The defence The Cool Ironist
“Form is the argument.”
Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
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Tightrope
Mystery · Thriller · Crime · 1984
Wes Block is a detective who's put on the case of a serial killer whose victims are young and pretty women. The murders are getting personal when the killer chooses victims who are acquaintances of Block. Even his daughters are threatened.
Movie details
Tightrope
“A cop on the edge.”
1984 Mystery · Thriller · Crime 1h 55m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.2 / 10
Community rating
Wes Block is a detective who's put on the case of a serial killer whose victims are young and pretty women. The murders are getting personal when the killer chooses victims who are acquaintances of Block. Even his daughters are threatened.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Tightrope?
For the defence
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Cruising
Crime · 1980
When New York is caught in the grip of a sadistic serial killer who preys on patrons of the city's underground bars, rookie cop Steve Burns infiltrates the S&M subculture to try and lure him out of the shadows.
Basic Instinct
Thriller · 1992
Catherine, a novelist with an insatiable sexual appetite, becomes a prime suspect when her boyfriend is brutally murdered -- a crime she had described in her latest story.
Frenzy
Crime · 1972
London is terrorized by a vicious sex killer known as The Necktie Murderer. Following the brutal slaying of his ex-wife, down-on-his-luck Richard Blaney is suspected by the police of being the killer. He goes on the run, determined to prove his innocence.
Bone Lake
Horror · 2025
A couple’s romantic vacation at a secluded lakeside estate is upended when they are forced to share the mansion with a mysterious and attractive couple. In this darkly hilarious and seductive horror story, a dream getaway spirals into a nightmarish maze of sex, lies, and manipulation, bringing terrifying secrets to light and triggering a bloody battle for survival.
Mulholland Falls
Drama · 1996
In 1950s Los Angeles, a special crime squad of the LAPD investigates the murder of a young woman.
Mr. Brooks
Crime · 2007
A psychological thriller about a man who is sometimes controlled by his murder-and-mayhem-loving alter ego.
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
Crime · 1986
Arriving in Chicago, Henry moves in with ex-con acquaintance Otis and starts schooling him in the ways of the serial killer.
Cop
Crime · 1988
An obsessive, insubordinate homicide cop is convinced a serial killer is loose in the Hollywood area and disobeys orders in order to catch him.
The Killer Inside Me
Crime · 2010
Deputy Sheriff Lou Ford is a pillar of the community in his small west Texas town, patient and apparently thoughtful. Some people think he is a little slow and maybe boring, but that is the worst they say about him. But then nobody knows about what Lou calls his "sickness": He is a brilliant, but disturbed sociopathic sadist.
Farewell, My Lovely
Crime · 1975
Private eye Philip Marlowe is hired by ex-con Moose Malloy to find his girlfriend, a former lounge dancer. While also investigating the murder of a client and the theft of a jade necklace, Marlowe becomes entangled with seductress Helen Grayle and discovers a web of dark secrets that are better left hidden.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Richard Tuggle
Written by
Richard Tuggle
Clint Eastwood
Wes Block
Geneviève Bujold
Beryl Thibodeaux
Dan Hedaya
Det. Molinari
Alison Eastwood
Amanda Block
Jenny Beck
Penny Block
Marco St. John
Leander Rolfe
Rebecca Perle
Becky Jacklin
Court is in session
Put Tightrope on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.