Tightrope Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
A cop on the edge...
A New Orleans detective is leading an investigation into a killer who is raping and murdering women. His enquiries lead him into the seedy side of town where he is no stranger off-duty. All this contrasts with his home life as a single parent with two young girls. Then on the case he meets rape counsellor Beryl Thibodeaux with whom a relationship possibly offering some normalcy starts to develop.
| Clint Eastwood | Capt. Wes Block |
| Dan Hedaya | Det. Molinari |
| Marco St. John | Leander Rolfe |
| Graham Paul | Luther |
| Bill Holliday | Police Chief |
| John Wilmot | Medical Examiner |
| Joy N. Houck Jr. | Swap Meet Owner |
| Stuart Baker-Bergen | Blond Surfer |
| Donald Barber | Shorty |
| Robert Harvey | Lonesome Alice |
| Ron Gural | Coroner Dudley |
| Layton Martens | Sgt. Surtees |
| Richard Charles Boyle | Dr. Fitzpatrick |
| Jonathan Sachar | Gay Boy |
| Lionel Ferbos | Plainclothes Gus |
6.20 out of 10 (3464 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Very 'TIGHT'rope
posted on 09 May 2009Wes Block (Clint Eastwood) is a family man with some issues. He likes to go out at night and play hanky panky with some of the girls in New Orleans's houses. Such lordage can play a pitiful mortal so well. But wait, there's a serial killer out there who is getting rid of unwanted solicitation. This movie is creepy and will make anybody not want to walk alone ever again. Watch out for psychos who wear dirty tennis shoes. That's bad news. The savior cleaned up his act and saved his children from the lunatic and the train smashed right on through! An underrated movie that should be released on DVD right now. It has been shown on television numerous times, but it hasn't been available to buy on DVD. It will scare the daylights out of you and make you think about wrestling with strangers. It made me make lemonade and brownies. Stressful!
Tightrope
posted on 13 Nov 2008I love this movie and all of Clint Eastwoods movies. I was grown up on Clint Eastwood because he was always my dads favorite actor. I can not imagine anyone wanting to give his films less then 5 stars because he is so awsome and so are all his films. This movie is a good thiller and is action pacted. I wouldn't trade any of my Clint Eastwood movies for nothing. This movie is worth the money to buy it and of course as uaual Eastwood's acting is excellent. If you have never seen this film you are missing out on a good one.
VLH
Well-made psychological thriller.
posted on 13 Nov 2008Of all of Clint Eastwood's performances, this is probably my favourite. In this part, Eastwood gives his character enormous depth and vulnerability, and touches on the insecurities and weaknesses that drive an otherwise normal man into sexual deviance. All of this he does in the guise of one of his most well-worn characters -- a police detective out after a psychopathic killer. Unlike the "Dirty Harry" pictures or "The Gauntlet", in which Eastwood only suggested the existence of human weakness, here that weakness is interwoven with the plot (in which the psychopath knows and manipulates the detective's weakness for deviant sex), heightening the tension.What makes the film all the more impressive is that it doesn't dwell exclusively on the deviant side of Eastwood's personality. That would be the easy way out. Instead, it counterbalances that aspect of his character with some nice family moments, making sure to let the audience know (and convincingly at that) that this is a man who truly does have more than one side to him.The acting from the supporting players is fine, although most of them (namely, Genevieve Bujold and Dan Hedaya) are given little to do. Perhaps the most surprising discovery from the film is the performance of Eastwood's daughter Alison, who gives an exceptional performance as the detective's daughter, who senses something is not quite right with her father, but loves him just the same.The film is not without flaws -- Tuggle's script skips a couple of grooves in the plausibility category (namely, when certain characters have to be killed off), and there are a few gaps in the script. All told, however, Tuggle's direction is strong, using dimly lit sets for more than just noirish effect, and building up to a very strong finale. Moreover, his scriptwriting flaws can be excused because of the strong and full character he creates.This is a film in which Eastwood creates a character not unlike that in his superb performance in "In the Line of Fire." All the same, it is a performance that in a weaker Oscar year might have been worthy of an Oscar nomination.
