The Outlaw Josey Wales
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Movie Reviews of The Outlaw Josey Wales
Movie Review: "Josey" Remastered...Looks and Sounds Great
Summary: 5 Stars
This review refers to the Warner Bros DVD Widescreen Edition of ""The Outlaw Josey Wales".......
Josey Wales is another of Clint's Eastwood's bigger than life Western characters that you won't soon forget.Josey though, is not like the others that preceeded him. It becomes apparent throughout this film, that this tough loner, on the run from murderers, has a heart the size of Texas.(And of course in this one we DO know his name!).
Eastwood also does an artful job of directing this tale, that has everthing from action to romance, and even a little comedy.
The end of the civil war is nearing. The northern soldiers though, won't let up. The "Red Legs" as some of these notorious war criminals are called are still pillaging,and plundering the homesteads in the territory and...killing the families.Wales is a victim of these brutal attacks, his house burned to the ground and his wife and son viciously attacked and murdered. He joins up with a group of others who are out to avenge their families and they become a notorious group. When they are offered a deal at the end of the war, they all turn themselves in..all but one...Josey Wales!
Ride with Josey(everyone else does) across the beautiful western vistas, as he takes on the "Red Legs" that are after him, saves a family from "Commancheros", makes friends with the Indians, and wears his heart on his sleeve as along the way he seems to attract a group of outcasts, including a dog, that he just can't leave behind.
Clint surrounds himself with the most marvelous cast, including Sondra Locke, Bill McKinney, John Vernon and Chief Dan George who provides many of the lighter moments in this action packed western.
If you are already a fan of this film made in 1976 and wondering about the quality of the transfer, you will be thrilled by the way it looks and sounds. The picture in widescreen is gorgeous. All scenes including the darker and nighttime are sharp and clear. Colors are vibrant. The soundtrack remastered in 5.1 Dolby Digital is also wonderful. From the pounding hooves of the racing horses, to the rain, to the music and the dialouge,you won't miss a thing.It's a dual-layer format, but I did not notice any of those little pauses that casues sometimes."Extras" are in the way of production notes only. There are some interesting facts on how Eastwood came to read the book and make the film.
What?! You haven't seen this yet??? It's a must for any Eastwood or Western fan! Go for it. "Now, Spit!"..Chief Dan George......Enjoy..Laurie
Clint multi-packs:The Gauntlet/True Crime,
The Clint Eastwood Collection (In the Line of Fire/Unforgiven/Bronco Billy/Dirty Harry/The Outlaw Josey Wales/The Beguiled),City Hall/Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil*actually a John Cusak double feature but Midnight in the Garden of Eveil is directed by Clint
Movie Review: One of Clint's Top Westerns
Summary: 5 Stars
While he was still a star and hero on the long-running TV western Wagon Train, Clint Eastwood emerged on the Hollywood scene in western-theme movies, specifically his trio of "spaghetti westerns" with director Sergi Leone, the best being "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly".
After establishing another remarkable character in Dirty Harry, Clint returns to his western "roots" as the vengeful Josie Wales, in "The Outlaw Josie Wales". This is Clint's 31st film and his fifth as a director. Actually, the film was started with a different director, Philip Kaufman of "The Right Stuff" fame. After numerous and intractable arguments over the interpretation of the film, Clint fired his director a week into shooting and took over directorship himself. We will never know what sort of film Mr. Kaufman would have produced, but Eastwood's final product is a true gem in western filmmaking.
In Eastwood's western trilogy he was known only as "the man with no name", a loner who generously dispensed his form of western justice at the barrel of a gun (or two). There was not much character development. We don't learn what drives the man or what he feels inside. With Josie Wales, Clint plows new ground, as he plumbs the emotions of the vengeful Wales. He builds insights into the character and feelings of Wales, a man with a name AND feelings. This makes the movie more than a mere "shoot 'em up", and adds depth and meaning to the film. Eastwood does much the same and more, with his 1990 blockbuster (and his last western) "Unforgiven", with Oscar results.
