Cutter's Way (1981)
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100% of critics liked it
(16 reviews) -
64% of users liked it
(1,464 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 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, however, are among the town's have-nots: Richard Bone Jeff Bridges, a beach-boy gigolo starting to go to seed; Bone's best friend Alex Cutter (John Heard), a Vietnam veteran maimed in body and spirit; and Mo (Lisa Eichorn), Cutter's alcoholic wife. When Cutter spots one of the community's most prominent citizens in the act of covering up a murder, Bone insists that the police would never take their word over that of a man of wealth and prestige. Cutter seizes the opportunity to blackmail the killer, as a means of striking back at a system he thinks sent him off to an unjust war and ruined his life. The film was fortunate to fall into the hands of United Artists Classics, a new division of the company crippled by the financial disaster of Heaven's Gate. UA Classics adroitly marketed Cutter's Way, riding a wave of rave reviews and good word-of-mouth among more discriminating filmgoers to modest box-office success. ~ Tom Wiener, Rovi
- Directed By
- Ivan Passer
- Genres
- Drama
- In Theaters
- Mar 20, 1981 Wide
- Studio
- United Artists Classics
Critic Reviews
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Tom Huddleston, Time Out
The result is nothing less than a modern masterpiece, and a film ripe for rediscovery.
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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.
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Antonia Quirke, Financial Times
[Heard] is one of America's great lost actors.
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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.
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David Gritten, Daily Telegraph
An underrated classic.
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)
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Cast
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Jeff Bridges
as Richard Bone
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John Heard
as Alex Cutter
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Lisa Eichhorn
as Maureen "Mo" Cutter
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Anne Dusenberry
as Valerie Duran
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Stephen Elliott
as J.J. Cord
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Arthur Rosenberg
as George Swanson
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Nina Van Pallandt
as Woman in Hotel
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Patricia Donahue
as Mrs. Cord
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Geraldine Baron
as Susie Swanson
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Caesar Cordova
as Garbage Truck Driver
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George Dickerson
as Mortician
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Billy Drago
as Garbage Man
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Julia Duffy
as Young Girl
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Tony Epper
as Guard #2
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Jay Fletcher
as Security Guard
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Rod Gist
as Black #2
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Chris Howell
as Guard #4
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Leonard Lightfoot
as Black
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Frank McCarthy
as Toyota Man
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Jack Murdock
as Concession Owner
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Essex Smith
as Black #1
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Ted White
as Guard #1
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Ron Burke
as Guard #6
- Andy Epper
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Chris Noth
as Guard at estate gate (uncredited)