Cutter's Way

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Cutter's Way

R

1981

1h 45m

Mystery & Thriller

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

25 Reviews

69%

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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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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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.

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Antonia Quirke

Financial Times

06/24/2011

3/5

[Heard] is one of America's great lost actors.

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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.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Mar 16

4/5

…Ivan Passer’s neglected masterpiece is an easy recommendation for anyone who loves a good old fashioned neo-noir handled in caustic, modern style….

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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.

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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...

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Alain E

@AlainE Jun 6

Recommended this month in the Daily Telegraph as one of the best movies on Prime. Totally cartoonish characters and cookie cutter situations. Useful if you want to see Jeff Bridges with six pack abdominal muscles, but it will never come close to his performance in The Big Lebowski despite his worse physical conditioning.

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chris B

@LevellerJethro Apr 18

Very much wanted to like this but it was utter garbage. The one star for Heard. Bridges was so-so, but then he had a poor script to work with. The first 10 mins was top notch. Beautifully filmed intro, the witnessing of the car by the rubbish bin, I was thinking this will be great. And then it went completely off the rails imo. Where was the riveting interview with the cops? Where was them putting the squeeze on for a confession? No scenes where they confront Cord. The absurd shoehorning of polo. Completely irrelevant sex scene. I could go on. I love this genre - Parallax, 3 Days of Condor etc. But this is an absolute mess from 10 mins in. Avoid!!!!

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Noel L

@RT15930389 Jan 19

What an attention grabbing tale of taking the law into your own hands

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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.

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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!

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Leaburn O

@RT35452347 07/05/2025

Brilliant ending but my word it was tiresome getting there after a promising start. Watched on Amazon Prime.

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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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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)