Josie Wales can be viewed with interest and pleasure on several different levels. There is of course the "vengeful man" theme that is the movie's backbone. Then there is the multi-cultural theme, where instead of going it alone, one man against many, Wales has a collection of "family" that collects as the movie progresses: an old Indian Chief, a talkative Indian "Squaw", a grandmother and her granddaughter (Sandra Locke, whom Clint would have an affair with that would end his marriage to his wife Maggie), and finally a collection of townies from a dying silver mining town. Finally, there is the "healing" theme, namely, how does a man who suffers the violent loss of his wife, son, and home, deal with his vengeful anger, emotional loss, and begin to heal.
Mere trivia, but interesting: Clint Eastwood never once shoots and kills a Native American Indian in any of his western films. Instead of battling indians as do most of the other western film stars, Eastwood's charcters build alliances with the Natives, learning to live in peaceful co-existance rather than a state of perpetual war.
Clearly, this is Eastwood's best western up to this point in his career. It is definately worth a "look" and my guess is that it will become one of your favorite westerns.
Jim "Konedog" Koenig
Movie Review: Eastwood's alltime best
Summary: 5 Stars
This film meets and surpasses all expectations. If you are a fan of westerns, or of Clint Eastwood in particular, this film is a must-own.
Eastwood plays a man whose family is brutally murdered by the Redlegs, a band of guerilla warriors who fought for Kansas under the leadership of the dastardly Jennison and his "Jayhawkers" during the Civil War. They were the foil of William Clarke Quantrill and his followers who fought for Missouri during the war. (For more on this conflict, albeit with an unfortunate Jayhawk-slant, see the recent film "Ride with the Devil".)
As for its treatment of the Civil War, this film follows "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" in the sense that it does not explicitly take a side. It does, however, present characters that are much more aware of a war going on and who are much more partisan about it than were the bit-players in that last of the Leone trilogy.
Yet Eastwood's film here abandons the partisanship that so embodies even a contemporary discussion of the war in the American South. Despite his family being brutally murdered by Kansans, Josey Wales ultimately rises above the conflict in his attempt to get what he wants out of life. Josey is rightfully distrustful of the Union, but he doesn't translate that into a political vendetta. The conflict does not destroy him, even when the prejudices of anti-Confederate Kansans are poised to strike him down.
The story finds Josey making unlikely friendships with those he encounters along his way, and provides many good-natured comic moments in those encounters. Josey Wales is the quintessential Western character, an average farmer who is dragged into conflicts larger than his own by the circumstances around him, forced to play a role that he never is fully willing to embrace.
Eastwood, despite being new to directing, delivers on the potential of this film in full. The cinematography is consistently engaging, the soundtrack is interesting, and the performances are stellar. This is definitely a 70's style western, and Eastwood practically defines the era with this picture.
If you are a fan of the Leone trilogy wondering whether Eastwood was ever as good apart from those films, then this is the one to see. If you are an Eastwood fan from his recent films, then this is a great introduction to the skills he would consistently display as a director in the future. If you are looking at this film from the viewpoint of a typical western-genre fan, you will not be disappointed by this film's excellent story and great performances. Basically, everyone who would be lead to this review on amazon.com is a person who would enjoy this film.
Movie Review: This is the one to get!
Summary: 5 Stars
First off, since Amazon appears to have grouped the reviews for two different DVD editions of this movie together, the one I am reviewing here has the brown cover with a picture of a very angry Eastwood wielding two pistols. It also has "CLINT EASTWOOD COLLECTION" printed across the top.Others here have reviewed this top-notch movie better than I could, so I'll just give my impressions of the quality of this release.
