Watch The Outlaw Josey Wales For Free

Best movie of this year hands down!

Fresh and Exciting

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Blistering performances.

This is one of the all time great "dark" westerns out there. Clint Eastwood is at his best as an actor (and I think he also directed this?) Anyway if you like westerns check this one out, great drama and action and he is awesome as Josey Wales in this.

In "The Outlaw Josey Wales," you can start to feel the Western moving beyond its roots and into new, more dramatic territory. The genre enjoyed a decades-long run in the early- to mid-20th century between the classics and Clint Eastwood's Spaghetti Westerns, and in "Josey Wales," in the twilight years of Westerns, Eastwood contributes to the emergent trend of Revisionist Westerns, tearing these stories from their conventions, or perhaps, applying their conventions to earnest stories about salt-of-the-earth people."Josey Wales" is technically a "Mid-Western," taking place in the Missouri-Kansas area in the wake of the Civil War. When Union Jayhawks burn his home and kill his family, Wales joins a ragtag group of Confederates. At the war's end, he refuses to surrender, a decision that pays off when his compatriots are massacred by the same Union soldiers. Wales retaliates, and a large bounty is placed on his head. As he attempts to outrun them en route to Texas, he collects new companions including a Cherokee man (Chief Dan George) and an old Kansas woman (Paula Trueman) and her granddaughter (Sondra Locke).Although Eastwood is playing a character somewhere in between The Man with No Name and Dirty Harry, presumably for reasons of commercial appeal, "Josey Wales" participates in the revisionist tradition of rewriting the clichés of Westerns, especially in regards to its Native American characters. They are multi- dimensional and integral to the movie. Chief Dan George's Lone Watie is easily the film's best character. And let's not forget that this is a Western with a few actual female characters, ones who even speak up and fire guns.Despite earning those points, the film's narrative is a little disjointed. It plays like an epic with supporting characters ducking in an out, though it's Eastwood who leaves the impression every time. Philip Kaufman, adapting Forrest Carter's book alongside Sonia Chernus, has a real gift for ending a scene, usually in a sharp, humorous way with a terrific one-liner. It's easy to see the way this film translated to the success of Harrison Ford and the "Indiana Jones" series not much later.For all the clever and profound moments spread throughout the film, Eastwood never quite finds the tension or at least the weight to the events on screen. The stakes don't feel particularly high, even with the effective jump-cut flashbacks to his family dying before his eyes. His success comes mostly in experimenting with different camera angles and framing, much in the way Sergio Leone did early on. Eastwood was still in the early years of his directing career and it's apparent in the way some shots show a keen eye and others don't seem to serve much purpose. All that said, it's hard to say what credit Kaufman deserves as director, as he left mid-production due to off-set romantic tension involving him, Eastwood and Locke. Regardless, cinematographer Bruce Surtees, who worked with Eastwood a lot in the '70s, creates a very rich picture that really holds up nicely."Josey Wales" is by and large a good viewing experience, with glimpses of insight and strong production values. More than those things, however, is how it stands as an example of a movie star doing what he does best while also pushing the genre that birthed him in positive new directions. Intermingling with its classic Western tendencies are ideas of what loyalty means in terms of country, kin and even the stranger, as well as who holds authority in a divided land trying to heal. Other movies that came later on did it better, but "Josey Wales" played a part in initiating that decisive shift. ~Steven CThanks for reading! Visit Movie Muse Reviews for more

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.

I grew up in a household where Clint Eastwood and John Wayne were the norm. I have seen countless westerns over the years, but I have to say that my all time favorite is The Outlaw Josey Whales. It is Eastwood at his bad ass best. No one is faster, tougher, smarter, or delivers better one liners than Mr. Josey Whales. "You boys gonna pull them pistols or whistle Dixie." Eastwood made a lot of great westerns that I wish had blu ray quality. But out of all of them, The Outlaw Josey Whales ranks number one. What a great supporting cast too. Chief Dan George is awesome, and it's John Vernon's best role. I can't believe it's been 40 years since it came out.