The Outlaw Josey Wales 1976
I got a digital copy of this movie in a bundle, but it was one of the better qualifying movies in the bundle based on reviews. I didn't think I had ever seen it before but as I started watching, a lot of it was familiar, so I must have seen it at some point. It is a good movie with a number of good scenes and some classic lines. There is a great supporting performance by Chief Dan George who played a similar role as a crazy, wise old native american in Little Big Man. In many ways this is a pretty grim movie with a lot of murders and rapes, but it mostly keeps things fairly tame in order to get a PG rating. Clint Eastwood does a great job with the role, a Confederate guerilla going after similar Union soldiers who murdered his family. They don't get into issues of the Civil War and the war ends early in the movie anyway, but it gets a lot worse when you find out it was based on a book written by a segregationist (and maybe worse). I didn't realize that until I had started the movie already. Despite the grimness of the movie and the ickiness of its pedigree, the movie balances things with some pretty funny stuff, great standoffs, and some mighty fancy shooting by Mr. Eastwood. Also, the movie generally looks great, my copy in 4k, and benefits from a lot of bright outdoor scenes. It unravels towards the end after picking up more and more characters and comes to what feels like an unlikely ending.
Written: 16 Oct 2025
Owned on: Digital