The Outlaw Josey Wales
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Movie Reviews of The Outlaw Josey Wales
Movie Review: One of Eastwoods Best Action Packed Westerns
Summary: 5 Stars
At the time of its release, this was the best western that Eastwood had ever done with the exception of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly". Eastwood skillfully plays a sympathetic character whose wife and child are killed during the Civil War near Kansas by the Union "Redlegs" who are virtually roguing military. Seeking revenge for his loss, he joins a Bloody Bill Anderson's guerrilla unit that strikes unmercifully against the union forces. As the war ends, the majority of the unit comes in to surrender except for Josey and they are slaughtered by the Redlegs who seek retaliation. And there is your story; Josey becomes the hunted as he and one escaping companion are hunted virtually to eternity. Eastwood plays the character perfectly as he carries multiple pistols and weapons as Confederate cavalry did to even fire power, even with loaded cylinders that he can interchange with his pistols. Comical at times, as Eastwood seems to pick up lost souls from Indian Dan George (Little Bigman), to an abused female Indian, a cranky granny and her attractive yet pensive daughter (Locke) and even a red boned cur dog who suffers the indignity of Josey's spiteful but accurate tobacco spit (but the dog follows anyways). George has several lines that work as commentary on the plight of the 'Civilized Tribes' and the Cherokees choice of backing the south. He also invokes great humor with lines like, "I didn't surrender, but they took my horse. He surrendered". The movie is a thrill a minute as Josey frequently has to shoot his way out of traps, accidental discoveries, the rescue of one of his lost souls and the climatic ending where he finally finds a peaceful place until he is found again not only by his old enemies but the Indians in his adopted home. In each circumstance where he finds himself confronted with danger and as always outnumbered, he always seeks an edge to give him some advantage, and when he spits, there is going to be some shooting. And there is a sub-climatic moment where Josey meets with his Indian counterpoint, recognizing that they have recently lived parallel lives, each being hunted and perhaps abused, making a statement that each deserves a better life. Not as sensitive as his best film the "Unforgiven" or perhaps as realistic, but action packed and entertaining.Movie Review: Josey Wales - Fastest gunslinger in the West!
Summary: 5 Stars
Clint Eastwood's movie, The Outlaw Josey Wales, is a classic in the Western genre. This movie is one of the best Western movies that I have ever seen. The story of the movie goes like this. Josey Wales(Clint Eastwood) is a peaceful farmer in Missouri with a family in the middle of the Civil War. One day some Union Soldiers burn down his house (with his son in it) and kidnap his wife. Angry and Furious, Josey Wales joins some confederate guerillas and fights hard. When Confederacy surrenders, Josey Wales refuses and heads west. He travels to Texas and along the way picks up odd group: couple of Native Americans, an Old Grandmother, a beautiful woman and two servants. At the same time they are chased by Union soldiers.
I will not reveal the story further. However, what makes this movie a classic is the depth and dimension to the characters and superb action.
The character of Josey Wales is really complex. He turns from a peaceful farmer to a tobacco chewing, hell raising, gunslinger. However his humane side is seen through his hard attitude at times. He saves a native american girl from couple of scoundrels. He also saves travelers from another group of bandits. At the same time, he is a tobacco spitting hard man. Josey Wales spits on everything, from a scorpio to a union officer. The other characters are not as intensely developed, which is understandable since Josey Wales is the primary focus of the movie.
The action in the movie is just amazing. I will summarize three great scenes which will make you, the reader, want to just watch the movie. In first scene Josey Wales is carrying food and confronted by four soldiers... In another one Josey Wales(and his six-shooter) all by himself is up against 10-15 bandits...In the last one, Josey Wales and his Six-shooter, go toe-to-toe against tens of horse-riding soldiers...
I will leave the action for you to watch.
Also this movie is directed by Eastwood himself. He is as good as a director as he is as an actor.
FYI: This movie is based on the book "Gone to Texas".
