The Outlaw Josey Wales

I guess we all died a little in that damned war.

The Outlaw Josey Wales is directed by Clint Eastwood, who also stars as Wales, and is adapted by Sonia Chernus & Phil Kaufman from the novel "The Rebel Outlaw: Josey Wales" written by Forrest Carter. Joining Eastwood in the cast are Chief Dan George, Sondra Locke, Bill McKinney, John Vernon & Paula Trueman. Music is by Jerry Fielding and Bruce Surtees photographs on location in Utah, Arizona & Wyoming.

We are at the very end of the American Civil War and Josey Wales is a contented family man working on his Missouri farm. But his peaceful world is shattered when Union soldiers raid his home and murder his wife and child. Surviving the attack, Josey takes up arms with a group of Confedera...

One of the Great Westerns

The Civil War is over and the remaining rebels in Missouri are encouraged to turn over their weapons and pledge loyalty to the Union, but Josey Wales (Clint Eastwood) hold out and thus a generous reward is put on his head. Josey heads to West Texas and maybe Mexico to find sanctuary, but will he make it alive? The cast includes the likes of Bill McKinney, John Vernon, Sondra Locke, Chief Dan George, Sam Bottoms and Will Sampson.

The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) is Eastwoods best Western and a standout of the genre. Everything clicks for a top-of-the-line drama/adventure. A critic said that Wales encounter with the Federals in the first act establishes him as invincible and thus destroys any sense of susp...

A little overlong, though 'The Outlaw Josey Wales' is an entertaining watch - with cool action sequences and a pleasing ending.

You have a strong performance from Clint Eastwood and good support showings from the likes of Chief Dan George and John Vernon. The plot is interesting and the road-esque nature of it keeps it moving well. I do think they could've trimmed the run time slightly, while Eastwood's character really didn't need to spit so much - on a dog and some insects, no less. Just bizarre, it adds zero and simply becomes an irritation.

A sequel, without the involvement of Eastwood, was released ten years after this - I'm intrigued to check it out.