So much average

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Redundant and unnecessary.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The only cool things in this movie are: the saxophone in the song at the end when the credits are rolling, played by James Rivers Movement, the brown dog found on the street at the beginning of the movie, with which Clint sleeps at night and which comes in his defense biting the bad guy's leg when fighting with Clint in his home and, last but not least, his older daughter, played by his real-life daughter, Alison Eastwood, which is more natural than Clint and all the other actors. I wanted to see it again in 2018, after over 30 years, because I had completely forgotten what it was about, and to see Geneviève Bujold again, not Clint. The film is very weak, a thriller like a long illness that you want to get away with, ending faster. No wonder Richard Tuggle, the director, has directed only one more film after this, nothing else.

Tightrope is probably the most unusual Clint Eastwood film. But its also a brilliant film in dealing with his characters dark side and similarities with the killer. I also think that Alison Eastwood, Clint's real life daughter, gives a great performance.This Eastwood film portrays a much darker view of life than previous Eastwood efforts. A very suspenseful and gripping film. In it, Eastwood plays Detective Wes Block. Block is pursuing a serial killer who is murdering prostitutes in the seedy underside of New Orleans. Block finds himself strangely drawn into this underworld and walking the "tightrope" between right and wrong, good and evil, as he balances his search for the killer. Meanwhile, his behavior eerily shadows the killer's deviant pursuits quite often leaving the viewer gasping in shock. Also Geneviève Bujold plays the aforementioned defense-expert. As Beryl Thibodeaux, Bujold is the perfect counterpart to Eastwood. Another major success of the film is the location, New Orleans beats not with life, but with death as the Mardi Gras takes a back seat and Tuggle explores the dark and seamy nightlife of this soulful and mysterious town.A must see for Eastwood fans and people who like strange movies alike.Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

This is NOT the sort of film to show your kids, pastor or mother. The film has a decent amount of nudity and has lots of sexual content. And, unlike Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry films, this leading man is one kinky cop! As I said, it's pretty adult and a bit slimy. The film begins with a murder. The detective sent in to investigate is Eastwood--and at first he seems like a pretty normal sort of fella. However, you soon learn that he's a divorced man with two young girls. This isn't the unusual thing--what's unusual is while he continues investigating a string of prostitute murders, he begins sleeping with these professional girls as well. Pretty odd--but what's even more odd is that soon some of the girls that service him begin showing up dead! While it's never implied that he's committed the murders, it's obvious that there is SOME sort of connection between him and the killer. What it is and why is something you'll have to find out for yourself.As I said above, this is an awfully adult sort of film. While it has some nice tension and suspense, you almost feel like taking a bath when it's all over, as the film is very grim and nasty. If you like grim and nasty, by all means give it a try. I have a couple final observations. While the film is set in New Orleans, I didn't notice a single character with a New Orleans accent!! In addition, it was nice to see that Genevieve Bujold's character is NOT some simpering woman but fights hard and dirty when the killer attacks her. nice seeing a heroine who fights back

"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.