Starring: John Wayne, Roscoe Lee Browne, Bruce Dern, Colleen Dewhurst, Alfred Barker Jr. Directed By: Mark Rydell Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Binding: DVD Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC Label: Warner Home Video Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: May 22, 2007 Running Time: 135 minutes Theatrical Release Date: January 13, 1972
Product Description: John Wayne had brawled bareknuckle gunned down desperadoes fought jungle wars and piloted the skies. But The Cowboys gave him one of his juiciest roles as a leather-tough rancher who deserted by his regular help hires 11 greenhorn schoolboys for a cattle drive across 400 treacherous miles.When the dust settled Wayne had given one of his best performances. In The Cowboys Rex Reed wrote all the forces that have made him a dominant personality as well as a major screen presence seem to combine. Old Dusty Britches can act. Co-starring the equally memorable Roscoe Lee Browne Colleen Dewhurst and Bruce Dern The Cowboys is exciting proof.Runtime: 134 minFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: WESTERN/MISC. Rating: NR UPC: 085391145356 Manufacturer No: 114535
Amazon.com: Almost in spite of itself, The Cowboys has taken its place among John Wayne's most beloved films. It wasn't always that way: When it was released in January of 1972, the film was widely criticized for appearing to promote the notion that boys become men through violence. From a politically correct perspective, this apparent message is arguably deplorable (and some interpreted the film's young fighters as a reflection of young draftees into the Vietnam war), but there's no denying that The Cowboys remains as invigorating as it ever was, no matter how dubious its thematic implications. Based on a novel by William Dale Jennings, and adapted with Jennings by the married screenwriting team of Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr. (whose impressive credits include Hud, Hombre, and Norma Rae), the movie opens with aging ranch owner Wil Anderson (Wayne) desperate for ranch-hands to herd 1,500 head of cattle across 400 miles of dangerous territory. With no better options, he reluctantly hires boys from the local schoolhouse (including Robert Carradine in his screen debut), and an experienced, worldly-wise cook named Nightlinger (played to perfection by Roscoe Lee Browne) joins the cattle drive--the first black man the boys have ever seen.
A Hollywood liberal who initially felt at odds with Wayne's right-wing politics, Mark Rydell (On Golden Pond) originally sought George C. Scott for the lead, but studio executives urged him to convince Wayne to take the role. It was a happy outcome for both, as Rydell directs Wayne with an enjoyable mixture of Old West humor and grizzled trail-hardiness, and The Cowboys is a top-drawer production with gorgeous cinematography (on location in Mexico and Colorado) by veteran cameraman Robert Surtees. Colleen Dewhurst appears briefly but memorably as the madam of a traveling troupe of prostitutes (in a scene often cut from earlier TV broadcasts and some home-video releases), and the young A Martinez (who would later star in several TV soap operas and the indie-hit Powwow Highway) makes a strong impression in a prominent supporting role. But the real reason for the film's lasting popularity is the hiss-worthy villainy of Bruce Dern (as "Long Hair," leader of the rustlers), who earned a dubious place in movie history for his character's cheating approach to gunplay. No matter how you interpret its themes of fatherly influence and justified vengeance, The Cowboys (later the basis of a short-lived TV series) is undeniably entertaining, dominated by Wayne's reliable presence and bolstered by a rousing, Copland-esque score by John Williams. --Jeff Shannon
The Late Greaty John Wayne John Wayne's late movie career was enhanced by this traditional yet shocking twist of a ending. His death at the hands of Bruce Dern's character Long Hair and fatherly sage to his cowhands (cow children) make this an appealing western. This movie only adds to his legacy.
A top Western--one of the Duke's best. This is one of John Wayne's best pictures. Roscoe Lee Brown is terrific in his part, and each of the young cowboys does a fine job. I have seen an anecdote that Bruce Dern had some trouble getting good parts after doing the thoroughly bad/mean villain in this movie. Well, he did play the part 110% and even a peaceful person like myself was real happy that he got his just desserts when his number came up.
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The Cowboys This is an awesome movie which look absolutely beautiful in bluray. Great film with all the right values.
First time viewing of this old time movie Sad but true never saw this cool old time movie, with one of my favorite cowboys! Glad that I had the opportunity to see it now. It's currently one of my favorites!
~~GREAT WESTERN~~ Hi All..... This movie is excellent if you like westerns or just John Wayne...I have seen this one many,many times over. Bruce Dern is of course a great bad guy!!!
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