Cutter's Way

Cutter's Way (1981)

  • 100% of critics liked it
    (16 reviews)

  • 64% of users liked it
    (1,468 ratings)

After emigrating to the United States in 1969, Czech-born director Ivan Passer finally broke through to American audiences with his fourth film, a unique blend of mystery and social commentary. Cutter's Way is set in Santa Barbara, CA, a community of wealth and power. Its main characters,… More

R,
Directed By
Genres
Drama
In Theaters
Mar 20, 1981 Wide
On DVD
Jul 10, 2001
United Artists Classics

Critic Reviews

  • Tom Huddleston, Time Out

    The result is nothing less than a modern masterpiece, and a film ripe for rediscovery.

  • Derek Malcolm, This is London

    Almost as impressive as Polanski's Chinatown and an extraordinary change of gear from one of the fine Czech New Wave's most notable alumni.

  • Antonia Quirke, Financial Times

    [Heard] is one of America's great lost actors.

  • Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]

    The film moves with an easy uncoerced swing: moment by moment, scene by scene, we are unsure what to think or where we are going. It is a fascinating, organically grown drama.

  • David Gritten, Daily Telegraph

    An underrated classic.

Read all 12 critic reviews

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • familiar s


    The crime thriller didn't manage to tickle the bones enough. Not an ideal source of entertainment, but tolerable all the same.

  • Matheus C


    A forgotten paranoia trhiller from the 80s which delivers the goods with complex characters and great performances from Jeff Bridges and John Heard.

  • Stephen M


    An excellent, slow-burning, occasionally noirish thriller. Jeff Bridges plays Richard Bone, a yacht salesman/gigolo who accidentally witnesses the disposal of a murdered girl's body after his car breaks down in a rainstorm. When Bone thinks he recognises a wealthy local oil… More

  • Walter M


    [font=Century Gothic]"Cutter's Way" starts out with Richard Bone's(Jeff Bridges) jalopy breaking down in an alley during a rainstorm and he is almost run down by another car. Later, the body of a young woman is discovered in a dumpster there. At first, the police… More

  • Jason R


    John Heard is SO good in this movie! The plot is, for lack of a better word. Crazy! A disfigured Vietnam Veteran named, Cutter. Who is more known for his drinking. Begins looking into the murder of a young girl, after his friend reveals he may have seen the killer. After a series of… More

Read all 6 featured audience ratings

Currently unavailable on Flixster

Also available on

Other Retailers

Not Available
Not Available

Subscription Services

Not Available
Not Available
Not Available

Cast

See more (25)