Product Details

• Actors: Clint Eastwood, Jeff Bridges, Geoffrey Lewis, Catherine Bach, Gary Busey
• Directors: Michael Cimino
• Writers: Michael Cimino
• Producers: Robert Daley
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Subtitles: Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• DVD Release Date: June 13, 2000
• Run Time: 115 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0792845838
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #44,701 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Jeff Bridges actually corralled an Oscar nomination for his spirited, oddball performance in this genre crime story, directed by first-timer Michael Cimino who (a short two films later) would bring down a studio with Heaven's Gate. Clint Eastwood plays a bank robber par excellence with a flair for explosives who is being hunted by his former partners, who think he has their loot from their last job. Bridges is his eager apprentice and sidekick, who helps him escape; when Eastwood finally makes peace with his hunters, Bridges convinces them to try a daring robbery--but things inevitably go awry. The relationship between Eastwood and Bridges is both funny and touching in this, one of Eastwood's better post-Dirty Harry efforts. --Marshall Fine

Product Description

Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges (in an OscarÂ(r) nominated* performance) star as an off-beat pair of modern-day outlaws in this bold, action-packed crime thriller. Featuring outstanding supporting performances by George Kennedy (Airport), Gary Busey (Lethal Weapon) and Geoffrey Lewis (Maverick), it's a crisp, well-written, witty, tough [and] superbly cast caper movie (Cinebooks). John 'thunderbolt Doherty (Eastwood) is a former thief whose razor-sharp wits and steely nerves made him a master of his profession, but he's about to reenter the criminal world with a new partner: Lightfoot (Bridges), a brash young drifter whose energy and exuberance give the veteran a new outlook on life. Their target: the seemingly impenetrable Montana Armored Depository. After forming an uneasy alliance with Thunderbolt's former partners in crime (Kennedy and Lewis),they launch an amazing scheme that will test the limits of their endurance...and the power of theirfriendship. Fueled by explosive action, fascinating characters and a powerfully moving climax, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot is an adventure of the highest caliber. *1974: Supporting Actor

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Clint Eastwood makes a good crook, too. March 2, 2001

By C.H.

Format:DVD

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."

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Cast Sparks This Mid-70's Caper Film February 3, 2006

By J. Merritt

Format:DVD

Four years before "The Deer Hunter" and six years before the disastrous "Heaven's Gate," Michael Cimino broke through as a writer/director with this somewhat rambling but engaging and quirky heist film starring Clint Eastwood, Jeff Bridges, and George Kennedy. A bank robbery gone wrong has left Eastwood laying low, pretending to be a preacher in a small town. When an old partner hunts him down, he narrowly escapes with the help of a small-time thief named Lightfoot (Bridges). The two become partners, but are soon forced to join up with two more of Eastwood's old cronies (Kennedy and Geoffrey Lewis). Together, the four set about executing the same bank robbery that failed several years earlier.

Bridges received an Oscar nomination for his offbeat portrayal of a free-spirited and charismatic young con artist, while Kennedy is an angry, ticking time bomb that you just know will eventually explode and screw things up. Much of the film is light and comical, with a veiled commentary about the aimlessness of America's post-Vietnam generation. The ending is surprisingly poignant, however, and the movie features an underrated Eastwood performance and a great recurring Paul Williams song on the soundtrack. Look for early roles by Gary Busey as Bridges' boss on a construction crew, and Catherine Bach (the one and only Daisy Duke) as a girl Lightfoot rather creatively picks up at a bar.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars THAT'S not it! December 19, 1999

By A Customer

Format:VHS Tape

Well, aside from being a total classic, this movie is all at once, touching, funny, exciting, moving, and riveting. It is the ultimate entertaining film. It has something for everyone. Car chases, guns, girls, beer, fistfights, guys in drag, and yes, a trunkfull of rabbits... who could ever ask for more? eastwood and particularly jeff bridges are excellent, especially at the end of the film. his nomination is well deserved. see this movie if you want to be entertained, but not insulted. good stuff.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Cimino first triumphant debut... January 14, 2007

By Roberto Frangie

Format:DVD

The very first shot of "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot" - a faultless composition, fifty per cent wispy Idaho sky, fifty per cent cornfield - establishes an elegant style which Cimino maintains throughout the film... The second scene - Clint Eastwood as we have never seen him before, wearing spectacles, his hair slicked back and dressed as a vicar delivering a sermon in a crowded country church - immediately makes one realize that the film may be quite different from any of Eastwood's previous ones... But the third scene, in which the vicar is chased across a seemingly endless cornfield by an irate gun-firing George Kennedy establishes that all is not as it seems to be...

Eastwood is rescued by Lightfoot (Jeff Bridges), who has just relieved a car salesman of $3000 dollars' worth of automobile, and a partnership is quickly created, with the veteran Thunderbolt asserting his experience and virility over the inexperienced Lightfoot... Casting off his vicar's clothes Thunderbolt then takes his belt and endures agonizing pain as he uses it to pull his dislocated shoulder into place...

Thunderbolt is being pursued by Red Leary (George Kennedy) and Eddie Goody (Geoffrey Lewis) who are former partners of his in crime and who believe he has the half million dollar takings from their last bank raid... They mean business... While Thunderbolt and Lightfoot enjoy themselves with two young ladies named Gloria and Melody, Leary and Goody wait outside. 'Are you sure that's their car?' wonders Goody. 'That's their hearse,' says Leary...

The film was a triumphant debut for Cimino... His script combined wit and the naive philosophy of the motorized cowboys... 'Leary, I had a dream about you last night." "About what?" "I dreamt you said hello to me....'

At the beginning of the film when Eastwood recites his sermon for the benefit of his felonious friend, 'and the lion shall lie down with the leopard' (Cimino used it purposely to indicate the liaison between Lightfoot the lion and Thunderbolt the leopard), the younger man asks 'What's that - a poem?' 'No,' replies Thunderbolt, 'a prayer'. At the end of the film the younger man is still seeking answers from his senior partner... 'Where you heading?' 'See what's over the next mountain! We won, didn't we?' 'I guess we did - for the time being.'

Cimino created the part for Eastwood and in doing so drew greatly on his actual personality... For those people who know the real Clint Eastwood, no film part better conveys the style, the warmth, and the dry delivery of the man himself... Read more ›

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars One of Eastwood's best May 31, 1999

By A Customer

Format:VHS Tape

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").

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars "You stick with me kid. You're gonna live forever." February 16, 2008

By Trevor Willsmer TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

This 1974 caper movie manages the neat trick of both delivering what the audience wants and subverting their expectations at the same time. Clint Eastwood plays a crook on the run from ex-partners in crime George Kennedy and Geoffrey Lewis (often hysterically funny here) who teams up with Jeff Bridges' extrovert drifter to retrieve the loot from a previous robbery only to find his old accomplices tagging along and things - naturally - not going at all to plan. It's an almost perfectly judged mixture of comedy and action with both feet firmly on the ground in a way that would be almost unthinkable today. There's a real rapport between the outstanding cast and an affection for the characters that adds to the impact of the very Seventies ending. Writer-director Michael Cimino handles the mood swings adeptly and even injects a subtle undercurrent of sexual ambiguity that never gets in the way of the entertainment: this was a terrific movie in 1974, and if anything it's an even better one today. The transfer isn't great, but it is in the original 2.35:1 widescreen ratio.