The Outlaw Joesy Wales (1976)

By now, everyone's aware of my Eastwood infatuation. Suffice to say, The Outlaw Josey Wales is terrific. It's a while since I've seen the man himself in a western, and this one is also directed by Eastwood, who took over directorial duties from Philip Kaufman early in the production process. Based on the 1972 novel The Rebel Outlaw: Joesy Wales (later changed to 'Gone To Texas') we see Joesy Wales' (Eastwood) family murdered by Union militants in a pre-credit sequence. Wales then joins a Confederate guerrilla band and makes a name for himself as a feared gunslinger, hell bent on revenge, before events conspire to leave him on his own. Soon after, he befriends an Indian man and tries to evade capture, now an infamous outlaw. The first half an hour or so drags a little as the film tries to shoehorn in a comedy style that doesn't fit, but it quickly shakes this off as it moves into sweeping western mode, and I found myself laughing several times as you grow to thoroughly enjoy the characters company in the second half. The action sequences are terrific, and the two hours flew by. It's not quite in the same league as Unforgiven (1992) or The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966) but then again, very few westerns are I guess. 7.5/10