[.ca] The Outlaw Josey Wales (Widescreen)

From Amazon.com essential video:
Clint Eastwood fired the original director, Philip Kaufman (The Right Stuff), and took over the reins of this project himself. He may have had a point: this brutal, thoughtful western, a near-tragedy about a Civil War veteran whose past comes looking for him, is probably Eastwood's most mature frontier drama prior to the Oscar winning Unforgiven. Hoping to build a quiet life in a cooperative community of settlers, Eastwood's Wales blames himself when his enemies attack the homestead, and he has to revert to his warrior instincts to help fend off the threat. The jittery intensity of Sondra Locke (who would be Mrs. Eastwood, at least for a while), and the screen-filling charisma of the late Chief Dan George harmonize beautifully with Eastwood, who had finally figured out how to add depth and texture to his stock-in-trade Man of Steel persona. This one may be too short on action to satisfy fans of Eastwood's Dirty Harry films, or of the Italian westerns he made with Sergio Leone, but it's an honorable effort. --David Chute

Amazon.com Essential Video:
Clint Eastwood fired the original director, Philip Kaufman (The Right Stuff), and took over the reins of this project himself. He may have had a point: this brutal, thoughtful western, a near-tragedy about a Civil War veteran whose past comes looking for him, is probably Eastwood's most mature frontier drama prior to the Oscar winning Unforgiven. Hoping to build a quiet life in a cooperative community of settlers, Eastwood's Wales blames himself when his enemies attack the homestead, and he has to revert to his warrior instincts to help fend off the threat. The jittery intensity of Sondra Locke (who would be Mrs. Eastwood, at least for a while), and the screen-filling charisma of the late Chief Dan George harmonize beautifully with Eastwood, who had finally figured out how to add depth and texture to his stock-in-trade Man of Steel persona. This one may be too short on action to satisfy fans of Eastwood's Dirty Harry films, or of the Italian westerns he made with Sergio Leone, but it's an honorable effort. --David Chute

Chronique amazon.fr:
Pour venger la mort de sa femme et de son fils, abattus par le capitaine Terrill, Josey Wales poursuit avec des Sudistes la bande de pillards appelée "Pattes rouges". Mais, le groupe est obligé de se rendre, à l'exception de Wales. Terrill part alors à sa poursuite. Sous des dehors parfaitement commerciaux et traditionnels, les films que signe Clint Eastwood manifestent le désir "d'aller plus loin", ne fut-ce que par la description critique (où l'humour a sa place) de la société américaine, et cela à travers une galerie de portraits plaisants. Josey Wales renoue avec une certaine idée virile de l'Amérique des pionniers et de l'optimisme en l'homme, une fois les "méchants" éliminés, s'entend ! Eastwood illustre à la fois son propre mythe et celui d'un western où les spaghettis se mêleraient aux classiques corn-flakes ! --Louis Roux

Additional features:
The Special Edition includes a behind-the-scenes documentary, the original theatrical trailer, and an all-new introduction by Clint Eastwood.

Eastwood has the union army surrounded:
Director: Clint Eastwood Format: ColorRated: Studio: Warner Studios Video Release Date: September 2, 2003 Cast: Clint Eastwood ... Josey Wales Chief Dan George ... Lone Watie Sondra Locke ... Laura Lee Bill McKinney ... Terrill John Vernon ... Fletcher Paula Trueman ... Grandma Sarah Sam Bottoms ... Jamie Geraldine Keams ... Little Moonlight Woodrow Parfrey ... Carpetbagger Joyce Jameson ... Rose Sheb Wooley ... Travis Cobb Royal Dano ... Ten Spot Matt Clark ... Kelly John Verros ... Chato Will Sampson ... Ten Bears William O'Connell ... Sim Carstairs John Quade ... Comanchero Leader Frank Schofield ... Senator Lane Buck Kartalian ... Shopkeeper Len Lesser ... Abe Doug McGrath ... Lige John Russell ... Bloody Bill Anderson Charles Tyner ... Zukie Limmer Bruce M. Fischer ... Yoke John Mitchum ... Al John Davis Chandler ... First Bounty Hunter Tom Roy Lowe ... Second Bounty Hunter Clay Tanner ... First Texas Ranger Robert F. Hoy ... Second Texas Ranger Madeline T. Holmes ... Grannie Hawkins Erik Holland ... Union Army Sergeant Cissy Wellman ... Josey's Wife Faye Hamblin ... Grandpa Samuel Danny Green ... Lemuel Kyle Eastwood ... Josey's Son Richard Farnsworth ... Comanchero Josie Wales' family was murdered and his home burned by union redlegs, so he joins Bill Fletcher's border raiders on the confederate side of the war and does his share of getting even. When Fletcher turns in his men for money (except Wales) and they are all killed, Wales becomes an outlaw on the run from union authorities. They hunt him clear into Mexico, where things come to a head. Josie Wales single handedly surrounds the entire union army and the Indian nations. This is a good story, well acted by all concerned, and very well directed by Eastwood, as are all of his films. Joseph (Joe) Pierre author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance and other books

