HTF REVIEW: "Every Which Way But Loose" (with screenshots) (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

Every Which Way But Loose




Studio: Warner Brothers
Year: 1978
Rated: PG
Film Length: 114 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 16X9 Enhanced Widescreen (1.85:1)

Clint Eastwood is world famous from being one
of the greatest western stars of all time to
one of movie's toughest San Francisco cops. In
1978, he traded in his holster and badge for
a comic role as a barroom fighter in Warner
Brother's comedy, Every Which Way But Loose.
Clint Eastwood finally shows a funny, soft side
to his macho persona in this attempt at a humorous
action/comedy.

Philo Beddoe (Clint Eastwood) is a bare knuckle
boxer who takes care of his pet orangutan, Clyde.
One evening at the Palomino bar, he falls for a
lovely country singer named Lynn Halsey-Taylor
(Sandra Locke). This flighty singer leads him
on a chase across the American Southwest with
a motorcycle gang and cops in hot pursuit.

Believe it or not, I never really watched this
film in its entirety until now. I just don't
enjoy redneck comedy movies, and Every Which
Way But Loose is about as redneck as you can
get. I suppose someone thought it was funny to
pair the screen's toughest legend with an Orangutang.
Let's not even forget the 'black widows', the
allegedly comical hell's angels, who are embarrassingly
bad. One of the few joys I had in watching this
film was Ruth Gordon, who is absolutely hilarious
playing Eastwood's shotgun toting mother.
How is the transfer?
Generally, this DVD looks quite acceptable,
but the transfer is a bit uneven.

I have gotten used to the fact that title
sequences on many catalog titles are going to
look messy. There is no exception here, as the
film's first few moments are plagued with fuzziness.
Once the credits are through, the transfer looks
very good, with some scenes looking better than
others. Many of the outdoor scenes in the first
half of the film have a lot of video noise in them,
while the later scenes filmed up at the mountainside
campsite look nearly gorgeous. Colors are a little
faded and really don't stand out, while flesh tones
look very accurate.
I wasn't expecting much from the soundtrack of
a 1978 comedy, but found myself pleasantly pleased.
In an all new 5.1 Digitally remastered soundtrack,
Every Which Way But Loose takes on an entirely
new life. When Orville (Geoffrey Lewis) is driving
his Ma (Ruth Gordon) to motor vehicles, you can hear
the sound of passing traffic in the rears. When
the film shifts to the Palomino bar, you can hear
the sounds of the crowd filling up the rear channel.
It's amazing to hear how these sounds have been
reworked to add new ambience to the film.
Generally, the film sounds quite good. Dialogue
remains mostly in the center speaker as the mains
deliver very clean sound. The fidelity really
kicks into high gear when Lynn Halsey-Taylor
(Sandra Locke) sings "I seek the night, Coca Cola
Cowboy", adding vibrant punch to all the channels
including bass from the subwoofer that not only
thumped along with the music, but with every punch
Eastwood delivered.
Special Features

Although the DVD lists Behind The Scenes
as a bonus feature, don't expect a featurette.
There are five pages of text that describe how
the script arrived in Eastwood's hands after
Burt Reynolds was originally considered for the
role. We also learn the real identity of Clyde
the Orangutang.
The Cast and Crew feature is also a little
shortchanged in nature. We get a list of all the
featured actors in the film, but you can only
access Clint Eastwood's extensive filmography.
Finally, we get the film's original theatrical
trailer, which is very interesting to watch
as it really tries to sell Clint's "softer" image.
Final Thoughts
Even though studio executives at the time thought
the film was unreleasable, Every Which Way But
Loose became Eastwood's biggest hit to that
date, grossing nearly $100 million.

Those that grew up with this Clint Eastwood film
will undoubtedly want to own it for its popularity
related to that era. Anyone who has yet to see
this film, may want to rent it first. It may have
been fun in its day, but watching it 24 years later
reassures me that this film is featureless and
lackluster
Release Date: NOW

 

[Dave H]

Yeah, I have been thinking and thinking of whether or not to buy this and the sequel. I haven't seen this in years and just wonder how I will like it now. I sure could watch it a lot in it's day. Maybe I will just wait and pick these up through Columbia House for the best price and then sell them on E-Bay if I don't like them. Unfortunately, there is no place to rent them on DVD here.

 

[Bhagi Katbamna]

"We're the Black Widows, feared throughout the land"

I really liked this movie, esp the black widow bits.

 

[Brook K]

I'm kind of in the same boat Dave. Really dug em back in the day, but I have no idea if I still would.

But nobody, and I mean nobody, could kick ass like Philo Beddo

 

[Trace Downing]

My stepfather loved this movie, so I had to put up with it whenever it came on. He tried to project this well centered, church-going postmaster pillar of the town, but he just loved these "redneck" movies like this. He also liked "Gatorbait" better than "Deliverance". My stepfather also liked Bob Seger, so I hate him too.
The only way I'd buy this is if it came with "A whole goddam bag of Oreos!"
Thankyou for letting me vent my childhood frustrations, it was very theraputic.

 

[MichaelG]

Although I really loved both movies in this series growing up, I will go the rental route and then decide later, since I haven't seen wither in quite a while.

 

[ace peterson]

I think this movie is great! It does take me back to years gone by now. As a previous poster stated, it's on TBS or TNT occasionally and I still turn to it and watch it. Even it is just for backround noise. Although I won't rush out and get this one, I'll stick it on my Christmas list and someone who wants to spend $10 on me will make me a happy camper.

Ace

 

[Scott-C]

Both this and the sequel are (for me) timeless classics! I love 'em, watch 'em every time they're on TBS and will definitely pick them up on DVD at some point.

 

[ScottL]

NO doubt. I also grew up with this and love it, but hey..I am from Wisconsin we are all a bunch of Rednecks ;-)

I WILL be purchasing this one.

Scott

 

[John_McKittrick]

"That Hairy Ass Stole All My Oreos!!".

Gotta love that line.

If you actually looked into the talent bios Ron you would have read that it was Mr. Eastwood that paired himself with a monkey, no one else. This film was originally intended for Burt Reynolds and thank God it didn't go that route. These films are timeless classics and perfect additions to the Eastwood collection, right next to Bronco Billy.

Philo Beto is the perfect "joe sixpack".

And for $10-$15 for each film you can't go wrong. They're 10 times better than Driven.

John

 

[Mark Zimmer]

I was surprised to find how entertaining I still found this, a couple decades later. Of course, I'm also from Wisconsin Redneckland so that probably doesn't hurt. It's some good lowbrow fun and it even has a fairly intriguing romantic angle that isn't quite what one expects, though Sondra Locke is so thin it makes my teeth hurt. My full comments on the disc are over at Digitally Obsessed should anyone be interested. I agree that the "making of" was horribly disappointing.

Avoid the sequel, though, which is unredeemably awful.

 

[Dave H]

I went ahead and bought this. Still pretty decent. Picture quality after the opening of the movie looks very good.

 

[Larry Bevil]

I've enjoyed Every Which Way But Loose and Any Which Way You Can for a number of years. I continue watching them every so often. I had them on laserdisc but the quality was not very good, plus they were pan and scam. So, I have picked them up on DVD to enjoy them in the proper aspect ratio and improved sound.