Clint Eastwood's second western as both star and director (the first was 1973's HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER) gets a 4K UHD release in both regular and steelbook editions from Warner Bros.
The American Civil War is nearing its end. Before it does Missouri farmer Josey Wales's (Eastwood) wife and son are killed and his house burned to the ground by raiding Union soldiers. Wales becomes a soldier but when the war finishes he refuses to surrender, which is just as well as the rest of his unit are massacred in a betrayal, with only his old commanding officer Fletcher (John Vernon) allowed to remain alive to then pursue Wales.
Josey makes his way down through Texas with the intention of heading to Mexico. Along the way he picks up a rag tag group of followers and hangers on that include elderly Cherokee Lone Watie (Chief Dan George), a Navajo woman, Moonlight, (Geraldine Kearns), a dog and various others. All the while he is being pursued not just by Fletcher and the Union army but by bounty hunters keen to pick up the reward on his head. He eventually settles in an abandoned ranch with his group but the harsh American west has not yet finished with him.
Noticeably different in style to HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER and indeed to what could be considered the 'classic' American western, THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES is an epic in the true meaning of the word - the story of the lengthy journey of a single man and the challenges he has to face. Wales himself is not the typical American western hero, either, preferring to avoid violence and finding peaceful solutions whenever possible (of course sometimes there isn't one). At well over two hours it really is quite the sprawling epic tale, but it justifies its length and the pacing never feels sluggish.
Warners' 4K looks fantastic, with an image so crisp you'd swear the film could have been made yesterday. Extras include a commentary track from Eastwood biographer Richard Schickel, and two archival pieces: Eastwood in Action (8 minutes) from when the film was made and a Making Of from 1999 that runs about half an hour and is narrated by John Milius.
New extras include An Outlaw and a Hero (7 minutes) in which academics discuss the character of Josey Wales, and Cinematograph of an Outlaw (8 minutes) in which the same team returns to discuss the work of DP Bruce Surtees on the movie) Finally, there's Clint Eastwood: Reinventing the Western which includes interview footage with Mel Gibson, James Mangold, Kevin Costner, Frank Darabont, Morgan Freeman, Martin Scorsese and Sir Christopher Frayling in a compact 18 minute journey through Eastwood's contributions to the Western genre.
Clint Eastwood's THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES is out on 4K UHD from Warner Bros. on Monday 28th April in both regular and steelbook editions.
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