"Coogan's Bluff" has gotten mostly negative reviews. I understand that most of them expected to see a western, and focused too much on the crime/chase aspect of it, however there's more beneath the surface.
It is perhaps one of the few movies of its time to show the "dark side" of the 60's hippie/drug scene. The idea of Coogan being gradually attracted by the very worst parts of inner-city subculture, and it finally turning out destructive to both his mission and his newfound "friends" is pure genius, and couldn't be done better.
Clint Eastwood's understated acting is not my thing, but it makes sense for this particular role-he's in a different culture than where he's raised, he obviously has little to say but gets the point across.
One more fact. When i first saw the movie, i thought that it was made as a ripoff of "Midnight Cowboy", which it resembles in many ways-especially in the general structure and mood of the film, but later i realized that it was put out one year earlier! So i guess you can see it as preceding MC, which is a good movie too of course.
It is perhaps one of the few movies of its time to show the "dark side" of the 60's hippie/drug scene. The idea of Coogan being gradually attracted by the very worst parts of inner-city subculture, and it finally turning out destructive to both his mission and his newfound "friends" is pure genius, and couldn't be done better.
Clint Eastwood's understated acting is not my thing, but it makes sense for this particular role-he's in a different culture than where he's raised, he obviously has little to say but gets the point across.
One more fact. When i first saw the movie, i thought that it was made as a ripoff of "Midnight Cowboy", which it resembles in many ways-especially in the general structure and mood of the film, but later i realized that it was put out one year earlier! So i guess you can see it as preceding MC, which is a good movie too of course.