Excellent film from Eastwood and Phil Kaufman.
One of Eastwood’s best westerns, “The Outlaw Joseph Wales” benefited from an excellent screenplay by Phillip Kaufman(“The Right Stuff”, “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”). The film started with a troubled history. This was early in Kaufman’s career. He was meticulous in shooting the film and that, along with a romantic rivalry for Sandra Locke’s attention, drove a rift between the two. Eastwood had him fired and replaced him as director. The film was already running behind schedule and Eastwood, who was a mercurial director like his mentor Don Siegel, got the film back on track. This resulted in the “Eastwood rule” which prevented the firing of a director and the actor assuming the role of director (one of the reasons why Kurt Russell had to “ghost direct” “Tombstone”). Nevertheless, as good as Eastwood’s direction was, it was a missed opportunity to see Kaufman’s take on the material. It doesn’t change this excellent film. Based on a novel by a racist, the film escapes its origin and Kaufman brings a real sense of humanity to Wales in his script. Eastwood’s direction is excellent. Spoilers: Wales, a farmer who joined the army during the Civil War, becomes an outlaw seeking revenge against those who betrayed him and his compatriots at the conclusion of the war. Pursued by his old commander, Wales finds a bounty on his head. End of spoilers: The 4K from Kino looks terrific. The photography by Bruce Surtees (who had worked with both Kaufman and Eastwood before) creates a rustic, authentic look for the film that adds to the atmosphere. The HDR pass adds subtle co,or variations that enhance the film. Detail, depth and delineation are all exceptional. The audio sounds great with a. Ice presentation of the original mono soundtrack. The special features include two new featurettes one which focuses on the character of Wales and the other on Surtees excellent work. The audio commentary with Richard Schickel is very good. I do wish that, at some point, we could have seen someone convince Kaufman to come back and comment on Eastwood’s film vs. the one he planned to make but I doubt he was interested. There are three featurettes pulled from the blu-ray including a doc on the making of the film. There’s also an episode of “Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy” is included (it’s also on “Pale Rider” 4K). There is no blu-ray. An excellent film with sharp direction from Eastwood, a strong script from Kaufman and great casting, the film receives a top notch transfer that reflects Surtees “look” for the film. Highly recommended. Read more
