The Cowboys

Starring:John Wayne, Roscoe Lee Browne, Bruce Dern, Colleen Dewhurst, Alfred Barker Jr., Nicolas Beauvy, Steve Benedict, Robert Carradine, Norman Howell, Stephen R. Hudis, Sean Kelly (II), A Martinez, Clay O'Brien, Sam O'Brien, Mike Pyeatt, Slim Pickens, Lonny Chapman, Charles Tyner, Sarah Cunningham, Allyn Ann McLerie
Director: Mark Rydell
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

More of a real-life exploitation film than a bonafide documentary, Cocaine Cowboys is tailor-made for anyone who worships Brian De Palma's Scarface. It's no surprise that this slick, energetic film found a niche audience among crime-obsessed hip-hoppers; from a journalistic perspective it's an irresponsible mess, but director Billy Corben is obviously more interested in capturing the thrills and danger of the drug trade that transformed Miami, Florida during the Miami Vice era of the late 1970s and '80s. Corben has no particular interest in seriously examining the sociopolitical implications of Miami's drug-fueled rise and fall, so Cocaine Cowboys lives up to its title by focusing on some of the most colorful, daring, and outrageously successful survivors of that era, when tons of cocaine were distributed through Miami by the kingpins of Colombia's notorious Medellin cartel. Chief among the many interviewees are Jon Roberts and Mickey Munday (who personally transported over $2 billion worth of cocaine into Miami) and Jorge "Rivi" Ayala, a convicted drug-trade assassin now serving consecutive life terms in prison. They're lively storytellers who are egotistically eager to share their coke-tales, and Corben's only too happy to capture their exploits on film, up to and including the dubious use of violent reenactments that could easily serve as a recruitment film for Tony Montana wannabes.

It's simultaneously disgusting and compelling, especially since Corben has a knack for matching swift editing to the pulsing score by TV's original Miami Vice composer Jan Hammer. In the final analysis, it must be said that Cocaine Cowboys succeeds as a brash and breathtaking record of a bygone era, when murder rates were at an all-time high, coke was everywhere, and Miami was financially transformed into a nightlife mecca where criminals were kings. Or queens, as in the case of Griselda Blanco, the ruthless and self-appointed "Godmother" of the cocaine trade, who was responsible for countless murders and as of 2007 remained at large, her whereabouts unknown. All of this deadly life in the fast lane makes for a fascinating movie, but Corben and coproducer David Cypkin's breathless commentary makes it clear that they're young, immature thrill-seekers, and their film makes no apologies for glorifying the drug trade while exploring its bloody and frequently fatal consequences. Their commentary also accompanies an abundance of deleted scenes, and there's also a bonus featurette, "Hustlin' with the Godmother," in which Griselda Blanco's former lover and big-time coke dealer Charles Cosby tells his story, which clearly has all the makings of a Hollywood movie along the lines of Blow. You can bet that film will eventually be made, and don't be surprised if it's Corben who makes it. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Cocaine Cowboys.......2007-07-05

Definitely a must see movie, shows the real side of miami that alot of people haven't seen.

The best drug story told...........2007-06-30

This documentary was so good, and so well told. It had me at the end of my seat in awe and shocked. One of the best drug told documentries ever...if you haven't seen it yet, please do. Miami was getting money fo' real.

Great In All Aspects.......2007-06-27

As a Miami resident, I found the film to be intriguing and very informative. Having grown up in South Florida, the film was 100% accurate and the way it was presented kept you glued to the TV. I do hope that the great city of Miami never repeats the past.

scarface aint got nothin on griselda blanco.......2007-06-13

watch this movie than watch scarface...its a trip

Unbelievable story into the dark side of paradise.......2007-06-05

This story is quite an eye opener to see placed together in one spot. I remember watching bits and pieces on the news over time when I was a kid about Pablo Eschibar and the Medien Drug Cartel, but to actually see all of the information in one place is quite impressive. This story is not only the story of the growth of the cocaine industry, but how the quite little vacation spot of Miami grew into a giant global competator of market cities. The interview detail was quite informative, and does capture the gruesomness of the violence that occured. Definately worth checking out if you like gritty documentaries.

