Rating: 
Summary: Eastwood's most underrated film!
Review: In 1974, director Michael Cimino, who had helped write the script for MAGNUM FORCE, made his debut as director for THUNDERBOLT AND LIGHTFOOT. The result is a surprised combination of action, suspense, and comedy. Clint Eastwood plays John Doherty, a bank robber who is hiding from other members of his gang who think he ran away with the loot,(it is actually hidden behind a blackboard in a schoolhouse). After nearly being gunned down in his own church, Doherty takes off across a wheatfield, and literally runs into drifter Jeff Bridges,(Lightfoot) , who has just stolen a Pontiac. After getting Doherty out of trouble, the two begin a friendship that involves hookers, stealing cars, and running from Doherty's enemies.George Kennedy plays Red Leary, a member of Doherty's gang who eventually catches up with him. Geoffery Lewis plays Goody, Leary's sidekick. After cornering Doherty,(nicknamed Thunderbolt) and Lightfoot, Doherty convinces them that the money is gone, although he is unaware the schoolhouse had been moved. They all then decide to rub off the same bank because no one would suspect them of doing it again. The plans leading up to it are funny. I always liked the part where Kennedy tells off the snotty kid while they are planning their route in the ice cream truck. Bridges dresses in drag to fool the security guard. When the whole operation is done, the police still catch up with them, and all hell breaks loose. Still, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot escape and find the money stashed behind the moved schoolhouse on the side of the road. They then buy an expensive convertible and light victory cigars. What happens next is very sad, although I won't give that away. The movie is highlighted by beautiful Montana scenery and long quiet periods with no music, creating a relaxing and peacful setting that will please any action buff. Cimino was obviously off to a good start, and he would win an Oscar for DEER HUNTER 4 years later. This is the most underrated movie of Eastwood's career, and it shows him on the other side of the law and doing a very good job of it.
Rating: 
Summary: Buddy film about Bank Robbers.
Review: Jeff and Clint go surpriseingly well together in this film of two guys wanting to rob a bank and start new lives with the money.Comedy/adventure with a somewhat sad ending. Well worth waching.
Rating:
Summary: Buddy film about Bank Robbers.
Review: Jeff and Clint go surpriseingly well together in this film of two guys wanting to rob a bank and start new lives with the money.Comedy/adventure with a somewhat sad ending. Well worth waching.
Rating:
Summary: Caper Film That Defies Expectations
Review: Michael Cimino makes any effective directing debut with this surprisingly offbeat caper film. Just when you think you are getting a light-hearted heist flick the film takes some dark turns that will shock you. Cimino, also the writer of this film, has populated his film with colorful characterizations. Jeff Bridges is magnetic as Lightfoot and his enthusiasm seems to have rubbed off on the normally taciturn star Clint Eastwood. Good work is also delivered by George Kennedy as Red and Geoffrey Lewis as Goody, the other partners in the heist. Great Montana scenery photography here as well. Here's hoping that Hollywood will give another chance to Cimino to see if he has some more good work left in him.
Rating: 
Summary: One of Eastwood's most underated films.
Review: Not many people know of this lesser known Eastwood classic. Eastwood and Bridges both give great performances. Briges actually got his first Oscar nomination. Micheal Cimino's debut.
Rating:
Summary: One of Eastwood's best
Review: One of Clint Eastwood's best films, and also one of his most underrated and obscure. Michael Cimino made his directorial debut with this tough, funny action film that also has a surprisingly tender side represented in the relationship between Eastwood and Jeff Bridges. George Kennedy and Geoffrey Lewis are also fine in this offbeat caper film for which Bridges earned his second Oscar nomination (the first was for "The Last Picture Show").
Rating:
Summary: Clint Eastwood makes a good crook, too.
