly learned everything he could from his own directors, and then combined that knowledge into superb craftsmanship of his own.)

It is interesting to contrast the Jose Wales and Billy Munny (from Unforgiven) characters. Wales seeks to regain his humanity through others; Munny - having regained his humanity from being a Wales-like character at the beginning of the movie - descends willingly into a hell of his own choosing.