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Clint Eastwood, Chief Dan George, Sondra Locke, Bill McKinney, John Vernon ... see more see more... , Paula Trueman , Samuel Bottoms , Geraldine Keams , Woodrow Parfrey , Joyce Jameson , Sheb Wooley , Royal Dano , John Verros , Will Sampson , John Quade , Bruce M. Fischer , Erik Holland , Buck Kartalian , Len Lesser , Doug McGrath , John Mitchum , Clay Tanner , Charles Tyner , Matt Clark , John Russell , Bob Hoy , Cissy Wellman , L. William O'Connell , Danny Green , John Davis Chandler

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.... read more read more... 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

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45,047 ratings

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94% liked it

35 critics

PG, 1 hr. 58 min.

Directed by: Clint Eastwood

Keywords: western

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DVD Release Date: March 30, 1999

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The Outlaw Josey Wales The Outlaw Josey Wales Cap'n Redlegs & Fletcher Josey Wales clint Clint as 'Josey Wales' Chief Dan George The Outlaw Josey Wales
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Flixster Reviews (1,989)

  • allan913
    November 18, 2012
    allan913
    One of the best westerns of all time. Another Eastwood Classic. Clint Eastwood is excellent, he delivers a thrilling performance and even more thrilling directional feature. A stunning and well-crafted western that delivers plenty of sensational shoot-ours and great humor. A fun ... read moreand exhilarating action-packed adventure. A great cast in some wonderful supporting roles just add more to love about this movie.
  • TheDudeLebowski65
    December 19, 2011
    TheDudeLebowski65
    Clint Eastwood's The Outlaw Josey Wales is a near flawless Western with a great cast of actors. Directed by Clint Eastwood who also plays the lead role of Josey Wales, This is a classic Western that is packed with effective story telling, good action, memorable characters and abo... read moreve all, great directing. I very much enjoyed this film, and though it's not as legendary as Sergio Leone's Westerns, this is still a classic of the genre. Clint Eastwood delivers a great performance alongside Chief Dan George. The Outlaw Josey Wales is a great tale of revenge and payback. I think it's a subject that suits Clint Eastwood well, and he doesn't disappoint. This is a well crafted film with a great cast, great performances and an engaging story. If you're a Clint Eastwood fan, then you really should give this one a shot. This is a superb Western, and it will please fans of the genre. I really enjoyed John Vernon's performance as Fletcher, the man hunting down Josey Wales. Both Eastwood and Vernon light up the screen, and it's what makes this film so good. Combine that with a great story, and you have yet another Western classic. If you enjoy exciting Westerns, then this is the film for you. The cast is great, and the story is always exciting, and the performances are top notch. The Outlaw Josey Wales is a great film, and directed by Clint Eastwood, you can expect an excellent film for sure. If you love Eastwood's work, then don't miss out on this one. A must see for Eastwood fans.
  • UniversalDreamer
    November 28, 2011
    UniversalDreamer
    A typical horse opera with Eastwood as the stranger you better not mess with, only different, yea charged, with the blithe spirit of Chief Dan George as the unlikely second banana, who manages to lift the usual proceedings single-handedly into 4 star territory.
  • cosmo313
    September 6, 2011
    cosmo313
    This film plays very fast and loose with both history and geography, but that aside, this is a very thrilling and rousing western adventure.

    The story concerns a Missouri farmer named Josey Wales who joins up with Confederate bushwhackers after Jayhawkers kill his family and de... read morestroy his farm. Once the war ends, the same man responsible for killing his family is also responsible for killing all of his fellow bushwhackers in a double cross when they decide to surrender and pledge loyalty to the Union. Wales, still bitter, decides not to surrender, but then finds himself the target of a manhunt after fighting back during the double cross.

    The rest of the film follows him as he makes his way out west to get on with his life, and meets up with an interesting assortment of people along the way, despite his desire to be left alone.

    Despite the aforementioned issues, this is a revisionist western that, in a surprising move (surprising for the 1970s) offers a rather sensible portrayal of Native Americans, by showing them in a way that isn't often seen enough in media depictions. The characters are interesting, pretty well developed, and the action is well done and shows the weariness that war can cause. I wasn't expecting the film to have any humor, but there's some really good gags here, and they actually fit in pretty well with the rest of the material.

