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Clint Eastwood, Jeff Bridges, George Kennedy, Geoffrey Lewis, Catherine Bach ... see more see more... , Gary Busey , Alvin Childress , Jack Dodson , Gene Elman , Cliff Emmich , June Fairchild , Burton Gilliam , Roy Jenson , Karen Lamm , Claudia Lennear , Bill McKinney , Stuart Nisbet , Leslie Oliver , Luanne Roberts , Vic Tayback , Dub Taylor , Titos Vandis , Gregory Walcott , Erica Hagen , Mark Montgomery , Virginia Baker

As much an eccentric character study as a road movie, Michael Cimino's directorial debut follows the adventures of a quartet of misfits in their life of crime. Retired thief Thunderbolt (Clint Eastwoo... read more read more...d) and sweet drifter Lightfoot (Jeff Bridges) meet cute when Thunderbolt jumps into Lightfoot's stolen car to escape a gunman. The pair embarks on an oddball journey to get Thunderbolt's loot from an old robbery before his former associates, the sadistic Red (George Kennedy) and cretinous Goody (Geoffrey Lewis), get to it first, but all four are too late; the one-room schoolhouse hiding place has apparently vanished. So instead, the four play house and work legit jobs while they plot to rob the same place Thunderbolt and Red hit before. Although the plan goes awry, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot discover that they may still have succeeded-or so they think. As the easy-going mediator between the two, Eastwood's Thunderbolt was a move away from his tough cop-westerner image; his audience accepted this then-atypical performance enough to turn Thunderbolt and Lightfoot into a moderate hit. Bridges received his second Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination, but Cimino turned down a subsequent deal with Eastwood, moving instead to his artistic peak with The Deer Hunter (1978) and career nadir with Heaven's Gate (1980). ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

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69% liked it

7,987 ratings

Critics

86% liked it

22 critics

R, 1 hr. 54 min.

Directed by: Michael Cimino

Release Date: September 2, 1974

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DVD Release Date: June 13, 2000

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Stats: 364 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (364)

  • mjgildea
    November 25, 2008
    mjgildea
    Thunderbolt and Lightfoot is a pretty solid movie that doesn't quite live up to expectations but is definitely worthy of being called an underrated classic. It's a surprisingly laid back movie with great chemistry between Eastwood and Bridges. The first half with all its randomne... read moress before the heist gets planned was the stronger part of the movie. And the job sequences were pretty fun too. The cast is generally great and I can't decide if Gary Busey was creepier now or then. The ending's kind of a downer but the scenery and cinematography more than make up for it. And I never thought I'd say that Jeff Bridges makes a pretty girl but he was doing something right...
  • garyX
    August 6, 2008
    garyX
    Cocksure drifter Jeff Bridges forms a bond with ex-bank robber Clint Eastwood and they hatch a plot to rob an armoured depository. One of Clint's lesser known efforts, this is a solid buddy cum heist movie with an unusually laid back tone. The cast of 70s stalwarts are all good, ... read moreparticularly the relationship between wise ass Bridges and brutal sociopath George Kennedy with whom they form an uneasy alliance. There's a lot of easy going comedy embellished with period Americana and a cast of characters that are quirky without trying too hard. The films attitude towards women can be described as "quaint" at best and it's not one for the action junkie, but it has a nice downbeat ending to counterpoint the comic tone of the rest of the film and it's worth seeing for the redneck with a car boot full of rabbits alone!
  • jabcdef
    October 23, 2007
    jabcdef
    Great, great movie. Eastwood and Bridges in fine form. Interesting script, with some depressing moments and a moving ending. Watch out for the naked woman too!
  • deano
    October 29, 2006
    deano
    A crisp, witty, tough and superby cast caper movie.
  • Dannyrovira
    January 14, 2012
    Dannyrovira
    A smashing directorial debut for Michael Cimino who also wrote the spirited screenplay of this tough extremely enjoyable crime melodrama. Clint Eastwood and a young Jeff Bridges make a dynamite team, they have a breezy chemistry together. Clint Eastwood delivers a cool superlati... read moreve performance as a prairie preacher and ex-veteran thief, John "Thunderbolt" Doherty, a member of an earlier heist where the money was hidden and never recovered, he has been hiding out from his former partners. Eastwood meets a fun-loving drifter named "Lightfoot" who is game for anything, Jeff Bridges gives a luminous scene-stealing performance that earned him his first Oscar nomination, Bridges is at his quirky best here. They strike-up a friendship and decide to pull a heist, with the help of two previous associates, played superbly by a menacing George Kennedy as Red Leary, and a very funny Geoffery Lewis as Eddie Goody, special kudos must go to George Kennedy performance, his villainous character is one of the meanest S.O.B. in screen history. Well-choreographed action and stunningly beautiful cinematography by Frank Stanley. Exquisite supporting performances by Gary Busey, Catherine Bach, Dub Taylor; and a standout turn by legendary character actor Bill McKinney. A well-crafted exciting film with equal moments of hilarity and pathos. Highly Recommended.
  • kingmob6
    March 15, 2012
    kingmob6
    I remain stuck in the '70s this year, as at least a full quarter of my viewing has come from that decade, from classics to trash cinema, I certainly seem to be filling in a lot of gaps in my film knowledge.

