Overview: Academy Award winner Clint Eastwood stars in and directs this fast-paced Western about the fight for vengeance by a Missouri farmer whose family is murdered in the last days of the United States’ Civil War.

The film is directed by Clint Eastwood. The screenplay is by Phil Kaufman and Sonia Chernus and is based on the novel “Gone to Texas” by Forrest Carter. The film is produced by Robert Daly. The Outlaw Josie Wales stars Clint Eastwood, Chief Dan George, Sondra Locke, Bill McKinney, and John Vernon.

Three films from legendary filmmaker Clint Eastwood – Dirty Harry, The Outlaw Josie Wales and Pale Rider (40th anniversary), will be released for the first time on 4K Ultra HD and Digital on April 29th, 2025.

4K UHD Blu-ray Verdict: Warner Bros. Entertainment is expanding their 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray catalog offerings this month with the release of the much beloved The Outlaw Josey Wales (4K Ultra HD + Digital) in the expansive 4K Ultra HD video format this April 29th, 2025.

For my money, this The Outlaw Josey Wales (4K Ultra HD + Digital) sharpness takes a fairly large step forward from others in their 4K Ultra HD catalog and even comes with HDR (High Dynamic Range) for the complete 4K Ultra HD experience, of course.

So, what we have is The Outlaw Josey Wales presented to us as a one-disc with a sheet for a Digital HD Copy. Other stand out points you should know are: Codec: HEVC / H.265 (67.31 Mbps), Resolution: Native 4K (2160p), HDR: HDR10, Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 and Original Aspect ratio: 2.39:1.

Featuring Dolby Vision and HDR10 for brighter, deeper, and way more lifelike colors, as with most all 4K UHDs, everything that we watch features these qualities - but somehow, this film gloriously shines within them all.

Noticeably crisp with the overall clarity receiving an obvious boost here on this release, what is more is that it is enjoyably noticeable. For as well as some new nuances to the somewhat drab palette courtesy of Dolby Vision, we also get to witness sudden bright pops of color, which makes the eyes draw in, for sure.

One of those moments is also one of the coolest moments I have ever seen in movie history and is when they got their horses playing dead hidden in the trees before they ambush Wayde Morrow and his sidekick. The way they mount the horses instantly as they get up is just badass!

As for the audio, well we get the plentiful choice of: English: Dolby Atmos, English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit), English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit), Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0 (320 kbps) and French: Dolby Digital 2.0 (320 kbps).

Overall, this is a very strong 4K HDR Blu-ray presentation, and, for the most part, the audio track remains fairly similar to its DTS-HD counterpart; with much of the action occupying the surrounds with outstanding directionality and placement where effects flawlessly pan between the sides and rears.

As for the film itself, well, the Western Genre has been good to Clint Eastwood, making him a star. He has also been good back to that genre, making one of the greatest Westerns ever, Unforgiven. The Outlaw Josey Wales was also the Western that gave Clint Eastwood his big break as a director, showing what he is capable as a filmmaker.

Josey Wales (Clint Eastwood) is a peaceful farmer who is ends up joining the Confederate guerrillas when his wife and son are murdered by a band of Union soldier known as the Redlegs. When the war is over, Josey refuses to surrender with the rest of his band to the Union who are betrayed by the Union commander, Terrill (Bill McKinney).

Soon a price is put on Josey’s head, with every bounty hunter, rebel, criminal and huntsman wanting him. But Josey meets allies on the way as he looks to settle for a peaceful life.

1976 was a great year for film because of the releases of the likes of Taxi Driver, Rocky, Network and All the President’s Men. The Outlaw Josey Wales can easily stand along side them. Eastwood directs at a brisk pace but still letting us into this tough world and get to know the characters as the embark on their odyssey.

The landscapes are rough and tough; you would need to very resourceful to survive. The picture is complex because they are many different factors: there are rebels still fighting the Union; The Union is on the hunt for these people; There are ex-soldiers who become bounty hunters because the war is over and different Native American tribes who have different allegiances.

There are some clear influences from Sergio Leone, from the color pallet, the way the action was shot and handled and the use of close up on the eyes. The final action scene reminded me of Zulu because of the shooting from the house, whether that is deliberate or by accident I do not know, but reference Zulu is of course always good. It is both an entertaining and thoughtful film.

At the beginning Eastwood shows a vulnerable side in the beginning of the film which is rare and very well done before delivering a character that embodied his Man With No Name character, a tough rogue but despite his demons is a decent man. John Vernon plays an interesting character in the form of Fletcher because he is a reluctant villain, forced to work with the bad guys and knows it is either him or Josey.

He was a more complex character and more sympathetic. The acting throughout is strong, there is complex characterization and characters do actually change during the course of the film.

The Outlaw Josey Wales 4K Ultra HD contains the following new and previously released special features:
• Commentary by Richard Schickel
• An Outlaw and an Antihero - NEW
• The Cinematography of and Outlaw: Crafting Josie Wales - NEW
• Clint Eastwood’s West
• Eastwood in Action
• Hell Hath No Fury: The Making of The Outlaw Josie Wales
• Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy – Reinventing the West