Reviews (1)

A suspenseful , heart pounding , film , "Out Of Bounds
(This film is one of them Young Adult films like "Breakfast Club" "Sixteen Candles" , "Reboman" , "St Elmos Fire") Out Of Bounds is an action packed suspenseful thriller , with shootout's , wild chases through town , and much more. The film revolves around Daryl Cage (Anthony Micheal Hall) , who leaves a hard working life on the farm and heads for L.A , to live a peaceful life with his older brother (Kevin McCorkle).But , a simple mistake is made when Daryl accidentally picks up a bag of heroine. His brother is brutally killed hours later by the owner of the drugs.Then , from that point on , there is lots of action as Daryl & Dizz (Jenny Wright) chase , and are chased by the drug dealer , Roy Gaddis (Jeff Kober). With a recognizable supporting cast of Ji Tu Cumbuka , Jerry Levine , Glenn Turman , and even an Cameo appearance by pop singer Meat Loaf , as Gil , a private pilot.I recommend this film to action , suspense , and teen film fans. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Be prepared for some X-rated Clint!!!
"Tightrope" contains some of the most graphic material ever seen in a Clint Eastwood film (eg: bondage scenes, homosexuality, sadomasochism). Definitely not for viewers under 16, even though I've had the movie since I was 11!!! Don't let the graphic material turn you off though because this film contains one of Clint's few great performances. His character's vulnerability has only been matched in two other movies that I know of (eg: In The Line of Fire, The Outlaw Josey Wales) and he should have at least been nominated for an Academy Award. Clint Eastwood plays Wes Block, a New Orleans detective who has been assigned to catch a serial sex killer. While on the trail, he finds himself sinking into the world of prostitution and other weird sexual fetishes. When the killer strikes too close to home (literally), Block forces himself out of his hole and the final battle between the cop and the killer has some very shocking and extremely violent scenes. "Tightrope" is indeed one of Clint's finer movies, even better than most in his "Dirty Harry" series. Warning: This film is strictly for adults.

Class: Thriller, Species : Coitus Kinky
Tightrope opens with the familiar credits that mark most of Clint Eastwood's films : Malpaso films presents...over an arial shot of car crossing a bridge. What is most surprising about this film is that writer/director Richard Tuggle uses the familiar framework of the "serial killer" movie to explore themes of guilt, sadomasochism, sexism and paranoia. Even more surprising is the fact that he explores those qualties in his hero, not the killer.

Eastwood stars as Wes Block, a New Orleans cop investigating the murders of several prostitutes who were tortured, raped and strangled. On his journey through the brothels of the city we sense that he has been there before, not as cop, but as a customer. Eastwood has the usual throwaway lines that have made his Harry Callahan character so famous, as when a prostitute apporches him "Want some honey?", "I don't eat sweets" he replies. But where Callahan draws knowing smirks from the audience, Block only draws gasps. Eastwood lets us know that any outward confidence he projects is merely a mask over his guilt. This leads to an early riveting scene where he interviews a hooker about her murdered friend "Did she mention anybody using handcuffs?" he asks. "I think it was a cop, maybe it was you" she jokes. The look on Eastwood's is face is one of such anguish, that he may even suspect himself. This one of Eastwood's best and bravest performances.

The scenes in the brothels and over the corpses are contrasted with surprisingly warm domestic scenes of Block the single parent raising his two daughters. The contrast is alarming, and the children are perhaps the only reason why he hasn't gone over the edge just yet. There is a particularly chilling suggestion in Tightrope that Block maybe vicariously living his fantasies through the killer.

On a physcological level the film is an original, where it falters is the plot. Perhaps inorder to get the film made, Tuggle was forced to add all the well worn cliches, such as the obligatory chase climax and the unmasking of the killer. He also has a tendancy to hammer home his points, as in the unnessecary dream sequence where Eastwood imagines he is the killer.

Some could persuasively argue the film wallows in excesses of depravity. I would disagree, an exploitation film tries to find a token story to hold acres of naked flesh and gore. A real film is driven to these taboo places BY its story. Tightrope is a real film. In its moody and intelligent way it suggests an innate depravity within the mildest of men.

Kinky,Kinky, Kinky Clint...
Man, what can be said about a southern detective walking the thin line between deviance and virtue, honor and sluttiness, father and "Whose your Daddy?", well, Clint does it well.
Great story of Clint as a detective hot on the trail of a killer who may be hot on Clint's trail. Some great one-liners, plenty o' nakedness, action, and cute kids. This movie actually makes you feel dirty, but in a good way. I saw rent it, buy it, put it under your pillow, drop it off on your co-workers desk and tell them that a good time awaits them. Hopefuly you won't get fired.

late.

