Genre Guesstimation: The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)

The idea behind this feature (Genre Guesstimation) is for me to watch a bunch of new movies (or ones that I haven’t seen many times) from the chosen monthly GG genre in order to expand my knowledge of movies within that particular genre.

This month’s Genre has been chosen by Gavin of Mini Media Reviews and he has chosen the genre of Revenge Movies

Please get me your submissions by the 25th of August by sending them to gavinsrevenge@movierob.net

Try to think out of the box! Great choice Gavin!

Let’s see if I felt that this movie would be worthy of being in the company of my others favorite movies in the genre of Revenge Films.…

“Now remember, when things look bad and it looks like you’re not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean. ‘Cause if you lose your head and you give up then you neither live nor win. That’s just the way it is. ” – Josey Wales

Number of Times Seen – 1 (13 Aug 2017)

Brief Synopsis – After his family is murdered by Union sympathizers, a Missouri farmer joins a band of Confederate rebels in order to enact revenge on his family’s murderers.

My Take on it – This is a film that I’ve been meaning to watch for years and just never got around to it.

I’ve heard that this is considered among Clint Eastwood’s finest films as both director and actor and after having seen this finally, I can wholeheartedly agree.

That isn’t an easy statement to make since his filmography is so prolific and spans so many decades, but he truly does an amazing job with this one.

I loved the idea to have a man seeking revenge actually join in a war in order to enact as much revenge on the enemy as possible.

Once the war is over and he feels he has done enough, he is once again thrust into killing and fleeing since now, those he fought against want to get back at him for all he accomplished during the years prior.

Thankfully, he has his honed skills from earlier to help him and his companions stay alive despite the numerous people seeking to kill him.

The supporting cast is also great but the stand out is Chief Dan George who plays one of Eastwood’s companions.

The chemistry the two have together is really amazing and they act as if they have known each other for years due to the wisdom of both of the characters.

Loved the underlying themes of this film about what war can do to people and how even when a war is over, you can’t esily change the way people will think despite their side being the winners or the losers.

Bottom Line – Eastwood is great here, and the story of a man joining to fight in a war for revenge is a great idea. When he goes off to work on his own after the war, we can see how he feels that he has reached a peaceful place in his world, but due to his past, he cannot escape continuing to be hunted and therefore must continue to use his skills as a shooter to stay alive and keep his companions safe. Great supporting cast helps keep this interesting the whole time.  Especially loved the chemistry between Eastwood and Chief Dan George.  Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Josey’s two main handguns are Colt Walker 1847 Dragoon revolvers. They each hold six .44 caliber ball shots. The weapon features larger cylinder chambers to allow more powder to be placed in the gun, making them more powerful (thus, why it was so popular 20 years later). The Walker Colt’s one drawback was the weakness in the cylinder walls. If one broke, the whole weapon would blow up. This is referenced in Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven (1992). (From IMDB)

Genre Grandeur Worthy? – Most definitely. The character, plot and pacing makes this a great revenge film. One of Eastwood’s best, and that isn’t an easy statement to make.

Rating – Oscar Worthy

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