Cowboys

UPC: 085391518327

Studio: Warner Home Video

MPAA Rating: PG   Contains:[Violence, Adult Situations, Questionable for Children]

Summary: In one of John Wayne's more interesting late Westerns, "The Duke" plays Will Anderson, a crusty veteran cattleman preparing a 400-mile drive to get a herd of steers to market. Shortly before the trip is scheduled to begin, Will's crew quits when they get word of a nearby gold strike. With little time and few alternatives, Will recruits eleven boys, ages nine through 13, and teaches them the basics of herding cattle and riding the range. Bruce Dern plays a memorably foul villain and cattle rustler named Long Hair, while Roscoe Lee Browne portrays Jebediah, the cattle drive cook, and Colleen Dewhurst is Kate, a madam. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Western

Features: "The Breaking of Boys and the Making of Men" making-of documentary
Soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1
13 theatrical trailers of John Wayne movies from the 1930s through the 1970s
Interactive menus
Production notes
Scene access
Languages and subtitles: English, Fran?ais

Cowboys

Format: DVD

Release Date: 10/07/1998

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DD1 Dolby Digital Mono

Runtime: 135 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: English,French

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Jump to a Scene
0. Jump to a Scene
1. Overture. [2:42]
2. Credits. [2:39]
3. Gold fever. [3:11]
4. A stiff neck. [2:26]
5. The schoolhouse. [3:07]
6. Out of the corral. [2:35]
7. Auditions on horseback. [10:33]
8. Terms of hire. [3:57]
9. Laying down the irons. [3:10]
10. Lessons for cowboys. [1:37]
11. A hard man. [5:25]
12. Jebediah Nightlinger. [3:13]
13. Bedtime story. [3:57]
14. "Move 'em out!" [4:29]
15. After a long day. [2:47]
16. 3 A.m. [2:09]
17. Cimarron rescues Slim. [2:42]
18. Bob does it. [1:33]
19. A gift; a father's sons. [3:44]
20. Whiskey. [8:28]
21. Long Hair and Dan. [3:42]
22. Intermission. [:47]
23. Entr'Acte. [2:23]
24. Nighthawk duty. [2:50]
25. A cowboy laid to rest. [4:40]
26. Boys meet girls. [6:47]
27. Shadowed. [4:48]
28. Long Hair makes his move. [5:52]
29. Wil vs. Long Hair. [4:46]
30. Summer's over. [1:55]
31. "We're going to finish the job." [2:27]
32. Striking back. [4:21]
33. Jebediah's noose. [4:34]
34. Long hair's noose. [3:42]
35. Trail's end. [3:30]
36. Cast list. [1:22]
37. Exit music. [1:14]

Donald Guarisco

This unforgettable combination of adventure story and coming-of-age tale is a cult favorite with John Wayne fans and it's easy to see why: The Cowboys is great American filmmaking, pure and simple. The script takes its time to develop rich characters and set up themes that pay off memorably in the film's second half. Director Mark Rydell handles the story in an understated, thoughtful manner that makes its dramatic peaks truly effective. Western fans will be happy to know that when it comes time to deliver a bit of action, Rydell gives it just the right amount of punch without overdoing it. His work is aided immensely by a sweeping, Copeland-esque musical score by John Williams and gorgeous scope photography from Robert Surtees: both do an excellent job of enhancing the film's rich feel of vintage Americana. The final, crucial pieces of the puzzle are the performances and they are magnificent: John Wayne carries the film on his mighty shoulders, delivering all the presence one would expect while also tempering it with a sense of vulnerability that only enhances his heroic appeal. Elsewhere, Roscoe Lee Browne makes an excellent (and equally charismatic foil) to Wayne as the drive's resident cook and Bruce Dern makes a genuinely unnerving villain for Wayne to square off with. It's also worth noting that the child actors playing the cattle drivers all do strong, subtle work, managing to be likeable without ever getting cutesy or maudlin (it's no surprise that young stars Robert Carradine and A Martinez graduated from this film to lengthy acting careers). In short, The Cowboys is a great Western and stand proudly alongside True Grit and The Shootist as the best of John Wayne's latter-day work. ~ Donald Guarisco, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Steve Benedict  Actor 
Alfred Barker, Jr.  Actor 
Sarah Cunningham  Actor 
Allyn Ann McLerie  Actor 
Larry Finley  Actor 
Mike Pyeatt  Actor 
Jim Burk  Actor 
Kent Hays  Actor 
Henry Wills  Actor 
Walter Scott  Actor 
Stephen R. Hudis  Actor 
Matt Clark  Actor 
Tap Canutt  Actor 
Chuck Courtney  Actor 
A. Martinez  Actor 
Gary Epper  Actor 
Sam O'Brien  Actor 
Robert Carradine  Actor 
Norman Howell, Jr.  Actor 
Joe Yrigoyen  Actor 
Margaret Kelly  Actor 
Nicolas Beauvy  Actor 
Clay O'Brien  Actor 
Jerry Gatlin  Actor 
Sean Kelly  Actor 
Richard Farnsworth  Actor 
Charles Tyner  Actor 
Larry Randles  Actor 
Tony Epper  Actor 
Harriet Frank, Jr.  Screenwriter 
Irving Ravetch  Screenwriter 
Mark Rydell  Director 
Mark Rydell  Producer 
John Williams  Composer (Music Score) 
William Dale Jennings  Screenwriter 
John Wayne  Actor 
Roscoe Lee Browne  Actor 
Bruce Dern  Actor 
Colleen Dewhurst  Actor 
Slim Pickens  Actor 
Lonny Chapman  Actor 

Country: USA