I don't know how many different DVD versions of this movie were ever released, but as far as I'm concerned, this is the best one, with remastered audio and video. The sound quality is simply superb--I have many DVD movies, and this one is by far the best, both in terms of audio and video quality. Considering it comes in the flimsier fold-out cardboard flap over plastic case, I was surprised at how good the quality of the actual disk is. The picture quality is simply stunning; I don't know how else to adequately describe it. It's the widescreen "letterbox" format, which gives you the entire theater screen including the left and right sides that fullscreen releases chop off in order to fill up the whole screen. Letterbox is the only way to go if you want to see the entire wide picture you get at the theater. Most of you already know this; I only mention it because I know there are still some who do not. This release is dual-layer format and is enhanced for widescreen TVs. The movie itself runs 2 hours and 15 minutes. Special features: Soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1. 1976 Documentary "Eastwood In Action" (approx. 8 minutes). 1999 Documentary "Hell Hath No Fury: The Making Of The Outlaw Josey Wales" (approx. 30 minutes and a fascinating look behind the scenes including documentary footage from the making of the movie showing Eastwood in the act of directing). A very brief introduction to the movie itself by Clint Eastwood (approx. 1 minute). Subtitles in English, French, and Spanish. Languages in English and French. Production notes. Theatrical trailer. Scene Access.
Again, I cannot stress how good this edition looks and sounds. Even the darkest scenes are vivid and clear. Image throughout the film is extremely crisp. A very slight pause midway as the player switches layers, but that's normal with the Dual-Layer format, and it was hardly noticeable. The audio is amazing, with gunshots and explosions reverberating through my floorboards. Turned up through a simple decent stereo system, you will *feel* this movie. Whoever did the audio/video remastering did a fantastic job. The best I've ever seen. This would be worth it at twice the price. The only giveaway to the low price is the cardboard-flap-type case. You simply can't go wrong here.
Movie Review: The Outlaw Josey Wales - One of the genres finest!
Summary: 5 Stars
As stated above, "The Outlaw Josey Wales" is one of the genres finest films to ever grace the silver screen and the home theater! This Western masterpiece deserved a great DVD with as much on it as was possible to have and that goal was achieved! I wanted the DVD but also more or less had to replace the VHS copy I had due to the fact that this fine film is quite well worth repeated viewings and the good old VHS tape just didn't hold up! Off additional note with this DVD is the widescreen format. Obviously I've watched this classic many times, but with this DVD I was highly impressed seeing it for the first time in this format. It "almost" gives one the impression of seeing it for the first time.Not only is this film blessed with Clint Eastwood in the lead role, due to differences in opinion with the original director, it is directed by him as well. Clint Eastwood, who is inarguably one of the best in the genre, fills both roles flawlessly! Along for the ride and to counterbalance Clint Eastwood's role as the gruff gunslinger is Chief Dan George. His character brought comedic relief and a more realistic portrayal of a Native American, which wasn't done often in films produced at the time this one was. One thing is for certain when viewing a Clint Eastwood western, you the viewer are always in for a great ride!
The premise:
Clint Eastwood plays Josey Wales, a poor Missouri farmer who is trying to make a living and take care of his family while the Civil War rages on. Unfortunately for his character the war comes to his front door when Kansas irregulars known as the "Red Legs" brutally attack and kill his wife and child as he bears witness. Not long after burying his wife and child he meets up with other southerners who form a guerilla group. They immediately head off to start guerilla type attacks against northern troops. Of course the south loses the war and these groups are ordered to turn themselves in. Josey Wales chooses not to turn himself in and his fear of doing so bears out. What follows from this point is, as stated above, one of the finest westerns to ever grace the silver screen.
Special Features:
Of all of the special features available on this DVD there are a couple that are quite worthy of extra mention. The 1976 Documentary "Eastwood in Action" and the 1999 Documentary "Hell Hath No Fury: The Making of The Outlaw Josey Wales". Both are quite well done and highly informative.
I highly recommend this film to all who are into this genre or those who are looking for something different and quite genuine! Most westerns aren't a western without Clint Eastwood! {ssintrepid}