Dark, Menacing, and Ambiguous
To me, this film is even more impressive today than it was when I first saw it. Frankly, when seeing it 20 years ago, I was thrown off-balance by the character whom Eastwood plays, Wes Block, a police detective in New Orleans. He pursues a serial killer of prostitutes, a psychopath with whom he seems to share similar psycho-sexual preoccupations. Presumably this was a risky part for Eastwood to take on. Under skillful but deferential direction by Richard Tuggle, he explores with great skill certain depraved tendencies within himself which were much more shocking in 1984 than they seem to be, unfortunately, two decades later. Block's personal situation is complicated even more by the fact that he a single parent, raising two daughters. It is also important to remember that his personal conduct creates the risk of compromising his professional integrity as a law enforcement officer. For these and other reasons, Block is a much more enigmatic character than, for example, Harry ("what you see is what you get") Callahan.

In the role of Beryl Thibodeaux, Genevieve Bujold portrays a criminal psychologist who is attracted to Block as they work together even as she begins to sense and then contend with at least some of the demons which torment him. So much of this film occurs (both literally and symbolically) in darkness. Even a trained professional such as Thibodeaux is frustrated in her attempts to understand someone for whom she feels sincere affection. Special credit should be given to Bruce Surtees for superb cinematography which is coordinated seamlessly with the often depressing storyline. He had worked with Eastwood in previous films which include Dirty Harry (1971), Play Misty for Me (also 1971), Pale Rider (1975), and The Outlaw Josie Wales (1976). The supporting cast is excellent, notably Eastwood's daughter Alison who plays his older Amanda in the film, and Dan Hadeya as Detective Molinari. Eventually, after the serial killer kidnaps Amanda Block, her distraught and enraged father pursues her to a riveting conclusion when....

Others are much better qualified than I to express this opinion but I think Wes Block is a character which begins a new transition for Eastwood the actor. Thereafter, the characters he plays tend to be of the "sadder but wiser" variety, much less self-assured, more fatalistic in their view of the world, skeptical and sometimes cynical, reluctant to trust anyone or anything, and are -- for me, therefore -- much more interesting. This is an especially upsetting film which has lost little (if any) of its dramatic impact. Twenty years after its initial release and probably because I have become a grandfather, there are certain situations in Tightrope which are even more upsetting now than ever before.

Eastwood as ghost director
Eastwood replaced Tuggle as director after, I believe, one day of torpid self-doubting direction. Tuggle maintained directorial credit, though this film is directed by Eastwood himself. And it shows. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Audiences were a little unprepared for this version of Clint Eastwood when Tightrope, a little ahead of its time, was released in 1984, but today, in the wake of movies like 8mm, it almost seems tame. Eastwood plays a New Orleans cop who likes his loving a little on the rough side, and when a serial killer starts murdering a series of prostitutes whom he has hired for his dalliances in the past, he must confront the fruits of what his dark side begets. Geneviève Bujold costars as a rape-crisis counselor who titillatingly badgers and teases Eastwood where he's most vulnerable. The finale devolves into standard-issue psycho-revenge and woman-in-peril fodder, but the psychological exploration of Eastwood's character is compelling--the quease factor is elevated as he balances his shadow life with his public life as a man with two innocent young daughters. Eastwood isn't afraid to stretch his persona to its limits--when asked why he doesn't try boys as partners, he cryptically replies, "Maybe I have." --David Kronke ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Be prepared for some X-rated Clint!!!
"Tightrope" contains some of the most graphic material ever seen in a Clint Eastwood film (eg: bondage scenes, homosexuality, sadomasochism). Definitely not for viewers under 16, even though I've had the movie since I was 11!!! Don't let the graphic material turn you off though because this film contains one of Clint's few great performances. His character's vulnerability has only been matched in two other movies that I know of (eg: In The Line of Fire, The Outlaw Josey Wales) and he should have at least been nominated for an Academy Award. Clint Eastwood plays Wes Block, a New Orleans detective who has been assigned to catch a serial sex killer. While on the trail, he finds himself sinking into the world of prostitution and other weird sexual fetishes. When the killer strikes too close to home (literally), Block forces himself out of his hole and the final battle between the cop and the killer has some very shocking and extremely violent scenes. "Tightrope" is indeed one of Clint's finer movies, even better than most in his "Dirty Harry" series. Warning: This film is strictly for adults.

Class: Thriller, Species : Coitus Kinky
Tightrope opens with the familiar credits that mark most of Clint Eastwood's films : Malpaso films presents...over an arial shot of car crossing a bridge. What is most surprising about this film is that writer/director Richard Tuggle uses the familiar framework of the "serial killer" movie to explore themes of guilt, sadomasochism, sexism and paranoia. Even more surprising is the fact that he explores those qualties in his hero, not the killer.

