I can remember the first time I saw this movie, back when it
was first released and ended up playing at the local drive in. That drive in
was the only place to see movies in town so when word reached it was coming I
knew I’d be there. I wasn’t disappointed. The owner of the drive in would hold
posters for me and the half sheet on this one remains in my collection, a
perfect piece of movie poster art that captured the movie well. But while the poster
displayed star Clint Eastwood with his foot resting on a big gun it was about
more than that.
The movie kicks off with a panoramic shot of a wheat field,
a small country church on a Sunday morning off to the side. A car drives up and
we cut back and forth from outside of the church and a man about to enter to a
preacher (Clint Eastwood) delivering a sermon. The man enters, pulls out a gun
and begins shooting. This prompts Eastwood to run out the back and across that
field.
At the same time this is happening a young man (Jeff
Bridges) walks from train tracks to a used car lot. Talking to the salesman
he’s invited to sit in and listen to a sporty new car to see how powerful it
is. It is indeed and even more so when he speeds off the lot, stealing the car.
These two stories intertwine when Eastwood runs out of the
field into the road and is nearly hit by Bridges and attempts to jump into the
car. As Bridges tries to lose him he careens off into the field, hitting the
man chasing Eastwood. The pair drive off and a friendship is begun.
As things progress Bridges tells Eastwood his name is
Lightfoot and the two travel down the road together, stealing along the way and
swapping cars when needed. He lets Eastwood know he could see there was
something different about him and he wants to learn from him. When he discovers
the men chasing them were involved in a major bank heist years ago he remembers
the name of the man who operated a cannon to rob the bank, the Thunderbolt.
The pursuing ex-gang members eventually catch the pair with
plans to kill them. When they learn that the loot from the old robbery is gone
they back down. It’s then that Lightfoot suggest that they pull off the same
heist all over again. Who would ever suspect a group of thieves doing the same
heist using the same plan?
It isn’t just the story that makes this movie work although
there is more story going on here than in many movies being made today. It
isn’t just a heist movie. It’s a movie that talks about friendship, about
loyalty, about greed, about achieving a dream and it’s done in such a way as to
make what should be considered bad guys out to be a combination of killers and
anti-heroes. Many movies released at the time had that ambiguous lawbreaker as
the central character in their films. Burt Reynolds made a career out of it.
At the core of this film is the relationship between
Eastwood and Bridges. You get the feeling that in Bridges Eastwood’s character
sees himself when he was younger. Brash, mouthy and ready to take on the world
Bridge’s character is constantly joking with the others earning him the rancor
of gang member Red Leary (George Kennedy). A butting of heads is inevitable
between these two and you’re just not sure where that will lead. The
interaction between all four crooks, including Geoffrey Lewis as Eddie Goody,
makes you wonder at times if they can pull of the heist at all.
When this movie was made Eastwood was in the midst of seeing
his acting career rise to atmospheric proportions. Having just come off of the
first two Dirty Harry movies and leaping into both THE EIGER SANCTION and THE
OUTLAW JOSEY WALES just after this film, he was a mega-star. Bridges was on the
early cusp of stardom having done both THE LAST PICTURE SHOW and THE LAST
AMERICAN HERO before this movie. Their combined star power made this movie a
success before it hit the screen and the interplay between the two of them here
just pushed it over the top.
All of the performances seen here are great. Eastwood’s cool
demeanor, Bridges’ cocky youngster, Lewis’ bumbling sidekick to Red and
Kennedy’s anger driven criminal meld together to make the story work. While you
would never think of these four different people coming together to achieve
anything the fact that they did once and got away with it seems amazing. That
they could possibly do it again is even more questionable.
The movie was another landmark as well. It was the first
film directed by Michael Cimino. Having written the screenplays for both SILENT
RUNNING and MAGNUM FORCE this was his first film in that position. Four years
later his next film was released to stunning success. It was called THE DEER
HUNTER. While that movie raised his level in Hollywood his next film brought it
crashing down, the often discussed financial disaster HEAVEN’S GATE. To date
he’s only directed 8 movies which is a shame when you watch those that he’s
made. Hollywood isn’t a forgiving town though.
Twilight Time is releasing this movie in a limited edition
series. As with all Twilight Times films this means there are only a limited
number being made so if you want one make sure you get it now. The transfer is
amazing with a widescreen presentation that uses the full frame to tell the
story. The extras are small in number but it is the movie itself presented this
clear that makes this worth picking up. This one is a definite add to the
collection for all movie fans and Eastwood fans in particular.
Click here to order.
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