beckr1 "Are you gonna pull those pistols or whistle Dixie?" To some of us, we quietly get together in closed-door sessions and hushed tones and truly believe that this is the greatest western of all time. It certainly is Clint Eastwood's favorite movie. However, for the sake of our classic western fans, I put it in third place. It has stood the test of time and true Western fanatics quote lines from this movie. "Not a hard man to track. Leaves dead men wherever he goes." Eastwood runs the full gamut of his emotions and turns in a great job of acting including spittin' chaw on everything that moves. Rottentomatoes.com has a perfect 100% score on the critics "Tomatometer" with Roger Ebert stating, " Eastwood is such a taciturn and action-oriented performer that it's easy to overlook the fact that he directs many of his movies -- and many of the best, most intelligent ones. Here, with the moody, gloomily beautiful photography of Bruce Surtees, he creates a magnificent Western feeling." It was also one of the few Western movies to receive critical and commercial success in the 70's at a time when the Western was thought to be dying as a major genre in Hollywood. Orson Welles while on Merv Griffin and Johnny Carson proclaimed Josey Wales the best Western ever made and admitted to seeing it over 4 times!!! Jerry Fielding was nominated for an Oscar in the best motion picture score category. In 1996, this film was placed in the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in their National Film Registry. "Dyin' ain't much of a livin', boy."

Prismark10 Warner Brothers executive David Geffen was correct, the film needed to be trimmed a bit.The Outlaw Josey Wales has long been regarded as the last great western set during and in the aftermath of the American Civil War.Josey Wales, a Missouri farmer watched his family being murdered by Union militants. Hell bent on revenge, Wales joins a band of Confederate guerrilla fighters. After the war, all the fighters apart from Wales surrender to Union officers who massacre them.Wales becomes an outlaw and an ace marksman. He is pursued both by bounty hunters and Unionist soldiers. As Wales attempts to head for Mexico he is befriended by an old Indian, a mangy dog and a young Indian woman. Wales slowly regains his humanity.Philip Kaufman co-wrote the screenplay and was slated to direct the film. He was fired by Eastwood part way through. I think it would had been a better film with Kaufman.When you see a movie over forty years after its initial release, you see it differently. This is an elegiac film with a lot of humour between Eastwood and Chief Dan George. Despite the action set up, it moves at times at a leisurely pace.Kaufman was unhappy with the source novel's political stance. Once again we have a film set in the civil war where the Unionist soldiers are seen as despicable. The pro slavery Confederates being painted as honourable and wronged.I did have problems as to how Wales goes on from being an ordinary farmer to such a sharpshooter. There is also a libertarian message that seems to be more anti government which reflects Eastwood's views somewhat. The Indian nations might have little issues with such a message given how they kept losing their land. Does this also mean I have a right to keep this black man as a slave and the big bad government has denied me this right?

Uriah43 After his wife and son are murdered by a group of Redlegs from Kansas a farmer name "Josie Wales" (Clint Eastwood) teams up with others from Missouri intent on having their revenge. And since the Redlegs are allied with the powerful Union army, they join the Confederacy in an attempt to somehow lessen the odds against them. Unfortunately, the Union eventually wears the Confederacy which eventually forces the leader of the Missouri guerrillas named "Fletcher" (John Vernon) to discuss the terms of surrender. Although Fletcher accepts money for his efforts, what he doesn't know is that the treacherous Redlegs have no intention of honoring any deal and subsequently slaughter almost all of his men when he brings them in to surrender. What the Redlegs don't count upon is the fact that the most dangerous and deadly guerrilla of them all—Josie Wales—has opted not to surrender and having now witnessed the massacre of his colleagues is now even more determined to kill all of them. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that I believe that this is one of the finest Western movies ever produced. The plot moved along at a very entertaining pace and I especially enjoyed the humor provided by the old Cherokee warrior named "Lone Watie" (Chief Dan George). Be that as it may, those looking for a good Western from days gone by should certainly check this one out. It is extremely entertaining.

