The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
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94% of critics liked it
(35 reviews) -
55% want to see it
(28,497 ratings)
Clint Eastwood's fifth film as a director and eighth Western as a star (ninth if you count Paint Your Wagon), The Outlaw Josey Wales chronicles the hero's violent journey westward after the Civil War. With fresh memoris of his family's slaughter by Red Leg soldier Terrill (Bill… More Clint Eastwood's fifth film as a director and eighth Western as a star (ninth if you count Paint Your Wagon), The Outlaw Josey Wales chronicles the hero's violent journey westward after the Civil War. With fresh memoris of his family's slaughter by Red Leg soldier Terrill (Bill McKinney), Confederate Josey Wales (Eastwood) refuses to join his captain Fletcher (John Vernon) and the rest of his comrades in surrender to a U.S. Army regiment. Deemed a dangerous outlaw after a bloody one-man battle with that regiment, Josey is pursued by U.S. cavalry soldiers led by the unwilling Fletcher and the murderous Terrill, as well as by bounty hunters who eventually learn how coolly lethal Wales can be. Despite his desire to remain a lone fugitive, Josey soon has a crew of travelling companions that includes Cherokee Lone Watie (Chief Dan George) and the pretty Laura Lee (Sondra Locke) and her vigorous Grandma Sarah (Paula Trueman), settlers on their way to a ranch near ghost town Santa Rio. The few Santa Rio residents welcome the group, but their peace and Josey's burgeoning romance with Laura Lee are soon interrupted by Terrill's arrival. A skillfully violent man of few, well-chosen words, Josey Wales resembles Eastwood's previous Western heroes in Sergio Leone's trilogy, A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966). However, the emphasis on friends and family served notice that, in the words of one critic, "the Man With No Name doesn't live here anymore." Indeed, Josey Wales would be Eastwood's last western before 1985's Pale Rider. Although it did not garner similar critical praise when it was released, Eastwood considers The Outlaw Josey Wales to be the equal of the Oscar-winning Unforgiven (1992). ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
- Directed By
- Clint Eastwood
- Written By
- Philip Kaufman, Sonia Chernus, Phil Kaufman
- Genres
- Western, Drama, Action & Adventure
- Studio
- Warner Home Video
Critic Reviews
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Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
All in all, a very creditable film.
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Variety Staff, Variety
The screenplay is another one of those violence revues, with carnage production numbers slotted every so often.
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Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine
[Eastwood] gets to the heart of the matter briskly, orchestrates his confrontations intelligently and gets off without lingering unduly over the resultant ugliness.
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, Time Out
Demonstrated Eastwood's ability to recreate his first starring role, as the mythic Man with No Name of the Italian Westerns, and to subtly undercut it through comedy and mockery.
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Eastwood is such a taciturn and action-oriented performer that it's easy to overlook the fact that he directs many of his movies -- and many of the best, most intelligent ones.
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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Clint Eastwood
as Josey Wales
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Chief Dan George
as Lone Watie
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Sondra Locke
as Laura Lee
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Bill McKinney
as Terrill
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John Vernon
as Fletcher
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Paula Trueman
as Grandma Sarah
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Samuel Bottoms
as Jamie
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Geraldine Keams
as Little Moonlight
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Woodrow Parfrey
as Carpetbagger
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Joyce Jameson
as Rose
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Sheb Wooley
as Cobb
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Royal Dano
as Ten Spot
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John Verros
as Chato
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Will Sampson
as Ten Bears
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John Quade
as Comanchero Leader
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Bruce M. Fischer
as Yoke
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Erik Holland
as Union Army Sergeant
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Buck Kartalian
as Shopkeeper
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Len Lesser
as Abe
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Doug McGrath
as Lige
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John Mitchum
as Al
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Clay Tanner
as First Texas Ranger
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Charles Tyner
as Zukie Limmer
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Matt Clark
as Kelly
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John Russell
as Bloody Bill Anderson
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Bob Hoy
as Second Texas Ranger
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Cissy Wellman
as Josey's Wife
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L. William O'Connell
as Sim Carstairs
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Danny Green
as Lemuel
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John Davis Chandler
as First Bounty Hunter