A cop gets a little too close in his case.
posted on 05 Oct 2008Inner darkness is out of control in this thriller set in New Orleans. A veteran cop(Clint Eastwood)is put in peril when evidence links him to the serial murders he is investigating. Genevieve Bujold co-stars. Twelve year old Alison Eastwood plays one of the cop's two daughters, and surprisingly holds her own. This shady thriller is worth your time. The pace is a little slow, but very intense. Some pretty cool sets and mellow jazz. Don't get too relaxed.
Should have been Clint Eastwood's first acting oscar nomination
posted on 31 Jul 2008Anybody who thinks Clint Eastwood gave his finest acting performances in "Unforgiven" and "Million Dollar Baby" should see this film, released in 1984. At the time, his acting talent was not as respected as it is now, which is why I think this film did not get the critical acclaim it should have.
Clint gives a flat out amazing performance as a police officer investigating the murder of prostitutes in red light new orleans while also exploring his own disturbing appetites for kinky sex.
The film is deceptive. It starts out as what seems to be a typical cop thriller but quickly evolves into something much deeper and multilayered. Clint shows an emotional complexity all the more extraordinary because of its subtlety. It should have easily been his first acting oscar nod.
Also worth noting is that this is one of the best films ever filmed in New Orleans. It excellently captures the unique flavor and ambience of the city. (something all the more precious in this post katrina era)
Alison Eastwood , clint's real life daughter, also gives an amazing performance for a child actor. She should have been awarded more plum parts during that period of her life because of it. It was easily jodie foster- dakota fanning level.
Flawed but fascinating film noir & Eastwood pushes to the limit his star status...
posted on 25 Jul 2008...in a dark and unsettling psychological thriller. Directed by Clint's protégé Richard Tuggle (who wrote the screenplay to the earlier Siegel-Eastwood classic ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ (1979), the film's first half is uncertain and suffers from clichéd (albeit well staged and visualised) New Orleans locations - shady whorehouse dives, red light tinged bars and over officious police procedural rooms and locker-room banter.The plot itself is functional but nothing special: a serial killer with a penchant for young, pretty blondes, is terrorising the city by disposing of prostitutes by strangling them and dumping the bodies all over the city. The twist in TIGHTROPE is that the killer is also dogging the footsteps of kinky cop Detective Wes Block (Eastwood), a lonely divorcée with two young children. Block eases off the shackles of a tough day job by frequenting the very same sleazy dives that his thoroughly unpleasant nemesis does.A predictable game of cat and mouse ensues, but the film's stock film noir origins are transcended by Eastwood's continual playing with his own star status and by a very interesting exploration of his character's private obsessions and genuinely touching relationship with his two young daughters. Special mention here for real-life daughter Alison Eastwood, quite superb as the older and more perceptive girl, who clearly suspects her troubled father is up to more than just "looking for something" on his late night travels through New Orleans's seamier districts.The more conventional opening section of TIGHTROPE is distinctly misleading, largely because about half way through, the film's most interesting character (played by the truly excellent GENEVIEVE BUJOLD) comes much more to the fore. As the feisty and fiercely intelligent Rape Crisis Center head Beryl Thibodeaux (nice use of Bujold's French-Canadian heritage here for a movie set in New Orleans!) Bujold's sharp dialogue exchanges with ultra macho Detective Wes Block-Clint Eastwood are a constant joy, and, of course, edge us deeper into film noir territory as Block's kinky sexual practise and failed marriage become the focus of the investigation.Tuggle does a generally excellent job of keeping the material visually interesting, although he pays less attention to the minor characters, wasting a great character actor like Dan Hedaya for the role of Block's sidekick on the investigation. Overall though, this is an underrated film in the Eastwood canon and worthy of your attention. It's a slick genre piece with a surprising ability to probe the areas of Eastwood's star persona not normally explored in the Dirty Harry series.