Average customer rating:

Gary Cooper in a Three-cornered Hat!
classic Cooper , classic Demille...stunning transfer!!
They Don't Make Movies Like this Anymore
Outstanding
Very Enjoyable

Unconquered (Universal Cinema Classics)
Starring: Gary Cooper , and Paulette Goddard
Director: Cecil B. De Mille
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
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ASIN: B000N3T0GY
Release Date: 2007-05-22

Customer Reviews:

Gary Cooper in a Three-cornered Hat!.......2007-07-03

I love this film. This one had an impact on me when I was just a boy and saw it in B&W on TV. I used recreate the after-math of the masacre at the fort with my toy soldiers. Sure the story line stretches plausibility a bit (Catching the limb while going over the falls with Paulette Goddard hanging on your neck is a bit much even for Coop!) but not nearly so much as the things I am asked to accept as reality in modern CGI movies (as in any sequence in the latest remake of King Kong.)

I have to love Boris Karloff as an Indian chief and Miss Goddard as the indentured slave as well as Gary Cooper as an early American freedom fighter. The DeMille touches in the battle scenes and the "almost historical" feel of the film are pleasures as well.

Put this one on the shelf with "Last of the Mohicans," (when will we get the version from the 30's?)"Drums Along the Mohawk" and "Allegheny Uprising" for entertaining films of pre-revolutionary American "almost history" and enjoy.

classic Cooper , classic Demille...stunning transfer!!.......2007-06-20

Unlike the other terrific reviews that discuss the story and movie...i want to weigh in on the DVD...its terrific! Glorious color and sharp as a tack! I've been disappointed lately with several older FOX films on DVD but this is nothing short of glorious! If you are a fan of Cooper...don't hesitate! Paulette Goddard is delicious.

They Don't Make Movies Like this Anymore .......2007-06-17

"Unconquered" is a great historical epic set in pre-Revolutionary America with a "fight the enemy and never surrender" message. Gary Cooper owns the film. When he is on the screen, as is usually the case with his flicks, all the other characters revolve around him.

Cooper plays Captain Holden who is sent on a doomed mission to make peace with Indian tribes that have already decided on war. Holden's main nemesis is a traitor named "Garth" (played by Howard DaSilva) who has not only provided arms to the natives, but who is also secretly in league with them.

The romantic sub-plot involves an indentured servant, Abby Hale (played by Paulette Goddard), who is bought and freed by Holden only to be illegally re-enslaved by Garth. Both Holden and Garth are enamoured of Miss Hale, but you can easily guess which one of the two she loves back.

"Unconquered" exudes good old fashioned conservative American values and, partly for that reason, they don't make movies like this today.

Another reason you won't see a film like this today is because of it's politically incorrect portrayal of Native Americans. American Indians did torture, murder and sometimes even cannibalize settlers, including women, children and infants, but, today, Hollywood is unwilling to portray them as having been anything other than noble, peace-loving ecologists.

This DVD even has an "Introduction" warning the viewer that the White people are all portrayed as "good" and the Indians as "bloodthirsty." This is a pretty stupid thing to say given that the main villain in the film, Garth, is White. Why isn't there an introduction to the "Dancing with Wolves" DVD warning us about how, in that film, Indians are all portrayed as "good" and Whites are portrayed as "bloodthirsty"?

Outstanding.......2007-05-21

UNCONQUERED remains one of my favorite films of colonial America. The ever stoic Gary Cooper represents the backbone of the spirit of America. This film tells a great adventure tale with a lot of atmosphere of perhaps what those time my actually have been like. A visual treat in that respect.

Very Enjoyable.......2007-05-13

This film is one of Gary Coopers best. It is so good I have it in dvd and vhs. He is the greatest. They just don't have stars now like they did then and they don't make movies like they did back then. I feel sorry for the young adults now who really don't know what a good movie really is. I would recommend this movie to everyone.