Movie Review: A Man Like Wales, Lives By The Feud
Summary: 5 Stars
Some 16 years before the Oscar laden and equally brilliant "Unforgiven", this movie is seen by many as one of Clint Eastwoods finest movies, particularly in the Western genre. Playing the title role himself, we meet Josey Wales, a quiet farmer, abruptly thrown into the civil war after his land and family are attacked by Union soldiers, who joins up with the confederate fight in an almost guerilla / mercenary way. The civil War aspect of the story is little more than an opening skirmish however, as it is the subsequent fugitive aspect of the character that moves us through most of the picture. I have to disagree with those that think this is just a revenge movie, or that a single viewing is all one can manage, as the story unfolds in a multi faceted way with each succesive viewing, despite the viewer knowing the ending. Wales comes to be the guiding scout and protector to an unlikely and very mixed bag of characters (all played with sound realism)as he is continually and almost reluctantly hounded by his former ally Fletcher. Charged with hunting him down, Fletcher (played with a salty almost poetic grace by John Vernon) must accompany a band of "red leg" Union soldiers, with more than questionable morality, to the border and this long pursuit helps the picture move at an even pace. Add some interesting subplots, commancheros, some imaginative and lively characters (with many of Eastwoods regular screen stars in various roles)and the overall effect is just right, without trying to be moralistic. Often brutal in it's depiction of the "wild" west, and at times graphically violent keeps the deserved R rating, but some moments of comedy and pathos bring an unmistakable Eastwood handprint of direction, without overtaking the excellent story or script. Already widely received as a classic piece of filmaking, it has stood the test of time extremely well, and has become one of the movies that have benchmarked the genre since it's release almost thirty years ago. Extremely enjoyable movie.Movie Review: A very fine, if violent, Western
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a widely admired Clint Eastwood Western that he also directed. Josey Wales (Eastwood) was a Missouri farmer whose wife and son were killed and his farm burned by the Red Leg raiders from the Union Army sent to burn out the Confederates. Wales joins up with some Confederates who fight against the Union for the remainder of the Civil War. The crux of the film begins when the war ends and all but Josey surrender and take an oath of loyalty to the Union and are all gunned down. Josey tries to rescue who he can and ends up on the run from the Red Legs and his former Confederate commander, Fletcher (John Vernon). Sam Bottoms gets a nice turn as Jamie who admires Josey and wanted to follow him, but was forced to surrender against his better judgement.
The rest of the film is about Wales confronting a variety of bounty hunters, opportunists, and soldiers who want to take him out. He also makes friends with another range of well meaning folks including Indians including a character played by Chief Dan George, Geraldine Keams as Little Moonlight, and Will Sampson as Ten Bears. Sondra Locke gets a role as Laura Lee and Paula Truman in a memorable turn as Grandma Sarah (see if her delivery doesn't remind you a bit of Hyman Roth in the Godfather - but without the venom). There are a lot of other memorable actors in fine performances in a very fine Western that has an interesting core underneath its series of violent confrontations.
There is one particularly violent scene of intended rape of Laura Lee that is only stopped by Josey killing those who intended to rape her. While there is a lot of killing in the movie, and it is clear that Josey's wife was raped, it is this scene that especially graphic for 1976 and still shocking today.
That aside, I think this is a worthwhile movie.
Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI
Movie Review: One of the best movies every produced...
Summary: 5 Stars
Clint Eastwood broke the mold when he starred in "The Outlaw Josy Wales" about a man whose family were all killed by Kansas Red Leg Union Soldiers, and even when the rest of his company turned themselves in to swear Alligence To The United States, Josey refused. When the Union, headed by the same Red Legs out of Kansas killed the his comrades except for one boy, he turned one of their machine guns on the executioners and then tried to take care of the boy who ended up getting shot while trying to warn the leader of their company who talked them into turning themselves in.
This is a story about a man who always comes back to help a friend and in the end, rescues a family whose son happened to be a Kansas Red Leg. He helped them escape certain death from their captors, Commencheros, and then even talked an Indian Chief into letting them live on Indian property and saved the lives of 2 more friends. He falls in love with a simple minded daughter of the red leg whose family he had saved and in the end, even makes peace with the head of his company, who did not know his company would be slaughtered.
This movie is based on the end of the Civil War after the South had surrendered at Appomatox Courthouse. The men still fighting were called "hold-outs" because they had faced such hurt by some of the bad Union soldiers that they were not ready to give in, yet, and understood considering some of these Union soldiers had taken the families and everything owned by these Southern men; they simply wanted justice and some of them did not feel they had completed justice of family members being raped and killed-their kids just stabbed and gutted right in front of them. War is a terrible thing and this movie shows some of the horror that can come from war, especially when it's fought in the same country you live.