One of Eastwood's 10 Best Films!!!
posted on 04 Jul 2008Tightrope is probably the most unusual Clint Eastwood film. But its also a brilliant film in dealing with his characters dark side and similarities with the killer. I also think that Alison Eastwood, Clint's real life daughter, gives a great performance. It's not annoying or badly done like some child actors would do. But be warned that Tightrope is extremely sexually explicit and very violent.
Arguably the darkest film in Eastwood's filmography....
posted on 26 Apr 2008I saw this film ages ago, and recently viewed it again. It's even better than I remembered, and it's one of Eastwood's best films. As other have noted, it's a really dark film (even today). If it had been made today, it would probably get branded with a NC-17 rating because of its realistic depiction of the sleazy side of New Orleans. Eastwood is a cop chasing a serial killer who has a predeliction for rough, sleazy sex like Eastwood's character does. The sex scenes are uncomfortable to watch, they are not titillating at all. The violence in the film is also pretty brutal. It's not glamorized at all. It's quite savage. Eastwood gives one of his better performances here, Dan Hedaya gives a good performance, and Genevieue Bujold is excellent as Clint's love interest. Even Allison Eastwood, his real life daughter who plays his daughter here, is good. Today, this film would probably be filmed as a joke, with all the kinky sex done in a "fun" way, making it light and funny. Eastwood doesn't do this. It's shot on location in New Orleans, and it takes place a lot at night, adding to the brooding and intensity of it. Even day scenes seem dark here. This is a really creepy film, one of Eastwood's darkest films.
Even though Richard Tuggle is credited with directing, he didn't. He started as director, but he was going too slow for Clint's tastes, so Clint relieved Tuggle and took over the directing himself. Union rules in the DGA prevented Clint getting credit for directing (because Clint did the same thing with Philip Kaufman on The Outlaw Josey Wales), but for all intensive purposes, Clint directed this film. I really dug this film, and I'm glad I saw it again.
Just the right mix.
posted on 14 Feb 2008Excellent film, Dark side we all have mixed with the Wes Block's warm heart at times was well placed to go with the Film's tone. I would highly recommend this to anyone into murder Mystery's. Eastwood is able to bring this character to life, his character Wes Block is a man on a mission, and he won't stop until he's got his man. To me the twists in this story can't be seen ahead of time, with just hints of foreshadowing, one is now taken along for the ride... Some may feel this film is dated, I would have to agree, it's like taking a journey back in time 25 years to New Orleans, Bourbon street during Halloween which was perfectly weaved into the story, simply brilliant,if you're looking for some high action "Make my day" shoot em up type of film this would not be the one for you. However if you have patience and a bit of a dark side I believe this film will satisfy your murder mystery cravings. 9/10Rated R for sexual content & violence
WTF Was That?
posted on 14 Feb 2008Interesting premise, the "tightrope" all people walk between normal life and their darker sides. But there is no real script. There is no plot, and the whole disjointed mess needs to be edited down so that it can make sense. Poorly written and clumsily executed. Who was that guy at the end? We just see a pair of runners all movie, and the end, he's revealed as the killer but who the hell was he? Bujold's character was awful, a ball breaking man hater who swoons for Clint's misogynistic sweaty balls as he exercises hovering his crotch in her face at the gym. His "I wanna lick the sweat off your body" line delivered over oysters in his "Go Ahead, make my day" inflection set her heart and panties aflame. Yeah, that happens a lot. It would have been a better film if Clint WERE the killer. Then we'd have a person in a responsible job, maintaining the facade of an upright father in order to hide his violent kink. Very poor writing throughout. The choking severed arm at the end is just icing on a half baked idea. There's a lot of nudity delivered in a very dark and nasty feeling style, so that's a plus for the film, but the whole film needed a writer and an editor.