    The cinematograpy is great, the sets and costumes rock, and it's all highly enjoyable. Give this one a watch. It's awesome.
  • axadntpron
    August 16, 2011
    axadntpron
    While not perfect by any means, Eastwood manages to pull off an anti-war western. It is superbly shot and visually very enthralling compared to many of his other works. While I cannot for the life of me understand why he always chose to work with Sandra Locke all of those years, ... read moreshe is actually pretty good here. What makes the film suffer is that Eastwood attempts to take on too much. Not only is he making an anti-war statement at the end of the Vietnam War, he also wants to say something about the Native American, and on top of this he throws in a love story. While all of these are great things to take on over a series of films, it is too much for one. Although it has it's share of imperfections, it is none the less a great watch.
  • SajinPA
    May 14, 2011
    SajinPA
    When Mr.Clintwood is out for revenge, you know there's no stopping him. The journey of Josey Wales is an epic ride filled with adventure, action and wit.
  • kenstachnik
    January 19, 2011
    kenstachnik
    Kind of like every western that came out of the 70's, and done really well, but Eastwood proves he's no Leone.
  • FilmFanatik
    January 13, 2011
    FilmFanatik
    A beautifully-shot harsh western that was made by an American in America in the '70s and not by an Italian film director for a change. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's what makes this particular film stand out. It's not exactly perfect (I felt it runs just a ... read morebit too long, particularly toward the middle) but it's a nice glimpse of what was to come a couple of decades later in "Unforgiven".
  • Tomassgringo
    November 6, 2010
    Tomassgringo
    I understand how Clint Eastwood built a career from portraying characters like this. His performance is great. The movie is a typical Western in that all the gunfights actually takes away from the story for me, but Westerns are my my favorite genre.
  • ythelastman89
    June 4, 2010
    ythelastman89
    Clint Eastwood does a great job at getting a very different looking western than you usually see, most of it taking place in Missouri. It also has a completely different pace then you might expect, it takes its time and gradually eases you into this very unique story. It's not ju... read morest a revenge tale, it's more about seeking justice and finding out what it means to become a legend. Josey Wales isn't the trigger happy gunslinger you might expect, he's a lot more human and compassionate. While this is not my favorite Clint Eastwood western, it's a great movie that doesn't seem to get enough credit.

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Critic Reviews

Dave Kehr
August 8, 2011
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

All in all, a very creditable film. Full Review

Variety Staff
July 6, 2010
Variety Staff, Variety

The screenplay is another one of those violence revues, with carnage production numbers slotted every so often. Full Review

Richard Schickel
October 26, 2008
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. Full Review

January 26, 2006
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. Full Review

Roger Ebert
October 23, 2004
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. Full Review

Richard Eder
May 21, 2003
Richard Eder, New York Times

A soggy attempt at a post-Civil War western epic. Full Review

Matt Brunson
June 25, 2011
Matt Brunson, Creative Loafing

An important movie in the maturation of Clint Eastwood as both actor and director. Full Review

Peter Canavese
May 30, 2011
Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews

Though the story is pat...there's pleasure to be had in the memorable one-liners, the irreverent humor...and the Western action against the backdrop of frontier scenery. [Blu-ray] Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson
June 5, 2009
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

It's a powerful, revisionist, revenge Western with many unique touches. Full Review

October 26, 2008
TV Guide's Movie Guide

An underrated early directorial effort by Clint Eastwood. Full Review

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Facts

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    • Josey Wales: Buzzards gotta eat too.
    • Fletcher: Don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining.
    • Lone Watie: This is a good place to die.
    • Terrill: Not a hard man to track. Leaves dead men wherever he goes.
    • Lone Watie: All I have is a piece of hard rock candy. But it's not for eatin'. It's just for lookin' through.
    • Josey Wales: Now remember, when things look bad and it looks like you're not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean. Cause if you lose your head and you give up then you neither live nor win. That's just the way it is.
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The Outlaw Josey Wales Trivia

  • Clint Eastwood stars as a Confederate Outlaw being hunted by Union soldiers who slaughtered his unit.  Answer »
  • In what movie does Clint Eastwood say "...you gonna pull those pistols, or just whistle Dixie..."?  Answer »
  • In which movie did Clint Eastwood portray an American Southerner seeking vengeance on the people who murdered his family and destroyed his farm?  Answer »
  • who played in these films? High Plains Drifter Million Dollar Baby The Outlaw Josey Wales For a Few dollars more Unforgiven  Answer »
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