The Outlaw Josey Wales
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The Outlaw Josey Wales
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This film has been preserved in the National Film Registry in 1996.
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The Outlaw Josey Wales is a 1976 American revisionist Western film set during and after the American Civil War. It was directed by and starred Clint Eastwood (as Josey Wales), with Chief Dan George, Sondra Locke, Bill McKinney and John Vernon. During the Civil War, Josey Wales is a Missouri farmer turned soldier who seeks to avenge the death of his family and gains a reputation as a feared gunfighter. At the end of the war his group surrenders but is massacred, and Wales becomes an outlaw, pursued by bounty hunters and soldiers.
Why It Rocks
- Among the movie stars of the modern era, no one's had as much impact as Clint Eastwood, but for nearly 30 years his work as an actor and director was unfairly criticized. He was at the forefront of the spaghetti Western genre, an international phenomenon in the 1960s, and originated one of the most indelible roles of the 1970s, Dirty Harry. He almost single-handedly kept the Western film tradition alive in the 1980s and 1990s, and he is one of the last adherents to the classical filmmaking style embodied by directors like Don Siegel.
- A quick, efficient filmmaker, Eastwood rarely indulges in complicated camera tricks or editing schemes. He prefers straightforward narrative devices, striving first for clarity (like Siegel), and took an appreciation for landscapes and an eye for offbeat character actors (from Leone). The faces in The Outlaw Josey Wales are as memorable as the film's expansive vistas. Critics at the time complained about the acting in Eastwood’s films, but in Josey Wales he displays both sympathy and affection for his cast, in particular Chief Dan George.
- What makes this film different from a lot of the other Westerns in theaters at the time, is the distinction of bridging two distinct eras: That of the classic Western - pictures by John Ford, Howard Hawks, Anthony Mann, etc.; and those of the New Hollywood that tolerated personal visions shot outside the structure of the studio system. Eastwood was far from the first of the new generation of filmmakers to make quality Westerns, but was among the first to use classically-held motifs of the Western (such as the lone hero who must stand apart from the civilization that he protects) and turn them on their head without entirely subverting them (like the 1971 film McCabe & Mrs. Miller), or injecting a new tone or approach that did not feel authentic for a Western milieu (like contemporary humor in the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid).
- A major difference from the novel it's based on, is the presence of Redlegs, the chief villains early in the story, throughout the film. (This change was created by Phil Kaufman). What had been an arbitrary plotline now had the sweep of an epic Western. Redlegs destroy Wales’s home and family, forcing him into a life of revenge during the Civil War. When the South surrenders, Wales heads West, searching for peace and hounded by his enemies.
- Critics tended to complain about the brutality and violence in Eastwood’s films, and after the release of Dirty Harry he was often accused of fascist tendencies, and worse. Leone’s films could veer into morally despicable moments; similarly, in his early pictures, Eastwood could misjudge the meaning and impact of his fistfights and shootouts. But Josey Wales offers a reasoned and for its time fairly liberal response to violence. Usually in these types of films, Josey's revenge story would drive the whole film, but this film's about more than that. It's about the journey.
- The titular protagonist is a man at war with himself, one who doubts his humanity, mourns his past, and kills the hated. During an interview, Eastwood stated that the film was a saga about his character and you actually get to know him. "Josey Wales is a hero, and you see how he gets to where he is - rather than just having a mysterious hero appear on the plains and become involved with other people's plights". While Josey Wales isn't a myth, he attains near-mythic status as a true, albeit exaggerated, celebrity/killer as the story progresses. Eastwood develops the character by bringing him full circle, from family man, to vengeful killer of men, and back to (reluctant) family man.
- Aside from Josey Wales himself, a lot of the other major characters are compelling and interesting as well, plus the loose family of survivors aid with the film's main theme, and showcase that Josey Wales that is outside civilization, like a classic Western hero, but still finds a family of other castaways and outsiders.
- There's Lone Watie (played by Chief Dan George), an old Cherokee man touched by his own loss of his tribe and trust in the words and deeds of the white man's government.
- There's also an abused Indian woman, a dog and the remnants of a family of settlers who were attacked by a band of marauders.
Bad Qualities
- Eastwood occasionally pushes the material too strongly, and at times doesn’t exploit situations fully.
Trivia
- The film's notable for introducing Eastwood to Sondra Locke, his costar in several future films.