Josey Wales will never forget the day
his entire family was slaughtered...and now the
once-peaceful farmer is going to wander the West making
sure he gets revenge on all those responsible for the
murders. As the film opens,
Josey Wales is a simple farmer in Missouri. When a vicious
band of Union Red Legs, led by Terrill (Bill McKinney),
burns his home to the ground, killing his wife and son,
Wales joins a gang of Confederate raiders, determined to
get revenge.
After the Confederacy loses the
war, Wales sets out on his own, an outlaw who kills to
survive. He eventually meets an old Indian (Chief Dan
George, in a wonderfully sympathetic performance) and some
other outcasts, and together they seek out a more peaceful
existence. But Terrill continues to hunt Wales, and the
simple farmer is forced to fight again. Critics did not
take Clint Eastwood's THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES seriously in
1976. Today, many consider it one of the greatest Westerns
ever made. Here the West is an ugly and brutal place, as
it is in Sergio Leone's films, but this is a different
kind of Eastwood hero. He has a name, a sense of humor,
and a heart. Made in the shadow of Vietnam and Watergate,
the film conveys a bitter distrust of government but also
a longing to live in peace. Next to UNFORGIVEN, this is
the most sweeping and emotionally complex of Eastwood's
Westerns.
The film was shot in Arizona, Utah,
and California.
Producer Clint Eastwood originally hired Philip Kaufman
(THE RIGHT STUFF) to polish the script and direct the
film. Kaufman's deliberate style of filmmaking grated on
the ultraefficient Eastwood, and shortly after filming
began, he fired Kaufman and took over. Kaufman didn't
direct another film for three years, and the Director's
Guild of America thereafter instituted a rule that a
member could not be replaced by anyone who was already
working in any capacity on the film in question.
THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES was added to the Library of
Congress National Film Registry in 1996.
Forrest Carter, who wrote the novel the film was based on
and sent it to Clint Eastwood, was later discovered to be
Asa Carter, a former member of the KKK and speechwriter
for George Wallace. Carter also wrote the novel THE
EDUCATION OF LITTLE TREE.
THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES was Eastwood's first of many
collaborations with several actors, including Sondra Locke
(six films), Bill McKinney (six films), and Doug McGrath
(five films).
Cissy Wellman, who plays Josey's wife, is the daughter of
director William Wellman.
Will Sampson, who plays Ten Bears, is best known for
playing the Chief in ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST.
Len Lesser (Abe) later had a recurring role as Uncle Leo
on the TV series SEINFELD.
Orson Welles, in an appearance on theMERV GRIFFIN SHOW,
said of THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES, "When I saw that picture
for the fourth time, I realized that it belongs with the
great Westerns. You know, the great Westerns of Ford and
Hawks and people like that!!" |
- Attractive Retail Box
-
Genre: Westerns, Civil War, Drama, Vengeance,
Western, Recommended
- Rating:
14A (Canadian Home Video Rating)
- Starring:
Sam Bottoms, Chief Dan George, Clint
Eastwood, Chief Dan George, Sondra Locke, Bill
McKinney, Woodrow Parfrey, Paula Trueman, John Vernon
- Directed By:
Clint Eastwood
- Release Information:
-
Studio: Warner Studios
- Theatrical Release Date: June 30, 1976
- DVD Release Date: May 18, 2004
- Run Time: 135 minutes
- Production Company: Warner Home
Video
- Package Type: Snap Case
- Clint Eastwood Collection
- Dual-Layer Format
- DVD Features:
- Encoding:
Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only).
This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other
countries.
- Aspect Ratio(s):
- Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1
- Available Audio Tracks:
- English (Dolby Digital 5.1
Surround)
- French (Dolby
Digital Mono)
- Languages:
English and French
- Available Subtitles: English,
French and Spanish
- Closed Captioned:
Yes
- Bonus Features:
- All-New
Digital Transfer
- Soundtrack Remastered in Dolby
Digital 5.1
Surround
- 1976 Documentary
Eastwood In Action
- Introduction by Clint
Eastwood
- Production Notes
- Theatrical Trailer
- Interactive Features:
- Scene Access
- Interactive Menus
|