Josey Wales - Fastest gunslinger in the West!:
Clint Eastwood's movie, The Outlaw Josey Wales, is a classic in the Western genre. This movie is one of the best Western movies that I have ever seen. The story of the movie goes like this. Josey Wales(Clint Eastwood) is a peaceful farmer in Missouri with a family in the middle of the Civil War. One day some Union Soldiers burn down his house (with his son in it) and kidnap his wife. Angry and Furious, Josey Wales joins some confederate guerillas and fights hard. When Confederacy surrenders, Josey Wales refuses and heads west. He travels to Texas and along the way picks up odd group: couple of Native Americans, an Old Grandmother, a beautiful woman and two servants. At the same time they are chased by Union soldiers. I will not reveal the story further. However, what makes this movie a classic is the depth and dimension to the characters and superb action. The character of Josey Wales is really complex. He turns from a peaceful farmer to a tobacco chewing, hell raising, gunslinger. However his humane side is seen through his hard attitude at times. He saves a native american girl from couple of scoundrels. He also saves travelers from another group of bandits. At the same time, he is a tobacco spitting hard man. Josey Wales spits on everything, from a scorpio to a union officer. The other characters are not as intensely developed, which is understandable since Josey Wales is the primary focus of the movie. The action in the movie is just amazing. I will summarize three great scenes which will make you, the reader, want to just watch the movie. In first scene Josey Wales is carrying food and confronted by four soldiers... In another one Josey Wales(and his six-shooter) all by himself is up against 10-15 bandits...In the last one, Josey Wales and his Six-shooter, go toe-to-toe against tens of horse-riding soldiers... I will leave the action for you to watch. Also this movie is directed by Eastwood himself. He is as good as a director as he is as an actor. FYI: This movie is based on the book "Gone to Texas".

Great film but watch it once only:
If you can watch this film over and over again then you must be incredibly stupid. Once was enough for me, buster!

Classic Clint!:
If you could only watch two of Clint Eastwood's westerns, "The Outlaw Josey Wales" and "Unforgiven" would by my choices! Chief Dan George and Clint have a chemistry that adds humor and depth to the main story line of revenge, retribution, and a journey for justice. Sandra Locke, with her doe-eyed innocence, adds a little gentle feminity to the picture. The movie is exciting, suspenseful and rewarding. No one is better as a wronged-man-evening-the-score than Clint Eastwood and this is one of his most memorable roles.

A Man Like Wales, Lives By The Feud:
Some 16 years before the Oscar laden and equally brilliant "Unforgiven", this movie is seen by many as one of Clint Eastwoods finest movies, particularly in the Western genre. Playing the title role himself, we meet Josey Wales, a quiet farmer, abruptly thrown into the civil war after his land and family are attacked by Union soldiers, who joins up with the confederate fight in an almost guerilla / mercenary way. The civil War aspect of the story is little more than an opening skirmish however, as it is the subsequent fugitive aspect of the character that moves us through most of the picture. I have to disagree with those that think this is just a revenge movie, or that a single viewing is all one can manage, as the story unfolds in a multi faceted way with each succesive viewing, despite the viewer knowing the ending. Wales comes to be the guiding scout and protector to an unlikely and very mixed bag of characters (all played with sound realism)as he is continually and almost reluctantly hounded by his former ally Fletcher. Charged with hunting him down, Fletcher (played with a salty almost poetic grace by John Vernon) must accompany a band of "red leg" Union soldiers, with more than questionable morality, to the border and this long pursuit helps the picture move at an even pace. Add some interesting subplots, commancheros, some imaginative and lively characters (with many of Eastwoods regular screen stars in various roles)and the overall effect is just right, without trying to be moralistic. Often brutal in it's depiction of the "wild" west, and at times graphically violent keeps the deserved R rating, but some moments of comedy and pathos bring an unmistakable Eastwood handprint of direction, without overtaking the excellent story or script. Already widely received as a classic piece of filmaking, it has stood the test of time extremely well, and has become one of the movies that have benchmarked the genre since it's release almost thirty years ago. Extremely enjoyable movie.