...an army of one.
After avenging his family's brutal murder, Wales is pursued by a pack of soldiers. He prefers to travel alone, but ragtag outcasts are drawn to him - and Wales can't bring himself to leave them unprotected.
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Character
Classical in form, earnest, grave and effortless.
- classical in formformally daring
- earnestironic
- gravecomic
- effortlessdemanding
- contemporarynostalgic
Who loves it, who doesn't
18 profiled raters. Loved most by The Prestige Hunters.
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“Is this Clint Eastwood's best work?”
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“Does it romanticize the West?”
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“Does it glamorize what it means to condemn?”
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A yes-or-no question, answered from what people wrote here, on TMDB and on Wikipedia. Never made up.
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- CinemaSerfon TMDB · Dec 20257/10
Believe it or not, this is a western film starring a Clint Eastwood who actually has some dialogue! He’s the eponymous farmer who has so far avoided the worst of the American Civil War only for his family to be brutally slaughtered by some marauding Yankees. Determined on retribution, he joins up with vigilante "Fletcher” (John Vernon) and his gang but yet more betrayal sees him on his own, traversing the country looking for revenge. His desperation has a certain magnetic quality to it, as he gradually attracts others on the fringe of what passes for society including “Lone” (Chief Dan George), the feisty “Grandma” (Paula Trueman) and the vulnerable “Laura” (Sondra Locke) whom he saves from a fate worse than death at the hands of more lawless raiders. With his search for “Terrill” (Bill McKinney) proving ever more perilous and his escapades more dangerous, might there still be any opportunity for him to suppress his lethal instincts, and perhaps, even find love again? This is quite a complexly structured drama that mixes the usual gritty and brutal storyline with which we are familiar from Eastwood with more in-depth characterisations from all, especially the underused but potent V
Read the whole review on TMDB - Wuchakon TMDB · Jun 20209/10
**_One of the Great Westerns_** The Civil War is over and the remaining rebels in Missouri are encouraged to turn over their weapons and pledge loyalty to the Union, but Josey Wales (Clint Eastwood) hold out and thus a generous reward is put on his head. Josey heads to West Texas and maybe Mexico to find sanctuary, but will he make it alive? The cast includes the likes of Bill McKinney, John Vernon, Sondra Locke, Chief Dan George, Sam Bottoms and Will Sampson. “The Outlaw Josey Wales” (1976) is Eastwood’s best Western and a standout of the genre. Everything clicks for a top-of-the-line drama/adventure. A critic said that Wales’ encounter with the Federals in the first act establishes him as invincible and thus destroys any sense of suspense. No, it just means that he caught the soldiers by surprise and he escaped the clash unscathed with a mixture of skill and luck. A later scene reveals he’s decidedly mortal. The movie starts with the typical Bob Steele revenge plot and soon morphs into a trail movie (similar to a “road movie,” but with horses). As such, some interesting characters come-and-go (or, more accurately, come-and-die), but several stay on. It’s a string of memorable epi
Read the whole review on TMDB - John Chardon TMDB · Aug 201810/10
I guess we all died a little in that damned war. The Outlaw Josey Wales is directed by Clint Eastwood, who also stars as Wales, and is adapted by Sonia Chernus & Phil Kaufman from the novel "The Rebel Outlaw: Josey Wales" written by Forrest Carter. Joining Eastwood in the cast are Chief Dan George, Sondra Locke, Bill McKinney, John Vernon & Paula Trueman. Music is by Jerry Fielding and Bruce Surtees photographs on location in Utah, Arizona & Wyoming. We are at the very end of the American Civil War and Josey Wales is a contented family man working on his Missouri farm. But his peaceful world is shattered when Union soldiers raid his home and murder his wife and child. Surviving the attack, Josey takes up arms with a group of Confederate guerrilla fighters who take the fight to the Redlegs. However, when the news comes that the war is over and the Confederates are required to surrender, Josey refuses to do so. A wise choice since his group are rounded up and slaughtered in cold blood. So Josey is forced to go on the lam as an outlaw, where hot on his trail are the Redleg group fronted by bloodthirsty Captain Terrill. On his way, as he contemplates survival and what life has in store
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Cast
- Clint EastwoodJosey Wales
- Chief Dan GeorgeLone Watie
- Sondra LockeLaura Lee
- Bill McKinneyTerrill
- John VernonFletcher
- Paula TruemanGrandma Sarah
- Sam BottomsJamie
- Geraldine KeamsLittle Moonlight
- Woodrow ParfreyCarpetbagger
- Joyce JamesonRose
Crew
- Clint EastwoodDirector
- Philip KaufmanScreenplay
- Sonia ChernusScreenplay
- Bruce SurteesDirector of Photography
- Jerry FieldingOriginal Music Composer
- Ferris WebsterEditor
- Robert DaleyProducer
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Pairings
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Often watched with
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