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Cutter's Way

Play trailer Poster for Cutter's Way R 1981 1h 45m Mystery & Thriller Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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92% Tomatometer 24 Reviews 70% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Best friends Richard Bone (Jeff Bridges) and Alex Cutter (John Heard) are two middle-class guys living in an upper-class town. The Santa Barbara buddies get dragged into a murder mystery when Richard accidentally spots a man ditching a body into a trash can. Alex, an embittered Vietnam veteran who lost an eye and leg in the war, thinks what Richard saw is worth something, especially when it comes out that the potential murderer is a wealthy and powerful man in the community.
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Cutter's Way

Cutter's Way

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Critics Consensus

A suitably cynical neo-noir that echoes the disillusionment of its era, Cutter's Way relies on character-driven drama further elevated by the work of an outstanding cast.

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Critics Reviews

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Derek Malcolm London Evening Standard 06/24/2011
4/5
Almost as impressive as Polanski's Chinatown and an extraordinary change of gear from one of the fine Czech New Wave's most notable alumni. Go to Full Review Antonia Quirke Financial Times 06/24/2011
3/5
[Heard] is one of America's great lost actors. Go to Full Review Peter Bradshaw Guardian 06/23/2011
4/5
The film moves with an easy uncoerced swing: moment by moment, scene by scene, we are unsure what to think or where we are going. It is a fascinating, organically grown drama. Go to Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy 02/15/2023
3.5/4
Cutter’s Way is at once an American film of its time and for all ensuing times, an ugly-truth endeavor examining a nation in which the rich and powerful literally get away with murder while the poor and pitiful barely exist at all. Go to Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews 05/14/2022
3/4
...an exceedingly (and sometimes excessively) deliberate drama that benefits from its stellar performances and raft of appealing, eye-catching attributes... Go to Full Review Karen Krebsbach Sojourner 08/16/2019
Richly compelling. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Noel L Jan 19 What an attention grabbing tale of taking the law into your own hands See more tucker s @tucker83014 Nov 16 I really wanted to like this movie. I thought Jeff Bridges did a superlative job considering the absolutely terrible writing and directing of the film. Nothing about this movie justifies its production or release. Essentially a complete waste of time. See more Vincent S. @Vin_E_At_The_Movies Nov 3 I will never forget or shake off the memory of first seeing this cult classic. It blew me away and shook me to my core. A modern film noir masterpiece with one of the best endings a movie has ever had. It also has three amazing performances including one of my favorite performances ever by an actress by Lisa Eichorn. It’s so powerful I cried several times in the movie because of her fragile character. Maureen, “Mo” I will never forget you! See more Leaburn O Jul 5 Brilliant ending but my word it was tiresome getting there after a promising start. Watched on Amazon Prime. See more Glen H Jun 2 Bridges and Heard are amazing, giving incredible performances. But that's about the only good thing with the film, relying on a terribly written script where the plot just rambles about trying to force character development while ignoring the actual story itself. It feels like two stories in one, where the neo-noir elements take a backseat to the less interesting drama of the effects of war and greed on individuals. It does a terrible job at that, not even attempting to balance the two, meandering between the less interesting drama more than the noir. Save yourself the headache and just watch the first few minutes to see Heard in action as the drunkard veteran. Then fast forward to the last 10 minutes, since that's about the place the story actually starts to pick up pace. See more William @Will1 02/21/2025 Some really good performances and i found myself wanting to like it. The problem is the film keeps tripping over itself and doesn’t really know what it’s about. See more Read all reviews
Cutter's Way

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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Ivan Passer

Director

Jeff Bridges

Richard Bone

John Heard

Alex Cutter

Lisa Eichhorn

Maureen "Mo" Cutter

Ann Dusenberry

Valerie Duran

Stephen Elliott

J. J. Cord

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Cutter's Way

Cutter's Way (1981) Cutter's Way (1981) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Best friends Richard Bone (Jeff Bridges) and Alex Cutter (John Heard) are two middle-class guys living in an upper-class town. The Santa Barbara buddies get dragged into a murder mystery when Richard accidentally spots a man ditching a body into a trash can. Alex, an embittered Vietnam veteran who lost an eye and leg in the war, thinks what Richard saw is worth something, especially when it comes out that the potential murderer is a wealthy and powerful man in the community.
Director
Ivan Passer
Producer
Paul R. Gurian
Screenwriter
Jeffrey Fiskin, Newton Thornburg
Distributor
United Artists, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co
Gurian Entertainment
Rating
R
Genre
Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 12, 1981, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 16, 2008
Runtime
1h 45m
Sound Mix
Stereo
Aspect Ratio
35mm, Flat (1.85:1)
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