RICHARD TUGGLE, OPUS 1
posted on 13 Nov 2007***** 1984. Written and directed by Richard Tuggle. That's one of the Eastwood movies I prefer. At that time, Clint began to play with his image and delivered with TIGHTROPE a fascinating journey into New Orleans's red district and into a tortured mind. Masterpiece.
Eastwood Surprises With Superb Performance In Fascinating Noir
posted on 29 Sep 2007If you look at it as a social commentary on the '80s, "Tightrope" is a very interesting film. Clint Eastwood plays a cop investigating a series of brutal sex-murders who discovers that the killer has more things in common with him that he is willing to admit. The complex character of the cop gives Eastwood an opportunity to explore his big macho screen persona and I've always been surprised that Eastwood doesn't seem to have a problem debunking his image here.In the film, Eastwood's cop has been practically emasculated. He was abandoned by his wife and he was left to play Mr. Mom to his kids. He is obviously unprepared (borderline inept) to take care of his own kids, which was a hot topic in the late '70s and '80s, when babyboomers started hitting middle age and were facing the consequences of the sexual revolution ("Kramer vs. Kramer" captured the "crisis" very well). Just think of Eastwood as "Dirty Harry", and then tell me there is not great irony at play here.What is most fascinating about the movie is how Eastwood's older daughter (Eastwood's real-life daughter Alison) has assumed the role of wife. She cooks for Eastwood, watches the younger sister and even questions Eastwood when he is late for supper, the same way a wife would question a husband. Listen to the many conversations between father and daughter, and you will realize that it sounds more like discussions between a husband and his wife.But Eastwood's macho bravado suffers more humiliations. He has no sex life or female companionship (he is even sleeping with a dog). The sex-related crimes intrigue Eastwood because they allude to an area of his life that he was forced to abandon. He also has to confront the fact that his old-fashioned attitude is not helping his career either. There is a great moment when Geneviève Bujold tells Eastwood that he needs to alert the population that a serial killer is raping and killing women. Eastwood says that he does not want to scare women. Geneviève Bujold responds, "maybe they need to be scared". In other words, women can take care of themselves if you tell them what is going on.I saw "Tightrope" when it first came out, and it was quite a nice surprise because it was not what one expected from Eastwood who was known as an action figure. This second viewing confirmed to me that the movie does deserve more attention, especially now that Eastwood has gained critical approval, something he did not have back in 1984. The film is extremely well directed by Tuggle, who also wrote the multilayered script. It is deliberately paced, always willing to linger on mostly dark images. The morose atmosphere is enticing and it gives the anti-hero of the piece an unusually intriguing niche to operate from. Terrific and recommended to fans of dark cinema.
Guilt - ridden cop stalks serial killer with a strange affinity..............
posted on 07 Jun 2007There can be a deal of ambivalence in the relationship between cop and prostitute.Being a prostitute is not in itself an offence.Soliciting for the purpose of prostitution is an offence,running a brothel is an offence,living off immoral earnings is an offence.Nonetheless a cop can have a lot of power over a streetwalker.He can arrest her,hassle her,keep her moving on,blackmail her for freebies,even take money from her.And she has little recourse.Most cops chose to turn a blind eye to all but the most blatant soliciting unless under pressure from above or from concerned citizens.The same goes for sex shows and massage parlours.A few,like Detective Wes Block,are attracted by their defiant sexuality and availability and the freedom they represent to have random uncomplicated sexual relief on tap.Like Block these men are usually separated or divorced,middle - aged and wary of intimacy and commitment. Mr Clint Eastwood gives a first - rate performance as Block,father of two daughters,ashamed of his needs,sometimes loathing what they have turned him into.Only with his kids or his dogs - all capable of unconditional love - does he appear even remotely human. As a serial killer begins to mirror his movements,Block is forced to recognise what he has become. The movie is set in New Orleans which gives Mr Eastwood a chance to commission Mr Lennie Niehaus - former Stan Kenton alumnus - to compose a jazz - heavy score. It is not a movie full of snappy one - liners,dialogue is sparse and significant.Miss Genevieve Bujold is also excellent as the Rape Crisis Centre boss,outwardly a ball - breaker,but wanting to trust this odd cop who offers so many contradictions. Arguably the best performance comes from Alison Eastwood as Block's cusp - of - adolescence daughter. "Tightrope"is a strange rather disturbing movie,but,if you can take it, a rewarding one.
