Tightrope (1984)

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

A search for a prostitute killer gets tense because of the cops own 'professional' dealings with the victims and his subsequent secrecy against colleagues. Good premise and acting, interesting relationship building , but the pacing slows too much in the wrong places for my taste.

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 which he is no stranger to, when he is off-duty. All this contrasts with his home life as a single parent with two young girls. Then on the case he meets a counsellor with whom a relationship possibly offering some normality to his darker side.....It's an interesting concept, obviously a huge curiosity piece when released back in the day, because Eastwood was arguably the biggest star on the planet, and this was his Basic Instinct, if you would.It's pretty tame stuff when you watch it now, but one can imagine how many people were shocked by the imagery, and the amount of sex and violence that is on display.For a film with such a dark tone, Eastwood plays such a homely family man, grounded and down to earth, so kudos to his performance for not acting all strange and weird when he delves into his fantasies. He's just as normal as he always is.The red hues obviously indicate the illicit passions in the film, and although the killer is just your perfunctory eighties villain, his motives and actions are pretty macabre.As with all Malpaso movies released in the early eighties, we are treated with a city shot from a helicopter, and a wonderful jazz score.It's an oddity for sure, and Eastwood took a huge gamble. Luckily it paid off, but then he made City Heat, and it went downhill for a couple of years.Would make a great triple bill with Cruising, and 8mm

"Tightrope" is a story about the classic split between good and bad that exists in all of us, the struggle to keep the "dark side" at bay and the challenges that have to be faced when exposure to certain stimuli make the "dark side" more difficult to control. In the case of New Orleans detective Wes Block (Clint Eastwood), his experience of having been deserted by his wife, left him feeling threatened by women and needing to regain some control. The way that he did this was perverse, as he developed a taste for visiting prostitutes in the French Quarter who were content to be handcuffed.To quote one of the characters in "Tightrope", "there's a darkness in all of us"......."some have it under control, others act it out. The rest of us try to walk on a tightrope between the two". The level of success that can be achieved in walking the tightrope is determined by a number of factors and in Block's case, it's made clear that his many years of dealing with sex crimes had affected him in some way that had contributed to his aberrant behaviour.Detective Block is assigned to investigate the murder of a young woman who'd been raped and strangled and soon after, another victim is found in a hot tub. Both women were prostitutes and both had been killed in the same way. In the course of his investigations, Block visits the victims' co-workers and after questioning them, has sex with them.Block is a troubled character who struggles with profound feelings of guilt and becomes even more uncomfortable when the next victim is a prostitute he'd been with on the night before her death. The killer then goes on to taunt Block in a way which makes it clear that he's aware of the detective's sexual predilections. Block then becomes tormented by similarities that he recognises between himself and the killer and even suffers nightmares as a consequence.Block is divorced but enjoys a happy family life with his two young daughters. During the course of his investigation, he meets Beryl Thibodeaux (Genevieve Bujold), a rape counsellor and self-defence instructor who wants to be involved in the investigation. Gradually their friendship develops and they get to know each other better.The serial killer leaves some evidence behind at a crime scene which indicates that he probably works in a brewery but when this lead is pursued, Beryl and Block's daughters' lives are put in jeopardy before the culprit's reign of terror is finally brought to an end.Block's inherent duality and the journey that he travels as he (through his relationship with Beryl), overcomes his need to use handcuffs, makes him an interesting character and Clint Eastwood's remarkably subtle performance is both impressive and vital to the success of the movie. Genevieve Bujold and Dan Hedaya are also good in their supporting roles."Tightrope" is an intriguing film which is often suspenseful. Lennie Niehaus' score is wonderfully evocative of New Orleans and Bruce Surtees' shadowy cinematography is tremendous as it does so much to enhance the mood of impending danger and psychological darkness that prevails throughout the whole movie.

If it's a Clint Eastwood film, it's bound to be great; and this one was excellent. I remember seeing this at the theater when I was 12 years old and man did it give me chills. I wonder what women who lived alone or with a roomy who saw this thought; especially those that lived in New Orleans. The story is entirely filmed in New Orleans, a great place for a film, especially a thriller like this one.The story is about a serial killer who targets women, mainly single women or those with jobs that involve entertaining men at joints, if U know what I mean. It has excitement from the beginning to the end.Clint Eastwood is a cop on the case trying to find out who is murdering these women for no reason. The murders are usually commented by some sex act, strangulation, it wasn't clear to me on that. The majority of them were committed in strip joints, massage parlor's, etc.. In the beginning it is a man hunt, the killer leaving behind biological evidence pointing to a male of type O blood, among other biological evidence. Detective Block, Eastwood, teams up with a rape counselor, Genevieve Bujold, I 4got her character name. Along with the NOPD, a man hunt ensues, when Block finds out who is responsible for the murders a Levendar Roth, all hell breaks loose. Levendar Roth was a ex-cop who Block busted on double rape charge, block knows his family and new love interest are in danger because Roth is out for revenge. It is up to Block to find this psychopath before his family or another innocent victim his next on Roth's list.This is a great film I recommend it to anyone especially if Ur single, it can save your life, and so U the dangers that lurk in society and in the dark.Kris L. CocKayne