Thunderbolt and Lightfoot

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Thunderbolt and Lightfoot

R

1974

1h 54m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

88%

Tomatometer

32 Reviews

73%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

While stealing a car, free-spirited drifter Lightfoot (Jeff Bridges) crosses paths with legendary thief Thunderbolt (Clint Eastwood) in the midst of his own escape. Thunderbolt's old partners in crime, Red (George Kennedy) and Eddie (Geoffrey Lewis), believe he double-crossed them after they robbed a Montana bank vault several years ago. After Thunderbolt successfully pleads his innocence and is let off the hook, Lightfoot rallies them together as a group to rob the very same bank again.

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Critics Consensus

This likable buddy/road picture deftly mixes action and comedy, and features excellent work from stars Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges and first-time director Michael Cimino.

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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

Jun 27, 2024

3.5/4

Thunderbolt and Lightfoot remains a major achievement for Eastwood, Bridges, and Cimino. It deserves to be more than a cult curiosity.

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Joe Clay

The Times (UK)

Mar 21, 2023

This light-hearted yet poignant buddy movie is very much in the style of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)...

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Richard Brody

The New Yorker

Apr 14, 2020

...a criminals-on-the-road movie that shifts toward a dazzlingly elaborate and painfully realistic heist tale.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Apr 23, 2023

4/5

…a great tough-guy movie that drips with learned experience and hard-earned pathos… a down and dirty feature full of questionable characters and morality... there’s a profoundly moral story in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, a bromance for the ages...

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Dec 3, 2022

It’s the directorial debut of Michael Cimino, who also wrote the script, and his directs the film as a mix of character piece and lighthearted crime story with dark shadows around the edges.

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David Sterritt

Christian Science Monitor

Oct 8, 2021

Thunderbolt sorely lacks the kind of movie-movie star-power that might have made it memorable despite its excesses of vulgarity and glibness.

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Joaquin U

@Joaquin1 Jun 24, 2026

Very entertaining. A brilliant cast, with two likable leads who are legendary by now, a good script, and a notable director’s debut. This movie deserves more recognition — it’s pure fun, scattered with random 70s nakedness. You get thrills and laughs, what’s not to like? Pure Eastwood goodness.

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Matthew L

@Mattog1 Jun 14, 2026

Clint Eastwood at his finest. Jeff bridges is amazing.

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Jerod S

@jeroduptown May 10, 2026

Bridges and Eastwood are a cool crime pairing - but the movie is so scattered with random 70s nakedness.

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Matthew H

@Hendy2013 Mar 11, 2026

Love this movie another Clint classic

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Frans B

@FransB Dec 24, 2025

Benchmark 70's movie. Stellar cast all excels in character. Great story, well written and light hearted. Will always be sort of a cult classic. Very entertaining and incredible twist in the end

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Ian H

@Howellsey Nov 3, 2025

Classic buddy movie with hugely likable and talented cast. Twist at the end.....

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Michael Cimino

Director

Clint Eastwood

Thunderbolt

Jeff Bridges

Lightfoot

George Kennedy

Red Leary

Geoffrey Lewis

Eddie Goody

Catherine Bach

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Synopsis

While stealing a car, free-spirited drifter Lightfoot (Jeff Bridges) crosses paths with legendary thief Thunderbolt (Clint Eastwood) in the midst of his own escape. Thunderbolt's old partners in crime, Red (George Kennedy) and Eddie (Geoffrey Lewis), believe he double-crossed them after they robbed a Montana bank vault several years ago. After Thunderbolt successfully pleads his innocence and is let off the hook, Lightfoot rallies them together as a group to rob the very same bank again.

Director: Michael Cimino
Producer: Robert Daley
Screenwriter: Michael Cimino
Distributor: United Artists
Production Co: Malpaso Company
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 23, 1974, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008
Runtime: 1h 54m

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