Tightrope
posted on 21 Mar 2007I am sure I had seen this film before, because so many of the images looked familiar, maybe I did but I forgot to comment, but anyway, I've seen it now. Basically a string of sexually-related murders are taking place in New Orleans, and Capt. Wes Block (Clint Eastwood) is the detective investigating. At the same time he is struggling to raise his two daughters, Amanda (Alison Eastwood, Clint's real daughter) and Penny (Jennifer Beck), and a relationship is growing with tough rape prevention officer Beryl Thibodeaux (Geneviève Bujold). The tightrope by the way is the fact that the killer shares the same sexual preferences/tastes as Block, e.g. bondage, masochism, you can tell this when he finds one of his interviewees murdered. Also starring The First Wives Club's Dan Hedaya as Det. Molinari, Marco St. John as Leander Rolfe, Rebecca Perle as Becky Jacklin, Regina Richardson as Sarita, Randi Brooks as Jamie Cory and Jamie Rose as Melanie Silber. This wasn't completely what I expected, even if the material did look familiar, and to be honest, I can see why it is underrated, it is quite dated in my opinion, but worth a look. Good!
Good film, but no Dirty Harry
posted on 17 Jan 2007I would not call this a great film, like the Unforgiven when Eastwood acts and directs one notices the negative effects on the movie. Eastwood still acts well, and there is suspense for the viewer. The viewer does not know who the killer is, and the film has a few frightening scenes. Worth renting. 6/10
One Of Eastwood's Darker Films
posted on 14 Jan 2007Here is a very, very tense thriller about a New Orleans cop (Clint Eastwood) finding a serial killer.....and vice-versa.This is a very dark (literally) film with a big film-noir look and feel. Neo-noir, I guess, is what they call post-1950 gritty crime films like these. Eastwood's character in "Tightrope" is a complex one. On one hand, he's a wonderfully loving father of two sweet girls (one played by his actual daughter, and played well), and yet he is a weak man when it comes to prostitutes. But, whatever side he shows - light or dark - he's interesting, as always. So is the female star of this movie, Genevieve Bujold, a woman with a very intriguing face and just a trace of her French accent. Dan Heyada contributes strongly in a low- key performance.Yes, this film is a bit too much on the seedy side for my normal tastes, definitely sordid, but very well done. It's a story that grabs you early and locks you in all the way.
