Thunderbolt and Lightfoot

A Tarantino flick two decades before they existed

A preacher (Clint Eastwood) with a past to hide is chased by a lunatic gunman (George Kennedy) in northern Montana. He inadvertently teams-up with a young scalawag (Jeff Daniels) and they concoct a mad heist with a couple of the former’s old partners.

Written & directed by Michael Cimino, “Thunderbolt and Lightfoot” (1974) was the infamous director’s debut and pulsates with cinematic magic from beginning to end. You can tell Tarantino was heavily influenced by it because it smacks of his flicks twenty years before he rose to fame with “Pulp Fiction.” It is a combination gangster/road/car flick à la “Bonnie and Clyde” (1967), “Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry” (1974) and “Joyride” (1977).

Someone said that feminists might have a problem with the film because women are generally portrayed as sex objects and little more. Yet the average man isn't portrayed much more nobly; they're basically shallow, sex-obsessed, dishonest, purposeless, incompetent buffoons. So the criticism of the film goes both ways.

It might help to understand the flick as picaresque wherein the protagonists are amiable rogues, bohemians, adventurers, rapscallions, which is what the root word ‘picaro’ means. These kinds of yarns include satire, comedy, sarcasm and acerbic social criticism with an episodic plot revolving around an often pointless quest. "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" (1966) is a good example. But this is superior to that overpraised Spaghetti Western because the picaros are more likable and interesting, not to mention it’s just all-around more entertaining, which is helped by the magnificent Montanan scenery.

Despite their shallow depictions, the movie scores pretty well in the feminine department with June Fairchild standing out as Gloria. Erica Hagen has a small part as a blonde waitress and Catherine Bach has a glorified cameo.

The film runs 1 hour, 55 minutes and was shot exclusively in the Great Falls extended region of northern Montana.

GRADE: A-

A hit-and-miss, if still probably good, 1974 film.

<em>'Thunderbolt and Lightfoot'</em> fails as a comedy but actually does work as a road trip/heist movie, even with a surprisingly sombre ending. To further the mixed bag feeling, I found the acting talent to be just that.

I'd say this is one of Clint Eastwood's weakest performances, though Jeff Bridges has a lot of fun and is the standout in his role. George Kennedy is closely behind him and ahead of Eastwood, in my opinion.

The film attempts a lot, I'm not convinced it all works, but I'd recommend it - the pacing is on point, so it doesn't drag.