With the help of an irreverent young sidekick, a bank robber gets his old gang back together to organize a daring new heist.With the help of an irreverent young sidekick, a bank robber gets his old gang back together to organize a daring new heist.With the help of an irreverent young sidekick, a bank robber gets his old gang back together to organize a daring new heist.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 nomination total
Gary Busey
- Curly
- (as Garey Busey)
Eugene Elman
- Tourist
- (as Gene Elman)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen writer and director Michael Cimino was discussing this movie with Jeff Bridges, he told Bridges it was his job to make Clint Eastwood laugh both on and off-camera, and he did.
- GoofsAfter the crazy guy rolls the black Plymouth, there is clearly damage to the drivers side roof and the rear wheel on the driver side is bent at an extreme angle and the passenger side rear wheel completely flies off the axle. However, moments later when Thunderbolt and Lightfoot are going down the road, there are no signs of damage.
- Quotes
Young Boy: [Goody, with Red along, are in a tiny ice-cream vendor's truck] You're early. You're supposed to go down the next street first, then come up here.
Eddie Goody: Well, listen. While we're here, can I sell you anything?
Young Boy: No, I'm waiting for Judy Ann. They have a better flavor of pistachio.
Red Leary: Look, kid, go fuck a duck.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Biography: Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso (1994)
Featured review
Very enjoyable character-based crime story
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot was director Michael Cimino's debut feature. Up to this point he was an up-and-coming screen-writer, responsible for the sci-fi movie Silent Running and the pretty decent follow-up to Dirty Harry, Magnum Force. Obviously he would go on to be much more famous for directing the Oscar winning The Deer Hunter and then somewhat infamous for Heaven's Gate, a film that was such a monumental flop it sunk the studio United Artists. But perhaps the much less heralded Thunderbolt and Lightfoot is in fact his best movie.
It's about a gang of misfit thieves who plan a big robbery. But really it's about a lot more than that, in fact the heist is merely one of many equal parts that make up this movie. As much as anything this is a road movie and a buddy film about male friendship. It also has a good deal of comedy. And funny comedy at that. The humour is often derived from great interplay between the characters. There is a lot of chemistry between the principal actors. They are playing well drawn characters, not paper-thin caricatures. Clint Eastwood plays a laid-back loner, which he has done many times of course but there is something a little more believable in his performance here. Jeff Bridges probably steals the show as a countercultural young drifter who befriends Eastwood's character. A lot of the humour of the film comes from Bridges antagonistic interaction with the character played by George Kennedy, who is the obvious villain of the piece. He stars alongside Geoffrey Lewis, who is the most witless character in the gang. Together, all four are a very well-drawn group and fun to watch. There is also some interesting support from a young Gary Busey, a gorgeous Catherine Bach and a hilarious cameo from Bill McKinney as a crazed redneck with a car full of rabbits – seeing as McKinney is most famous as the terrifying sodomising hillbilly from Deliverance, it would be only fair to say that he has been type-cast a bit!
The pace is laid-back and it's quite an episodic story overall. There is a definite narrative; it's just that the fun of the movie comes from character-driven things much more than plot related ones. It still looks very handsome, with a lot of elegantly framed landscapes. So it's a nice combination of things that makes Thunderbolt and Lightfoot so enjoyable. It doesn't end in a particularly predictable way either. It's a bitter ending, no question. But it does add a dimension of seriousness that does the movie no harm at all.
It's about a gang of misfit thieves who plan a big robbery. But really it's about a lot more than that, in fact the heist is merely one of many equal parts that make up this movie. As much as anything this is a road movie and a buddy film about male friendship. It also has a good deal of comedy. And funny comedy at that. The humour is often derived from great interplay between the characters. There is a lot of chemistry between the principal actors. They are playing well drawn characters, not paper-thin caricatures. Clint Eastwood plays a laid-back loner, which he has done many times of course but there is something a little more believable in his performance here. Jeff Bridges probably steals the show as a countercultural young drifter who befriends Eastwood's character. A lot of the humour of the film comes from Bridges antagonistic interaction with the character played by George Kennedy, who is the obvious villain of the piece. He stars alongside Geoffrey Lewis, who is the most witless character in the gang. Together, all four are a very well-drawn group and fun to watch. There is also some interesting support from a young Gary Busey, a gorgeous Catherine Bach and a hilarious cameo from Bill McKinney as a crazed redneck with a car full of rabbits – seeing as McKinney is most famous as the terrifying sodomising hillbilly from Deliverance, it would be only fair to say that he has been type-cast a bit!
The pace is laid-back and it's quite an episodic story overall. There is a definite narrative; it's just that the fun of the movie comes from character-driven things much more than plot related ones. It still looks very handsome, with a lot of elegantly framed landscapes. So it's a nice combination of things that makes Thunderbolt and Lightfoot so enjoyable. It doesn't end in a particularly predictable way either. It's a bitter ending, no question. But it does add a dimension of seriousness that does the movie no harm at all.
helpful•40
- Red-Barracuda
- Mar 22, 2013
- How long is Thunderbolt and Lightfoot?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Die Letzten beißen die Hunde
- Filming locations
- Diversion Lake, Lewis and Clark National Forest, Montana, USA(lake scene, Clint Eastwood fixes his shoulder)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $2,200,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $21,700,000
- Gross worldwide
- $21,700,000
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Top Gap
By what name was Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) officially released in India in Hindi?
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