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Thunderbolt And Lightfoot [1974]


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

Jeff Bridges actually corralled an Oscar nomination for his spirited, oddball performance in the genre-crime story Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, directed by first-timer Michael Cimino who (a short two films later) would bring down a studio with Heaven's Gate. Clint Eastwood plays a bank robber par excellence with a flair for explosives who is being hunted by his former partners, who think he has their loot from their last job. Bridges is his eager apprentice and sidekick, who helps him escape; when Eastwood finally makes peace with his hunters, Bridges convinces them to try a daring robbery--but things inevitably go awry. The relationship between Eastwood and Bridges is both funny and touching in this, one of Eastwood's better post-Dirty Harry efforts. --Marshall Fine


big letdown
Review date: 2008-06-02 Rating: 2 out of 10

I have to agree with one of the reviewers on here.The film is a fantastic buddy movie,and one of my favourite Clint films.But the film transfer is a 4.3 letterbox version and a complete waste of money for a great movie.
The info for the film didn't say whether it was a widescreen or not, so it was a surprise to see it's 4.3 letterbox.A great shame.

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Reviews


Non-anamorphic
Review date: 2008-02-21 Rating: 2 out of 10

This 2003 DVD edition is letterbox/non-anamorphic. That means if you watch it on a widescreen TV, you get thick black bars left, right, top and bottom. Or use your TV remote to zoom in, but then you get a picture quality that's worse than VHS.

It's about time publishers took letterbox/non-anamorphic DVDs out of circulation.

"You stick with me kid. You're gonna live forever."
Review date: 2007-12-15 Rating: 6 out of 10

This 1974 caper movie manages the neat trick of both delivering what the audience wants and subverting their expectations at the same time. Clint Eastwood plays a crook on the run from ex-partners in crime George Kennedy and Geoffrey Lewis (often hysterically funny here) who teams up with Jeff Bridges' extrovert drifter to retrieve the loot from a previous robbery only to find his old accomplices tagging along and things - naturally - not going at all to plan. It's an almost perfectly judged mixture of comedy and action with both feet firmly on the ground in a way that would be almost unthinkable today. There's a real rapport between the outstanding cast and an affection for the characters that adds to the impact of the very Seventies ending. Writer-director Michael Cimino handles the mood swings adeptly and even injects a subtle undercurrent of sexual ambiguity that never gets in the way of the entertainment: this was a terrific movie in 1974, and if anything it's an even better one today. The transfer isn't great, but it is in the original 2.35:1 widescreen ratio.

Perhaps a little too 'buddy-buddy'!!!
Review date: 2006-11-21 Rating: 10 out of 10

Thunderbolt and Lightfoot is an excellent film and certainly a classic from Eastwood's acting career (the film was written and directed by Michael Cimino).

The basic story is a fairly standard crime, heist, road movie, and on the face of it, not bad at that. However, and I'm surprised nobody has commented on this in previous reviews, the quality of this movie as story-telling and film-making is in the less than subtle sub-text: they're all gay!

I'll leave it to you to discover the references to the sexuality of all four of the crooks but they are there for you to see. Taking this aspect of the story on board elevates the movie to another level of fascination and really exemplifies the qualities of the cast and direction.

One very important feature to observe is the handling of the different relationships of the two pairs of crooks: Thunderbolt and Lightfoot and Leary and Goody ('Goody' being a Puritan term for 'Wife').

This film is an interesting mix of genre and theme and some fine, if slightly over the top, performances. Michael Cimino has done very little better (see The Deer Hunter) and has certainly done a lot worse (don't see Heaven's Gate!).

The DVD itself is completely devoid of extras (I don't include the Theatrical trailer as an extra), however, the film alone is a gem.

Clint and Jeff at their best
Review date: 2004-11-05 Rating: 8 out of 10

Great, great movie. Has all the ingredients one expects of a Clint Eastwood movie. Jeff Bridges almost steals the show with his portrayal of the young drifter "Lightfoot" who meets up with an older drifter the "Thunderbolt" (name given him by a newspaper after a robbery where the money had never been recovered). Lots of action some amusing scenes - especially when Jeff dresses up as a sexy female and another where a family have all been bound and gagged, the parents manage to get to their daughters bedroom door and find her gagged and tied to a boy, both naked, there without their knowledge! Makes you chuckle at their predicament. Has a few quite violent interludes as well.
All I can say is buy it and enjoy repeated viewings.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Clint Eastwood
Gary Busey
Jeff Bridges
Catherine Bach
Geoffrey Lewis

Creators:
Clint Eastwood (Primary Contributor)
Jeff Bridges (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: MGM Entertainment
Manufacturer: MGM Entertainment
EAN: 5050070010305
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Mono, PAL, Subtitled, Widescreen,
Release date: 2003-07-21
Number of discs: 1
Audience rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 110 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1974-09-04
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: Arabic (Original Language)

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