As directorial debuts go, Michael Cimino’s 1974 film Thunderbolt and Lightfoot makes for a weird and wild first film that’s chock full of quirky characters, absurd situations and plenty of action. It’s also one of Clint Eastwood’s best performances of that decade as Thunderbolt, but Jeff Bridges steals the film with his offbeat Lightfoot, a happy-go lucky misfit who’d teamed up with Eastwood after he inadvertently saves his bacon from an assassin. The film is part drama, part comedy, part action and all Cimino rolling the dice, letting his cast have their way with his script and whipping out a wild ride that’s still a pretty memorable movie. Just the absurdity of Thunderbolt pulling off a bank job using a wheeled 20mm cannon is reason enough to see this, but toss in Bridges in drag at one point plus a crazy guy in a car with a raccoon and trunk full of rabbits, shake well and watch what happens…

Sure, you can burn up a few too many brain cells over-analyzing any meanings the director is going for, but I say sit down and enjoy this gem for what it is, a road movie tale of two guys meeting up and getting to know a bit about each other before parting ways. Thunderbolt once pulled off a bank job using his cannon technique and hid the money in an old church, but his former partners in crime think he’s going to keep it all for himself and make a few attempts on his life. After finding the old church is gone and there’s a new one in its place (oops), another run in with his pals finally convinces them he’s on the level. Lightfoot, who Red (George Kennedy) dislikes quite a lot, suggests robbing the same place and oddly enough, his idea is accepted. Amusingly, the gang actually takes assorted jobs in the small town in order to buy the gear they need for the robbery (something you’d probably not do if you wanted to make a clean getaway in real life).

The job goes pretty much as planned, but a detour into a drive-in as a hiding spot foils the crew, which leads to a big chase and a few not so funny demises. Pretty much no one walks away clean here, but the pacing and balance between the laughs and shocks works excellently throughout. I’ll leave the rest of the film for you to check out, by let’s just say by the time you see that car with crazed driver, “pet” raccoon and trunk full of rabbits, you’ll either be laughing, quite pissed off or wondering what the hell is happening. Most likely it’ll be all three, as the film swings a few surprises your way, all of them well-timed and interesting.

The ending is a bit of a downer, but it completely fits in with what’s gone on for the previous 114 or so minutes. It’s just great to see Eastwood in an unconventional (and non-Dirty Harry or cowboy) role and actors such as George Kennedy, Geoffrey Lewis and Gary Busey play wild characters who make you laugh and cringe through their onscreen antics. This isn’t a film where you’ll care for every character, but you’ll certainly like and or hate few more than you’d expect. You could say the same about Cimino’s career, as it hit one major high point with The Deer Hunter and then imploded with Heaven’s Gate, a much better film once you see the full 216-minute Director’s Cut and not the original theatrical release.