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The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)

tomatometer

94

Average Rating: 8/10
Reviews Counted: 35
Fresh: 33 | Rotten: 2

Recreating the essence of his iconic Man With No Name in a post-Civil War Western, director Clint Eastwood delivered the first of his great revisionist works of the genre.

60

Average Rating: 5.8/10
Critic Reviews: 5
Fresh: 3 | Rotten: 2

Recreating the essence of his iconic Man With No Name in a post-Civil War Western, director Clint Eastwood delivered the first of his great revisionist works of the genre.

audience

88

liked it
Average Rating: 3.9/5
User Ratings: 42,743

My Rating

Movie Info

Clint Eastwood's fifth film as a director and eighth Western as a star (ninth if you count Paint Your Wagon), The Outlaw Josey Wales chronicles the hero's violent journey westward after the Civil War. With fresh memoris of his family's slaughter by Red Leg soldier Terrill (Bill McKinney), Confederate Josey Wales (Eastwood) refuses to join his captain Fletcher (John Vernon) and the rest of his comrades in surrender to a U.S. Army regiment. Deemed a dangerous outlaw after a bloody one-man battle

PG, 2 hr. 15 min.

Western, Drama, Action & Adventure

Philip Kaufman, Sonia Chernus

Mar 30, 1999

Warner Home Video

Cast

All Critics (35) | Top Critics (5) | Fresh (38) | Rotten (2) | DVD (22)

All in all, a very creditable film.

August 8, 2011 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The screenplay is another one of those violence revues, with carnage production numbers slotted every so often.

July 6, 2010 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

[Eastwood] gets to the heart of the matter briskly, orchestrates his confrontations intelligently and gets off without lingering unduly over the resultant ugliness.

October 26, 2008 Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | Comment
TIME Magazine
Top Critic IconTop Critic

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.

October 23, 2004 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | Comment
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A soggy attempt at a post-Civil War western epic.

May 21, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comments (8)
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The remnants of war are fractious and far-flung in Clint Eastwood's impressive revisionist western, which looks as good as it ever will thanks to Warner Home Video.

June 27, 2011 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | Comment
Slant Magazine

An important movie in the maturation of Clint Eastwood as both actor and director.

June 25, 2011 Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | Comment
Creative Loafing

Though the story is pat...there's pleasure to be had in the memorable one-liners, the irreverent humor...and the Western action against the backdrop of frontier scenery. [Blu-ray]

May 30, 2011 Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | Comment

It's a powerful, revisionist, revenge Western with many unique touches.

June 5, 2009 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | Comment
Combustible Celluloid

An underrated early directorial effort by Clint Eastwood.

October 26, 2008 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | Comment
TV Guide's Movie Guide

An epic journey to redemption, set against a riveting portrait of a battered country.

October 26, 2008 Full Review Source: Film4 | Comment

Fun western character study

February 26, 2007 Comment

Demonstrated Eastwood's ability to recreate his first starring role, as the mythic Man with No Name of the Italian Westerns, and to subtly undercut it through comedy and mockery.

January 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment

Eastwood whups 'em again

October 10, 2005 Comment
Film Threat

One of Eastwood's earliest 5-star Western classics.

April 2, 2005 Comment
eFilmCritic.com

A top-notch Western.

October 2, 2004 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | Comment
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Eastwood's brooding, bloody masterpiece.

May 11, 2004 Comment
Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas)
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Outlaw Josey Wales

Clint Eastwood's The Outlaw Josey Wales is a near flawless Western with a great cast of actors. Directed by Clint Eastwood who also plays the lead role of Josey Wales, This is a classic Western that is packed with effective story telling, good action, memorable characters and above all, great directing. I very much

December 18, 2011
TheDudeLebowski65
Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski

Super Reviewer

A typical horse opera with Eastwood as the stranger you better not mess with, only different, yea charged, with the blithe spirit of Chief Dan George as the unlikely second banana, who manages to lift the usual proceedings single-handedly into 4 star territory.

July 22, 2007
moonrivers

Super Reviewer

    1. Josey Wales: Are you gonna pull those pistols or whistle Dixie?
    – Submitted by Francis L (6 days ago)
    1. Josey Wales: To hell with them fellas. Buzzards gotta eat, same as worms.
    – Submitted by Michael D. P (6 months ago)
    1. Josey Wales: Dyin' ain't much of a living, boy.
    – Submitted by Chris P (9 months ago)

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Foreign Titles

  • Der Texaner (DE)
  • The Outlaw Joesy Wales (UK)
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