The Clint Eastwood Archive: Tightrope 1984

Tightrope is a suspense thriller starring Clint Eastwood as Wes Block, a detective investigating a string of sexually-related murders in New Orleans. Complicating matters are his struggle to single-handedly raise two young daughters, a growing relationship with a tough rape prevention officer played by Geneviève Bujold, and the troubling thought that the killer shares his own sexual preferences (bondage, masochism, etc.).

Click below to see the Theatrical Trailer

Tightrope 1984 Clint Eastwood Alison Eastwood UK QUAD poster Size 30 x 40

Tightrope 1984 Clint Eastwood Alison Eastwood Original German poster

Tightrope 1984 Clint Eastwood Alison Eastwood Original Yugoslavian poster 19"x 27"

Tightrope 1984 Clint Eastwood Genevieve Bujold Original Australian Day bill poster

Tightrope 1984 Original U.S. Insert poster rolled

Tightrope 1984 Clint Eastwood Genevieve Bujold Orig US 1 Sheet folded

Tightrope 1984 Full original US press kit, production notes, full artwork folder and 10 b/w stills
Tightrope 1984 Clint Eastwood Genevieve Bujold Orig US 1 Sheet Rolled Near Mint condition

Tightrope 1984 French Door Panel 23.25 X 61.5

Tightrope 1984 Colour Mounted Slides x 2

Below: Tightrope 1984 US Mini Lobby set x 8

Tightrope 1984 French original production book (alt artwork)
Tightrope 1984 German Orig film prog
Tightrope 1984 Japan Original fully illustrated colour Brochure

Tightrope 1984 Lobby set x 8 French
Tightrope 1984 Lobby set x 8 German

Tightrope 1984 FOH set x 8 UK (3 shown)

Tightrope 1984 Original Very Rare Advance Teaser Trailer on 35mm film LLP colour

Tightrope 1984 10 x 8 Original Press Stills b/w x 32 + 1 Colour

Tightrope 1984 UK Original Exhibitors Campaign book

Tightrope 1984 UK original press sheet full colour cover
Tightrope 1984 Original Warner Brothers Press Release

Below: Variety one day only Trade ad for Tightrope, appeared Tuesday August 28th 1984

Other Material from around the world:
Tightrope U.S. 1 sheet Version 2

This Tightrope poster has had me puzzled for quite some time, I believe it may be an advance US 1 sheet

Below: Two excellent Japanese Tightrope posters

Below: An Original UK Trade Ad for Tightrope

Below: Tightrope Original French Grande poster

Below: Tightrope Italian Locandina poster

Below: Tightrope set of Italian Photobustas

Below: Tightrope A great rare publicity shot used in Japan

Below: Three more rare photos from Tightrope, the first two are from the same photo shoot as above. My thanks to my good friend Kevin Wilkinson for sending me these great shots.

Below: A rare commercial (non theatrical) poster which possibly appeared as a magazine freebie in Japan, the reverse featured a photo of Jackie Chan. A highly unusual concept and obviously based upon the above photo session.

Tightrope in the Video age

Below: Two Original Warner Home Video posters 20" x 30" approx

Below: Original Warner Home Video Standee 11" x 14"

Below: The UK Tightrope video release from Warner Home Video was available on both VHS and Betamax

Below: The UK LaserVision Laserdisc format was not as big as the US market, Warner Home Video had a fairly short run of releases on this format, Tightrope was one of Clint's titles to get a release. These were not presented in widescreen, just in 4:3 Academy Ratio

Below: The US Video cassette release

Below: Tightrope VHS Italian Warner Home Video release

Below: The US CED Video Disc format

Below: The US Laserdisc release, panned and scanned

Below: The US Tightrope DVD release - note the back cover mistake, a picture from Dirty Harry

Below: The US (region free) Blu-ray release, the beautiful artwork gone and replaced with a rather poor photo mock up.

Original Reviews

FILM: 'TIGHTROPE,' NEW CLINT EASTWOOD THRILLER
By JANET MASLIN
Published: August 17, 1984
CLINT EASTWOOD turns kinky in 'Tightrope,' playing a police inspector investigating a string of sex crimes and succumbing to the wiles of some of the prostitutes he questions. But it's only a temporary aberration. For the most part, ''Tightrope'' is a crisp thriller that is essentially faithful to the 'Dirty Harry' formula, notwithstanding its attempts to give Mr. Eastwood's character what the production notes call 'an added dimension of complexity.' Kinks or no kinks, Mr. Eastwood does his usual turn as the most hard-boiled, relentless detective in town.

The town this time is New Orleans, and the plot seems to take Mr. Eastwood's Wes Block into every massage parlor in the French Quarter. But Wes is a homebody, too, raising two young daughters and pining for the wife who left him. (The older of the girls is played nicely by Alison Eastwood, the star's lanky blond 12-year- old daughter.)

The movie begins at a time when Wes's domestic evenings are being routinely interrupted by phone calls, each announcing that another prostitute has been murdered. The investigation brings Wes into contact with an earnest feminist named Beryl (played with energy and intelligency by Genevieve Bujold) from the city's rape-prevention center, who is eager to help catch the rapist and who is very emphatically not Wes's type.

The disclosure that some of the prostitutes appeal to Wes has a plot function in the screenplay (by Richard Tuggle, who also directed): Wes's activities threaten to implicate him in the murder investigation, and they make him a particular target for the killer. This side of Wes seems also to serve some larger purpose for Mr. Eastwood, and it does add an unexpected element to his otherwise impenetrable persona.

'Tightrope,' which takes its title from the thin line Wes walks in trying to keep his impulses in check, spends a lot of time exploring Wes's attitudes toward women. It contrasts his relationships with the prostitutes with the relationship he develops with Beryl, and it even explores the father's feelings about his daughters' sexuality.

All of this is intriguingly if not very delicately rendered, and Mr. Eastwood plays his role earnestly. But he still is more compelling when he knits his brow and mutters some Dirty Harryism than at any other time. That's not a reflection on the caliber of his performance; it's a measure of the sheer star quality of his most unforgettable role.

'Tightrope' isn't quite top-level Eastwood, but it's close. The detective story isn't as intricate as it might have been, and there are a couple of awkward moments (among them a final violent flourish that may strike audiences as more laughable than scary). Still, this is a suspenseful, involving detective drama with one of the screen's most durable tough-guy heroes, doing what he does best and still managing to show something new.

Kinky Harry TIGHTROPE, directed and written by Richard Tuggle; director of photography, Bruce Surtees; edited by Joel Cox; music by Lennie Niehaus; produced by Clint Eastwood and Fritz Manes; released by Warner Brothers. At the Movieland, 47th Street and Broadway, the Loews 83d Street Quad, on Broadway, and other theaters. Running time: 114 minutes. This film is rated R. Wes Block Clint Eastwood Beryl Thibodeaux Genevieve Bujold Detective Molinari Dan Hedaya Amanda Block Alison Eastwood Penny Block Jennifer Beck Leander Rolfe Marco St. John