Yes. Yes. Yes!
Everything that frustrated me about High Noon, The Wild Bunch, and Duck, You Sucker was remedied in this movie, as well as a really refreshing response to the American Western’s portrayal of Native Americans.
It is a sampling from early in Clint Eastwood’s directorial career, and only the second Western he directed (we’ll get to his first later).
I loved it.
The story is basically about a man whose family is brutally murdered by a guerilla terror squad working with the Union army.
He teams up with some bushwhackers to get some revenge, and thus begins the story of Josey Wales. He ends up becoming an avenging angel of sorts, protecting the innocent from harm, but the story is far better than that makes it sound.
The badass outlaw with a heart of gold, as we have seen many times before, but this time, there are different themes at work than there were before.
One of my favorites so far!
Also, young Clint Eastwood looks awesome with a beard.
