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

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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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

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.

Rated: 4/5

Jun 24, 2011

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Antonia Quirke

Financial Times

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

Rated: 3/5

Jun 24, 2011

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

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.

Rated: 4/5

Jun 23, 2011

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

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.

Rated: 3.5/4

Feb 15, 2023

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...an exceedingly (and sometimes excessively) deliberate drama that benefits from its stellar performances and raft of appealing, eye-catching attributes...

Rated: 3/4

May 14, 2022

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Karen Krebsbach

Sojourner

Richly compelling.

Aug 16, 2019

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tucker s

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.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

11/16/25

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Vincent S.

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!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/03/25

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Leaburn O

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

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

07/05/25

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Glen H

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.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

06/02/25

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Audience Member

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.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/21/25

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Serge L

A complete masterpiece. Up there with "Chinatown" in my opinion. John Heard is mesmerizing.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/22/24

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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)

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