Review: Overlooked Eastwood gem has Clint as a thief on the run from former partners in crime (George Kennedy and Geoffrey Lewis), who mistakingly think he has the loot from their last heist ten years before. He hooks up with young drifter (Bridges) who's eager to join Eastwood in a life of crime. Clint finally convinces Kennedy and Lewis that the money was lost. Undaunted, the happy foursome decide to "re-pull" the same robbery. Great change of pace for Eastwood and Jeff Bridges all but steals the show. Great location shooting in Idaho and Montana and film hasn't lost any originality twenty seven years later. Even though they aren't cops, this is probably one of the first buddy films. Lots of action and laughs, and most definitely worth a look. Look for Gary Busey and Catherine Bach of "The Dukes of Hazzard". Eastwood and Kennedy returned the following year in "The Eiger Sanction."
Rating:
Summary: Clint Eastwood And Jeff Bridges Make One Heck Of A Pair!
Review: Released in 1974, "Thunderbolt And Lightfoot" starring Clint Eastwood, Jeff Bridges, George Kennedy and a host of other actors, is one of those movies that will have you glued to your seat (or couch) for the entire movie. Eastwood plays a bank robber named "Thunderbolt" and Bridges plays "Lightfoot" a young drifter. The beginning of the movie has Eastwood (who is giving a sermon in a small church) running from an old ex-con buddy and literally bumps into Lightfoot, driving a stolen white '73 Pontiac Trans-Am. The two of them are followed by yet another ex-con named Red Leary (played by George Kennedy) and his sidekick named Eddy Goody (played by Geoffery Lewis)who wants to get even with Thunderbolt for hiding some stolen cash from a heist that Leary and he had done years ago. Both Leary and Thunderbolt settle their differences and together the four end up planning on robbing the Montana Armory again the second time around. Who would ever suspect Leary And Thunderbolt? The movie is full of car chases and laughs (ex. Jeff Bridges is a riot dressed in drag in one scene) and the ending is quite a surprise. An all around excellent movie which has finally made it's way onto dvd. Recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Clint Eastwood And Jeff Bridges Make One Heck Of A Pair!
Review: Released in 1974, "Thunderbolt And Lightfoot" starring Clint Eastwood, Jeff Bridges, George Kennedy and a host of other actors, is one of those movies that will have you glued to your seat (or couch) for the entire movie. Eastwood plays a bank robber named "Thunderbolt" and Bridges plays "Lightfoot" a young drifter. The beginning of the movie has Eastwood (who is giving a sermon in a small church) running from an old ex-con buddy and literally bumps into Lightfoot, driving a stolen white '73 Pontiac Trans-Am. The two of them are followed by yet another ex-con named Red Leary (played by George Kennedy) and his sidekick named Eddy Goody (played by Geoffery Lewis)who wants to get even with Thunderbolt for hiding some stolen cash from a heist that Leary and he had done years ago. Both Leary and Thunderbolt settle their differences and together the four end up planning on robbing the Montana Armory again the second time around. Who would ever suspect Leary And Thunderbolt? The movie is full of car chases and laughs (ex. Jeff Bridges is a riot dressed in drag in one scene) and the ending is quite a surprise. An all around excellent movie which has finally made it's way onto dvd. Recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Great casting makes this movie
Review: Thunderbolt and Lightfoot is Michael Cimino's first film as a director. This film takes its time in building its characters and story which in the hands of a lesser cast would have made it a marginal movie. But what saves it is the acting and actors involved in the project. Clint Eastwood plays an ex Korean war veteran working as a pastor in a mid-western town whose past one day shows up to haunt him. He meets up with Jeff Bridges and they begin a journey that at first takes on the story of escaping two killers on their tail. Eventually the two killers, played by George Kennedy and Geoffrey Lewis whose past with Eastwood is explained, join up with the duo and they plan a robbery together. All the main players here are simply excellent in their roles and there is a real comedic aspect the film. Particularly funny is when the group is forced to find work; Lewis ends up as an ice cream truck driver. Ignore the concept of a supposed "sub-text" that others see in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, it's mainly wish fulfillment more than anything else. This is an above average road movie that shows what Cimino was capable of early on in his carrier before "The Deer Hunter" made his reputation and "Heaven's Gate" ruined it.
| 
