The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) is one of Clint Eastwood’s earlier directed films and is now being released for the first time in 4K by Warner Brothers. The gorgeous transfer presented in this home release will astound audiences who are fans of the film and astonish those who are not fans of westerns. As someone who is part of the latter category, I found myself intrigued by the movie itself but not blown away.
The film focuses on Josey Wales (Clint Eastwood) shortly after the Civil War. He’s been changed by the atrocities he saw and he refuses to give up or change anything about the life he fought for. However, a group of renegades enters his domicile and brutally murders his friend and family, so Josey does whatever he knows and what he can do — hunts them down and kills them, becoming a fugitive running from the law. He is gritty, doesn’t say an entire lot, and follows a code which we have to decipher, and it all changes when he meets some drifters and refugees, most notably Lone Watie (Chief Dan George), who shares the same outlook on life as Josey. These two characters juxtapose each other, and it’s quite honestly the charm of the movie — their similar yet different personalities and working with one another is why The Outlaw Josey Wales works.
A note of interest and intrigue though, is that, as mentioned about Dirty Harry, the restoration is incredible and allows the cinematography to shine bright throughout. Interestingly, these two mentioned Eastwood 4Ks and a third also newly-remastered title available now (Pale Rider) all share the same cinematographer in Bruce Surtees (who also worked on other Eastwood projects like High Plains Drifter), so it should be of no surprise that the presentation is flawless and spectacular as Surtees’s work is undeniable, despite never winning an Oscar and only receiving one nomination.
While having never seen the movie before, and not really knowing the genre of westerns well enough to weigh in how much this goes for or against genre stereotypes and typical fashion, between watching this and Pale Rider, Josey Wales feels like it is genre-centric and delivers on the fronts that are specific to westerns as a genre. However, even without loving the movie (due to the genre, as the story is not the issue but its rather the way it is presented, for my personal preference), it is, without a doubt, astounding to watch and witness in gorgeous definition with pops of colors allowing the rich scenes to shine and the darker lit scenes to not get muddled and appear distorted and dirty. This is truly an exceptional transfer through and through that will please fans of the movie and fans of Clint Eastwood alike.
It does seem that Warner Brothers is trying to add almost all, if not all, features from previous releases on these 4K releases as, similarly to Dirty Harry, it seems that all previous features are included along with two new features. The two new features come in at about 15 minutes combined, and neither are particularly life-changing, but new features are always welcomed and a nice feat. The first new feature is one called “An Outlaw and an Antihero,” focusing on the character of Josey Wales and the types of characters that Eastwood typically portrays. The other new feature is on Bruce Surtees entitled “The Cinematography of an Outlaw – Crafting Josey Wales,” which looks at Surtees’s cinematography in this feature as well as his relationship with Eastwood. Overall, the general presentation of The Outlaw Josey Wales, with the two new special features and the same lackluster art as Dirty Harry, will be absolutely adored by die-hard Eastwood fans and fans of the western genre due to the vibrance of the transfer.
The Outlaw Josey Wales Special Features:
- Audio Commentary featuring Richard Schickel
- *NEW* An Outlaw and an Antihero
- *NEW* The Cinematography of an Outlaw – Crafting Josey Wales
- Clint Eastwood’s West
- Eastwood in Action
- Hell Hath No Fury: The Making of The Outlaw Josey Wales
- Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy – Reinventing Westerns
Available on 4K UHD Blu-ray and digital April 29th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Warner Bros. Pictures The Outlaw Josey Wales webpage.
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Categories: Home Release, Recommendation
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