    Eastwood and Bridges are a fun pair, especially once they determine to p... read moreull a heist with Eastwood's old gang, though they are the type of thieves that're forced to hold down day jobs to bankroll this latest caper.

    Recommended and very much of the time, in which you can be your own man, but only so far, because 'the man' or someone like him will put you back in line, or put you down altogether.
  • KassandraVictoriaOrgasm
    June 8, 2011
    KassandraVictoriaOrgasm
    Wow! What a great crime movie! What a panoramic ending shot! Really, this is one of the best movies of the decade in which it was released.
  • rnelsonbaseballfan
    September 5, 2010
    rnelsonbaseballfan
    What else need be said? Eastwood and Bridges along with George Kennedy really make a great movie. Great story line the weapons used are mag-nificent. If your into to classic action and Eastwood tonight watch this baby.
  • mpghoul1973
    November 30, 2009
    mpghoul1973
    Michael Cimino's first film is total gold. This is one of the better 'buddy' films ive seen. Right from their first chance encounter to the end, the chemistry is awsome between Bridges and Eastwood. Both are hilarious. And the scenes with Bridges and Kennedy had me laughing pret... read morety hard too. There are several moments in the film of total insanity. The whack job with the caged racoon and rabbits is laugh out loud genius. The heist at the end has nail biting tension. I cant think of one bad thing about this one. It was for me a perfect movie. Waaay better than expected! And hey, its got Vic Tayback!!
  • TurkishStain
    March 11, 2009
    TurkishStain
    Cimino's first and best work, Clint and Bridges work well together in a slightly bizarre yet absolutely entertaining heist flick that has one of the more sad endings that I can think of. Dig that scene with the bunnies in the truck, out of nowhere yet absolutely great.

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Critic Reviews

Variety Staff
May 6, 2008
Variety Staff, Variety

Debuting director Michael Cimino obtains superior performances from Clint Eastwood, George Kennedy, Geoffrey Lewis and especially Jeff Bridges. Full Review

Howard Thompson
May 9, 2005
Howard Thompson, New York Times

The Eastwood team has pulled off a modest enjoyable winner. Full Review

Dave Kehr
January 1, 2000
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

Cimino was already making an aesthetic of inarticulateness, and the film is by turns surly, incoherent, and provocatively mysterious. Full Review

Pablo Villaca
May 30, 2010
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena

Eastwood e Bridges estabelecem uma boa dinâmica, mas é este último, com uma composição jovial e inconseqüente, quem dá alma a um filme menor, mas ainda assim divertido.

Ian Freer
May 6, 2008
Ian Freer, Empire Magazine

Eastwood is in good, if not great form, Bridges steals the whole show, and Cimino displays a sense of unpretentious fun and appealing grasp of character that should have held him in good stead for a l... Full Review

May 6, 2008
TV Guide's Movie Guide

A multifaceted caper film told in fine detail with richly developed characters. Full Review

Rob Gonsalves
April 9, 2007
Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com

Cimino is so into making his images glow that he forgets to make the film move. Full Review

June 24, 2006
Time Out

The likeable result, made for and with the personnel of Eastwood's Malpaso Company, looks like a throwaway Eastwood vehicle. Full Review

Clint Morris
March 11, 2006
Clint Morris, Moviehole

A fun classic, the likes of which they don't make anymore

Michael A. Smith
January 1, 2005
Michael A. Smith, Nolan's Pop Culture Review

Early Cimino shows promise to come.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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