Tightrope (1984)

★ 6.1 1h 55m 380 votes IMDb

Wes Block is a detective who's put on the case of a serial killer whose victims are young and pretty women. The murders are getting personal when the killer chooses victims who are acquaintances of Block. Even his daughters are threatened.

Tightrope

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Cast

Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood as Wes Block Age 95 · San Francisco, California, USA Clinton "Clint" Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American film actor, director, producer, composer, and former politician. Following his breakthrough role on the TV series "Rawhide" (1959–65), E...
Geneviève Bujold
Geneviève Bujold as Beryl Thibodeaux Age 83 · Montréal, Québec, Canada Geneviève Bujold (born July 1, 1942) is a Canadian stage and screen actress, best known for her portrayal of Anne Boleyn in the 1969 film Anne of the Thousand Days, for which she won a Golden Globe Aw...
Dan Hedaya
Dan Hedaya as Det. Molinari Age 85 · Brooklyn, New York, USA Dan Hedaya (born July 24, 1940) is an American actor. While a student at Tufts University, he began performing at the campus theater. He often plays sleazy villains or uptight, wisecracking individual...
Alison Eastwood
Alison Eastwood as Amanda Block Age 53 · Santa Monica, California, USA An American film director, Hollywood actress, fashion model, and fashion designer. She made her directorial debut with Rails & Ties (2007), starring Kevin Bacon and Marcia Gay Harden. Daughter of Clin...
Jenny Beck
Jenny Beck as Penny Block Age 51 · Los Angeles, California, USA Jenny Beck is an American actress best known for playing a young Elizabeth on V: The Final Battle and V: The Series (episode 1). Her other well-known television role was on Paradise as Claire Carroll....
Marco St. John
Marco St. John as Leander Rolfe Age 86 · New Orleans, Louisiana, USA Marco St. John (born Marco John Figueroa, Jr.; May 7, 1939) is an American actor who has appeared in films and television programs. He is known for his role as the horny truck driver in the 1991 film...

Audience Reviews

John Chard 8/10 Mar 08, 2014
The Doppleganger disease.

Tightrope is directed by Richard Tuggle and Clint Eastwood, Tuggle writes the screenplay. It stars Eastwood, Genevieve Bujold, Dan Hedaya, Alison Eastwood and Rod Masterson. Music is by Lennie Niehaus and cinematography by Bruce Surtees.

New Orleans and Detective Wes Block is plunged into a hunt for a rapist serial killer that brings out his own deviant peccadilloes.

One of Eastwood’s best movies also happens to be one of his most under appreciated, the actor challenging himself to explore a darker characterisation than the iconographic ones he was most famed for. Wes Block is a damaged man, a divorced father of two girls, who he adores but they are uncomfortably at arms length due to his work. He’s afraid of affection, to be touched in a gentle manner by a member of the opposite sex, preferring to indulge in seamy sex by way of prostitutes who frequent the dark abodes of Orleans’ French Quarter.

If you knew what’s ahead…

Enter the doppelganger effect, as a mysterious serial killer is at large murdering the ladies of the night that Wes takes his pleasure with, the guilt factor hanging heavy on his haunted shoulders. As Wes tries to bring down the killer, he is battling to realign his mindset about the female sex, his daughters and also Beryl Thibodeaux (Bujold), the latter the rape counsellor who was once his sparring adversary, but is now a potential lover if Wes can put everything back on an even keel.

Tuggle, Eastwood and Surtees bring plenty of film noir touches to their picture. Surtees’ photography is strong in colour but dark in shading, perfectly embodying the seamy side of The Big Easy. Between them, actor and director fill out this fascinating tale with classic noirish scenes. A Mardi Gras warehouse is eerie, as is a chase through a cemetery, then there’s clowns and balloons, things that are associated with childish fun but so often in noirville carry a sinister edge. The sleazy dives that Wes frequents are foreboding places of sin, more so when the killer is stalking his prey. While a railroad location is used to great effect as well.

It has some problems, Hedaya is wasted and the Wes and Beryl relationship is telegraphed a mile away. While the formula of such movies inevitably means the culmination of tale is no surprise, but the journey is a dark and interesting one and Tightrope is a damn fine thriller. 8/10
Wuchak 6/10 Mar 08, 2019
***Dramatic, melancholic Eastwood detective flick set in New Orleans***

A divorced detective in New Orleans (Clint Eastwood) juggles raising two daughters, pursing a serial rapist/killer, cultivating a romantic relationship (Geneviève Bujold) and dealing with his own dark side, which he realizes is too close for comfort to the killer.

“Tightrope” (1984) is another Eastwood detective flick, but it’s not as entertaining and compelling as his Dirty Harry films or “The Gauntlet” (1977). It’s darker, more dramatic and brooding, not to mention a tad sleazy. This may bring to mind the original “Dirty Harry” (1971), but the subdued tone is closer to “Blood Work” (2002).

The title refers to a person walking the tightrope between his/her good side and bad side.

The movie runs 1 hour, 54 minutes and was shot entirely in New Orleans.

GRADE: C+/B-
r96sk 6/10 Jan 31, 2022
How is this not super entertaining?

<em>'Tightrope'</em> should have all the ingredients to make the viewer be on the edge of their seat, and yet I really didn't care much for it. Clint Eastwood, who apparently took over unofficially as director from Richard Tuggle during filming, gives a solid performance and the bond with his character's children is cute.

However, the story just didn't do anything for me. It's not particularly unnerving, despite a dark on paper story, and it's rather predictable - the villain... well, the villain I've already forgotten about and I only finished watching about an hour ago.

Not terrible, but not good.

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