Eastwood stars as Wes Block, a New Orleans cop investigating the murders of several prostitutes who were tortured, raped and strangled. On his journey through the brothels of the city we sense that he has been there before, not as cop, but as a customer. Eastwood has the usual throwaway lines that have made his Harry Callahan character so famous, as when a prostitute apporches him "Want some honey?", "I don't eat sweets" he replies. But where Callahan draws knowing smirks from the audience, Block only draws gasps. Eastwood lets us know that any outward confidence he projects is merely a mask over his guilt. This leads to an early riveting scene where he interviews a hooker about her murdered friend "Did she mention anybody using handcuffs?" he asks. "I think it was a cop, maybe it was you" she jokes. The look on Eastwood's is face is one of such anguish, that he may even suspect himself. This one of Eastwood's best and bravest performances.

The scenes in the brothels and over the corpses are contrasted with surprisingly warm domestic scenes of Block the single parent raising his two daughters. The contrast is alarming, and the children are perhaps the only reason why he hasn't gone over the edge just yet. There is a particularly chilling suggestion in Tightrope that Block maybe vicariously living his fantasies through the killer.

On a physcological level the film is an original, where it falters is the plot. Perhaps inorder to get the film made, Tuggle was forced to add all the well worn cliches, such as the obligatory chase climax and the unmasking of the killer. He also has a tendancy to hammer home his points, as in the unnessecary dream sequence where Eastwood imagines he is the killer.

Some could persuasively argue the film wallows in excesses of depravity. I would disagree, an exploitation film tries to find a token story to hold acres of naked flesh and gore. A real film is driven to these taboo places BY its story. Tightrope is a real film. In its moody and intelligent way it suggests an innate depravity within the mildest of men.

Kinky,Kinky, Kinky Clint...
Man, what can be said about a southern detective walking the thin line between deviance and virtue, honor and sluttiness, father and "Whose your Daddy?", well, Clint does it well.
Great story of Clint as a detective hot on the trail of a killer who may be hot on Clint's trail. Some great one-liners, plenty o' nakedness, action, and cute kids. This movie actually makes you feel dirty, but in a good way. I saw rent it, buy it, put it under your pillow, drop it off on your co-workers desk and tell them that a good time awaits them. Hopefuly you won't get fired.

late.

Dark, Menacing, and Ambiguous
To me, this film is even more impressive today than it was when I first saw it. Frankly, when seeing it 20 years ago, I was thrown off-balance by the character whom Eastwood plays, Wes Block, a police detective in New Orleans. He pursues a serial killer of prostitutes, a psychopath with whom he seems to share similar psycho-sexual preoccupations. Presumably this was a risky part for Eastwood to take on. Under skillful but deferential direction by Richard Tuggle, he explores with great skill certain depraved tendencies within himself which were much more shocking in 1984 than they seem to be, unfortunately, two decades later. Block's personal situation is complicated even more by the fact that he a single parent, raising two daughters. It is also important to remember that his personal conduct creates the risk of compromising his professional integrity as a law enforcement officer. For these and other reasons, Block is a much more enigmatic character than, for example, Harry ("what you see is what you get") Callahan.

In the role of Beryl Thibodeaux, Genevieve Bujold portrays a criminal psychologist who is attracted to Block as they work together even as she begins to sense and then contend with at least some of the demons which torment him. So much of this film occurs (both literally and symbolically) in darkness. Even a trained professional such as Thibodeaux is frustrated in her attempts to understand someone for whom she feels sincere affection. Special credit should be given to Bruce Surtees for superb cinematography which is coordinated seamlessly with the often depressing storyline. He had worked with Eastwood in previous films which include Dirty Harry (1971), Play Misty for Me (also 1971), Pale Rider (1975), and The Outlaw Josie Wales (1976). The supporting cast is excellent, notably Eastwood's daughter Alison who plays his older Amanda in the film, and Dan Hadeya as Detective Molinari. Eventually, after the serial killer kidnaps Amanda Block, her distraught and enraged father pursues her to a riveting conclusion when....

Others are much better qualified than I to express this opinion but I think Wes Block is a character which begins a new transition for Eastwood the actor. Thereafter, the characters he plays tend to be of the "sadder but wiser" variety, much less self-assured, more fatalistic in their view of the world, skeptical and sometimes cynical, reluctant to trust anyone or anything, and are -- for me, therefore -- much more interesting. This is an especially upsetting film which has lost little (if any) of its dramatic impact. Twenty years after its initial release and probably because I have become a grandfather, there are certain situations in Tightrope which are even more upsetting now than ever before.

Eastwood as ghost director
Eastwood replaced Tuggle as director after, I believe, one day of torpid self-doubting direction. Tuggle maintained directorial credit, though this film is directed by Eastwood himself. And it shows. ... Read more