ivo-cobra8 Disclaimer: If you are a viewer that mainly prefers art-house-type movies, then you might as well ignore this review. In addition, if you're not able to take a Clint Eastwood's best classic western masterpiece film with a ton of great one liners , ignore this review, as well. We'll both be better off.The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) is another Clint Eastwood's direct debut after the success of High Plains Drifter (1974), The Outlaw Josey Wales is another western classics and Clint Eastwood's second best masterpiece that he directed! I love this film and it is my fifth favorite Clint Eastwood western movie. This is one in my top 5 Eastwood western films. I just love this movie to death and I love the story and the actors that it is in this film. Without any doubt, it is clearly one of the best westerns ever done, with a ton of great one liners! "you gonna draw those pistols, or whistle Dixie?". Clint is THE man! This is simply a superb western flick. The writing, acting, direction, production, It's just plain old solid in all aspects. And of course there's the classic one-liners that Clint's characters have been known for: "Aren't we gonna bury them guys, Josie"? asks the kid. "Buzzards gotta eat, same as worms" replies Josie. Classic Clint.Plot: An ex-Confederate soldier who returns home after the war to find his family murdered by a rogue group of Unionists. Refusing to surrender, he sets off on a path of lethal revenge, pitting him against his former commander.This is a classic western film set on the old wild west , the plot stars off after the end of the Civil war in USA, a soldiers that his family was murdered by the Union soldiers, doesn't surrender and flees all his friends dies by the end of war and they are double crossed. Josey Wales becomes an outlaw, who has to run away, he is pursed by Union soldiers and bounty hunters who want's him dead. This was the first time we see Sondra Locke working together with Clint Eastwood, she was his girlfriend during that time. They made 7 movies together and this was their first film together. Sondra started even in Sudden Impact (1983) in the fourth Dirty Harry franchise, she played Harry's love interest. Sudden Impact (1983) was their last film they worked together before they broke up in 1989. Still the movie has everything that I love about westerns, bounty killers, outlaws, union soldiers, Indians and a tons of shootouts.Everyone does amazing job, the pacing and acting is superb. No CGI or shaky cam, It is a film of portraying of how the old west really was. Clint Eastwood's "The Outlaw Josey Wales" is a strange and daring Western that brings together two of the genre's usually incompatible story lines. On the one hand, it's about a loner, a man of action and few words, who turns his back on civilization and lights out for the Indian nations. On the other hand, it's about a group of people heading West who meet along the trail and cast their destinies together. We meet his character, Josey Wales, just after the Civil War. He's an unreconstructed Southerner, bitter about the atrocities he's witnessed, refusing to surrender. When Northern troops cold-bloodily murder some of his comrades, he mows down the Yankees with a Gatling gun and becomes a fugitive. So far, we're on familiar ground; Eastwood plays essentially the same character he's been developing since the Dollar Westerns. He says little, keeps his face in the shadows, has an almost godlike personal invulnerability, and lives by a code we have to intuit because he'd die rather than explain it aloud.Eastwood's skill before and behind the camera connected with audience for it's humor and tenderness as well as its hair-trigger action. The editing is outstanding, the score is awesome. This is a Great film, However while this film may be one of my favorite westerns, my favorite is always and forever For a Few Dollars More. The dialogue as well as the camera angles, where superb. This movie is a great expression of western life. It speaks on so many levels yet retains its purity in telling a story of a man who lost his whole identity because the actions of cruel men in a war he did not start. Josey Wales is a man set on a path of reckoning and vengeance for the family and life he lost.Overall: I love this movie and it get's a perfect 10 by me. It is my fourth favorite Eastwood Western film that I will always watch it. The Outlaw Josey Wales is a 1976 American revisionist Western DeLuxe Color and Panavision film set during and after the American Civil War. It was directed by and starred Clint Eastwood (as the eponymous Josey Wales), with Chief Dan George, Sondra Locke, Sam Bottoms, and Geraldine Keams.10/10 Grade: Bad Ass Seal Of Approval Studio: The Malpaso Company, Warner Bros. Starring: Clint Eastwood, Chief Dan George, Sondra Locke, Bill McKinney, John Vernon, Paula Trueman, Sam Bottoms, Charles Tyner, Kyle Eastwood Director: Clint Eastwood Producer: Robert Daley Screenplay: Philip Kaufman, Sonia Chernus Based on Gone to Texas by Forrest Carter Rated: PG Running Time: 2 Hr. 16 Mins. Budget: $3.700.000 Box Office: $31,800,000