“CLINT
AND JEFFâ€
By
Raymond Benson
It’s
been 45 years since the release of Thunderbolt and Lightfoot. At the
time it seemed to be one of the better Clint Eastwood vehicles produced by his
company, Malpaso. Alas, the film has aged considerably along with both stars of
the film—Eastwood and Jeff Bridges (who was 24 at the time of its release).
The
picture was written and directed by the late Michael Cimino, who would later go
on to pick up Oscar gold for the The Deer Hunter (1978). Cimino got his
start with Eastwood, having co-written the script for Magnum Force
(1973) and then convinced the star to take on his original screenplay that he
had pitched prior to the making of Magnum. Cimino landed the job to
direct as well, and the planets aligned for the budding young talent.
It's
a Buddy Movie/Heist Flick/Road Picture/Action-Comedy about two common criminals—a
bank robber named Thunderbolt (Eastwood), and a drifter named Lightfoot
(Bridges)—who find each other by happenstance and become friends and partners. Complicating
matters is Thunderbolt’s old gang, headed by the vicious sociopath Red (George
Kennedy), who believes Thunderbolt ran off with the money from a previous
robbery at which many of their cohorts were killed. In truth, Thunderbolt hid
the cash in an old one-room schoolhouse—but when he went to claim the loot, he
found that the city had built a modern school in its place. Lightfoot convinces
Red to team up with him and Thunderbolt to pull off a more complicated heist as
a consolation prize. They are joined by Goody (Eastwood cast stalwart Geoffrey
Lewis) and the plan goes well… until it doesn’t.
Both
Eastwood and Bridges make a great team. Bridges (who received a Supporting
Actor Oscar nomination for his role) is so winning that he steals the movie.
Kennedy is also effective as the volatile heavy. The picture is full of the
kind of action (car chases, shoot-outs, fist fights) typical of Eastwood fare
in the mid-70s, as well as comedy. Unfortunately, a lot of the humor is at the
expense of women. This is sadly a sign of those times. Today, the bits of sexism
and chauvinism sprinkled throughout the picture are cringeworthy.
The
movie also suffers for playing too much to a blue-collar audience, much like
Eastwood’s later comedies, Every Which Way but Loose (1978) and Any
Which Way You Can (1980). There seems to be a sophomoric, redneck
sensibility to the characters and presentation that might have played well in
1974, but it comes off today as crass.
Nevertheless,
Kino Lorber’s new high definition 1920x1080p release looks sharp and colorful
(the location shooting in Montana provides gorgeous vistas). It is accompanied
by an audio commentary by film critic Nick Pinkerton. Supplements include a
near-half-hour featurette on the making of the movie with a rare audio
interview by the reclusive Cimino, the theatrical trailer, and a handful of TV
and radio spots.
For
Eastwood fans, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot is a cult film that does have a
lot going for it, especially the performance by Jeff Bridges, but viewers
should prudently place it within the context of when the picture was made and
released.
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