Review of Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) by Allan C — 31 Dec 2014

This is film that really made an impression on me as a kid and one that still hold up today. It's something of a mix of heist film and road picture. Clint Eastwood, Jeff Bridges, George Kennedy and Geoffrey Lewis team up, after some wacky series of events leading up to their plan.

Those events are pretty funny and involve memorable bit parts for Catherine Bach, Gary Busey, Bill McKinney (my favorite as a guy driving a car full of rabbits and a caged raccoon), Vic Tayback and Dub Taylor.

This film was Michael Cimino's directorial debut and his next film would be his masterful "The Deer Hunter." Cimino is one of those directors like Terry Gilliam or Orson Welles, who's reputations for extravagance and being difficult killed their careers and resulted in a sadly small filmography.

This film stands apart from any other of his films as his only foray into comedy, though this film is equal parts action and character drama. As for the cast, Clint and Bridges are a great team and both give terrific performances.

Kennedy is funny as the crotchety gangsters, as is Lewis as his flunkey. Overall, I see this film as something of a minor classic that is well worth revisiting.