Shortchanged
posted on 18 Dec 2006A terribly conventional thriller that dilutes Dirty Harry with two parts Hitchcock and forty parts nighttime New Orleans. The story is so thin you can strain jam through it and is padded out with a couple of tension-building sequences. One, during evening Mardi Gras is partially effective but the others are simply padding, chase sequences.Clint Eastwood is as ever, although he seems rather restrained. This may be something to do with having two motherless daughters urging to him on with an indecent assault case worker, played above averagely by Geneviève Bujold. In addition to Bujold, Eastwood has support from Lennie Niehaus' score and Den Hadaya as his colleague Molinari. However the first is overwrought and the second underused. There are too many non sequitur cuts to allow Eastwood to rush off alone and the subplot that someone may be trying to frame him for the murders that he's investigating is abandoned before it even gets going.The film's too short but not if you're actually watching it... 3/10
a pot-boiler thriller, doesn't reach greatness, but it's well executed all the way
posted on 16 Sep 2006Richard Tuggle's got plenty of ambition in his script, but for some reason he actually fares even better as a director. He tries to mix around maybe too much in his way of making a dark psychological thriller for his star, Clint Eastwood, but there's at least some very interesting set-ups he puts together in the middle of all the constant "crime scene" scenes (and there are MANY in this film, probably too much unless a fan of CSI). On the one hand, Tightrope tells the story of a divorced father of two girls who, as he says, are the only two things he hasn't screwed up. He's also into really getting into his work, i.e. going into the red-light districts of New Orleans and finding prostitutes at night. This comes out of the other story, which is about a serial killer who only kills women- said prostitutes and other ladies of the night- and leaves a red ribbon and some saliva as his only markers. This latter one, in all actuality, isn't even the story with more interest, even though that's the one most fans of Eastwood and of serial killer movies will want to see. On that end, Tuggle just pulls through with adequate marks, albeit with nothing too wrong or stupid to make it unbearable.But this storyline does provide an intersection into the one with Eastwood's Detective as he becomes embroiled in this case up to his neck- or groin maybe- and it's fascinating seeing Eastwood in such a sexually charged thriller for once, not to mention without the tongue-in-cheek lines and machismo turned to 11. He's a working cop with more than his share of flaws, but he loves his kids and tries to go at his job as a professional, and Eastwood plays him that way, but in doing this, and in the typical love interest angle that develops ever so subtly with a sex crimes expert, there's some complexities here. Tuggle provides some of the freshest psychological thrills I've seen in any neo-noir, either in just atmosphere (Eastwood walking through a warehouse filled with carnival-like animatronics, very nightmarish) or in how his perceptions of the case get to his head (a dream scene where he's the killer sounds too easy, but Tuggle isn't out to make it easy for him). When it starts to get personal, as the killer goes after the Detective, there's even an effective moment when Eastwood finally cracks through emotionally, and one realizes what's under all of that intense, cynical gruff. Meanwhile, Tuggle doesn't stop as a director in giving this about as dark a look as possible, and with the sexuality, while sleazy (where else will you see women wrestling all oiled up and refereed by a midget named Shorty), is also effective for the mood.All of this makes for some intriguing viewing, in many parts, however the more standard parts of the plot, the kind that may or may not bring some who want to seek out Eastwood's more obscure starring vehicles, lack the spark of what's unexpected. Eastwood's scenes with his own kid, Alison, are part of the intrigue. When we see them in very down-to-earth moments where the ex-wife/mother, a distant figure in this New Orleans world, pops up there's some things that don't need to be said, but get conveyed anyway. How much is there truth-wise in this for the real father/daughter dynamic, or is it just for show by a consummate professional and his equally apt offspring? I can't say for sure, but it makes for what might make for a better movie, if only the red-ribbon killer angle got some extra lift. That's not to say Tuggle doesn't end it on a high-note for thriller-fans, including a big laugh at what happens at the end of the train tracks tussle.
Kinky,Kinky, Kinky Clint...
posted on 10 Apr 2006Man, 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 say 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.
Good and gritty noir
posted on 18 May 2009Clint Eastwood is Wes Block, a detective with what is pretty much a triple lifestyle. In one he is a cop, even a good cop. In the second he is father to his two daughters left to him by a wife that found another man. In the third, he is guy who like to visit prostitutes and get dirty. The three largely different sides of Wes Block come dangerously close to one another when he starts to investigate a serial killer who frequents the red light district. The killer is not only likely to be a former cop familiar with police procedure, but he also knows Wes Block.Clint Eastwood gives a very fine performance as a man troubled on many fronts and trying to come to grips with it all. He has his signature emotionless face, but Eastwood has almost always made his characters plain, but only on the surface. He packs in many subtleties into a dark role which is nicely directed into a gritty film, by an obviously talented director/writer who has made surprisingly too few films. If this is a his debut, and it is very good for a first directorial effort capturing the noir atmosphere very effectively, I am almost itching to see what Richard Tuggle could come up with next, whether in this genre or not. 8/10Rated R for grim violence and sexual content