Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, starring Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges, was Michael Cimino’s debut feature film as both a writer and director. This 1974 crime comedy movie, which is now a hidden gem, was once the 17th highest-grossing release of the year in the United States. Its success further cemented Clint Eastwood as one of the biggest stars of the decade, gave Jeff Bridges his second Academy Award nomination, and marked the beginning of Cimino’s impressive career as a director.
A buddy movie about two criminals forming a true friendship, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot pokes fun at masculine behavior with lots of homoerotic subtext. Yet, it’s far from being a satirical comedy, leaving it up for the viewer to interpret the frequent sexual jokes as a critique of the actions and reactions depicted or not. Cimino’s script was made on spec for Clint Eastwood and is incredibly meticulous for a debut. It does have multiple layers of meaning to be analyzed, especially regarding Thunderbolt and Lightfoot’s short-lived friendship, but it can also be watched as a simple feel-good crime comedy on a movie night with friends.
Thunderbolt and LightfootImage via United Artists
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot is an eventful story: one with intense car chases, shootouts, suspicions of double-crossing, amends made between criminals, and big money heists planned and executed. But these events tend to blend with one another, forming a chaotic background for the main narrative event. The script is structured around the friendship between Clint Eastwood’s Thunderbolt, an experienced gang member on the run, and Jeff Bridges’ Lightfoot, a young nomad who prefers stealing rather than working. The story starts by establishing that Thunderbolt had been hiding in the countryside for a while, posing as a rural church pastor, until he was found by his former partners in crime. In parallel, Lightfoot had been on the road since he was sixteen, stealing and scamming for a living, like he does in his first scene. They have their equivalent of a meet-cute when Lightfoot runs over Red, who was trying to shoot Thunderbolt dead, and Thunderbolt jumps inside Lightfoot’s stolen car.
Thunderbolt is older, has had a lot of experience with organized crime, and feels disillusioned by the criminal life after the fallout with his previous partners. Lightfoot is young, naive, and dreams of expanding his criminal activity like a child who dreams of owning a million horses. If it were a romance, they would fit the “opposites attract” trope: the planner and the improviser, or the lone wolf and the adorable sheep left behind by its herd. Yet both are in similar positions: in need of a friend. Thunderbolt needs help to escape those after him, while Lightfoot is desperate to find someone to be a lasting company on the road. Thunderbolt is alone because of a misunderstanding among thieves, while Lightfoot is alone because his family failed him — leaving a sixteen-year-old boy to fend for himself. This depth given to each protagonist, and how that is reflected in their choices and reactions, makes the plot far more interesting than if it were a mere money heist, although the objective action in the movie also has its worth.
All this depth is complemented by the amazing performance by both actors, who took the job seriously. After Michael Cimino got Clint Eastwood to read the script, which he wrote on spec with Eastwood in mind for the main role, the actor liked it so much that he decided to produce the movie under his production company. Malpaso Productions had been founded only a few years before. He was already a huge star, having made a name for himself from the Dollars trilogy and the first Dirty Harry movies. But that was not the case for Jeff Bridges, who was an up-and-coming actor at the time. Bridges had already been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor once for his role in the 1972 movie The Last Picture Show, but would only get global attention and be widely called a star later on, especially after starring in the 1985 sci-fi romance Starman. His role as Lightfoot helped him prove his talent as a potential lead, although the role is considered to be a supporting one, and got him a second nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars.
The comedy and the drama in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot are well-balanced, and it ends on a sad note. Lightfoot gets beaten up by Red, who betrays the entire group, and begins to show signs of a serious concussion. Thunderbolt fails to see these signs and is shocked to realize his friend is suddenly dead just when they finally have something good going for them. This brings the movie back to its main point: their friendship. And as Thunderbolt is alone again, the deeper meaning of the film comes forth. The core of the film explores male friendship and the struggles and challenges that come along with it.
Michael Cimino Used To Say Eastwood Gave Him a Career
Jeff Bridges and Clint Eastwood in Cimino’s Thunderbolt and LightfootImage via United Artists
Most debut features, even in the case of great movies, are usually relatively simple stories in comparison to the director’s later efforts. That is arguably the case with Michael Cimino as well, who soon went on to make the controversial Heaven’s Gate in 1980. Yet, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot doesn’t even feel like a debut thanks to its technical excellence and its philosophical undertone. Cimino had solid experience as a writer, having already co-written the 1972 film Silent Running and the 1973 film Magnum Force, the second in the Dirty Harry series. The latter is what gave him a way in with Clint Eastwood, who was also interested in directing Thunderbolt and Lightfoot after reading Cimino’s script. Hollywood had been greatly impacted by the success of the 1969 film Easy Rider, and Eastwood was looking for a road movie to make, to be a part of this cinematic wave as well.
Eastwood’s first meeting with Cimino changed everything. The actor was so impressed by the writer-director that he decided to remain as a producer, but give Cimino a chance to direct a feature for the first time. Malpaso Productions, Eastwood’s company, was behind all steps in production, ensuring that Cimino could have his script shot exactly as he wanted. For example, they went on extensive scouting trips looking for the perfect locations, which wasn’t a common practice for new production companies. However, the movie was released through and distributed by United Artists. Eastwood considered their promotion of the film to be terrible and vowed never to work with United Artists again. And he kept that promise. Despite the limited distribution and bad promotion, according to Eastwood, the movie actually did really well. It just wasn’t the hit road movie that Eastwood expected.
For Michael Cimino, in comparison, the success of Thunderbolt and Lightfoot meant a lot more than it did for both Eastwood and Bridges. Whenever Cimino said publicly that he only had a career in film thanks to Clint Eastwood, that was never an understatement or an exaggeration, but a humble recognition of what happened. Magnum Force had been incredibly important for Cimino as a scriptwriter, but most importantly, it allowed him to meet Eastwood. Then Eastwood could have easily said he would only star in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot if he directed it as well, but he bet on Cimino’s talent. And so, Cimino’s debut as a director ended up being his big break.
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot was one of the highest-grossing films of 1974 in the United States, an impressive achievement for a new director. Each Cimino film has its own flavor, but his main themes and style can be traced back to his debut. All his movies are character-driven, and question (directly or indirectly) the pillars of American society and culture, making controversial conclusions about the impossibility of the American Dream. Fans argue that such an unconventional artist as Cimino really needed some forward-thinking actor or producer like Clint Eastwood to open the doors for him. His next film was the 1978 epic war drama The Deer Hunter, a massive hit that is widely considered one of the best movies of all time. Without Clint Eastwood’s bet on Michael Cimino, perhaps there would be no The Deer Hunter, and Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken would never have had those career-defining roles under Cimino’s direction.
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
Release Date
May 23, 1974
Runtime
115 Minutes
Director
Michael Cimino
Writers
Michael Cimino
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Geoffrey Lewis
Eddie Goody