Average customer rating:

Not the Apple Dumpling Gang
revenge is sweet & so is the duke
The Cowboys
100 Years Of Greatness!!!!!!!
Worth Watching

The Cowboys (Deluxe Edition)
Starring: John Wayne , Roscoe Lee Browne , Bruce Dern , Colleen Dewhurst , and Alfred Barker Jr.
Director: Mark Rydell
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000O599WQ
Release Date: 2007-05-22

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

Customer Reviews:

Not the Apple Dumpling Gang.......2007-06-16

This picture deserves a better reputation. Yes, it has a bunch of kids in it - but it's not Disney-style cutes and sentiment. And boy, does it hold up in this beautiful presentation with the overture and entr'acte. Completely irresistible. (Why wasn't Bruce Dern nominated for this?)

revenge is sweet & so is the duke.......2007-06-11

john wayne gives the last significant performance of his career (i dont much care for "the shootist", sorry) in this revisionist western from director mark rydell. highlighted by the charmingly amateurish performances by the young supporting cast, and the oh-so-sinister bruce dern in his breakthrough role, the movie is vigilantly off-beat, and more true to the spirit of the 1970s than the 1870s. im not sure wayne fans will like it, but i think wayne haters (oh how i pity the fools) might.

The Cowboys.......2007-06-10

This is a very good movie. It is a intriguing movie. It keeps your attention. I would recommend to everyone.

100 Years Of Greatness!!!!!!!.......2007-05-28

My brothers and I grew-up on this and many of Big John's flicks. This is one of his best and left me with the best message for growing boys of today. Just like John Wayne says near the end of the movie: "Every man wants his children to grow-up better than he was" was pure greatness!!!!! And has stuck with us to this day. Only a "non-American" could not appreciate the values expressed on this movie........

Worth Watching.......2007-05-27

I had never watched "The Cowboys" before because, when it first came out, the concept of John Wayne leading a bunch of kids on a cattle drive didn't appeal to me. However, the awareness that this was one of 30 some John Wayne movies I hadn't seen led me to watch it last night. I was impressed. For one thing, I could tell from the beginning that this was a major production for its' day. The cinematography was impressive and the location and sets were well done too. The case for why a school room-full of kids were chosen for the job was credibly made and the journey begins. There's a fair amount of action and entertainment along the way. John Wayne gives a good performance as the cattleman who comes to respect his trailhands. There is some suspenseful conflict with some bad guys and something that rarely happens in a John Wayne film occurs. I won't say what it was but I could only think of "The Shootist" and, in an indirect way, "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" as the other times it occurred after "The Alamo".

The kids give a credible performance and so does Roscoe Lee Brown. Interestingly, there was a bit actor with the last name Canutt who showed up on the credits (as one of the bad guys). Could it the Duke found work for a relative of his old sparring partner Yakima Canutt? Collen Dewhurst is featured but she's over-billed for her gratuitous part. This is not a great movie but it turned out to be a lot better than I thought it would be.

Average customer rating:

For Those Who Love Clint Eastwood
Good Actors
Chuck Yeager's Revenge...
Old codgers show the young-uns how its done!
space cowboys

Space Cowboys
Starring: John Mallory Asher , Barbara Babcock , Blair Brown , Eli Craig , and James Cromwell
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
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ASIN: B00005ALS2
Release Date: 2001-04-17

Amazon.com

This slice of cornball Americana is so much fun you'll be tempted to stand up and salute. Director and costar Clint Eastwood manages to turn what might have been ludicrous into a jubilant tribute to age and experience, and Space Cowboys succeeds as two movies in one--a comedy about retired pilots given one last shot at glory and an Apollo 13-like thriller with all the requisite heroics. With a dream cast of Hollywood vets playing old farts described in tabloids as "The Ripe Stuff," the movie jumps from a 1958 prologue (establishing their lost bid for space travel) to 40-plus years later, when the retired Air Force aces (Eastwood, James Garner, Donald Sutherland, Tommy Lee Jones) volunteer to rescue a falling Russian satellite that only Eastwood's character can repair.

It turns out that Russky bird is a cold war leftover equipped with live nuclear warheads, and Space Cowboys revs up to a rousing climax in which our heroes prove their mettle. But first the comedy: watching these codgers struggle to pass NASA's physical tests is a total hoot, with running gags about wrinkles, dentures, and oysters for sagging libidos. (Sutherland is the scene-stealer, but they're all having a blast.) Once in space, the movie gets down to business, and the visual-effects wizards at Industrial Light and Magic provide stunning vistas from Earth's orbit; a shot looking down at the boot of Italy is particularly beautiful. A subplot involving a weasely NASA administrator (James Cromwell) is rather perfunctory, but it hardly matters. Space Cowboys earns its wings, once again demonstrating Eastwood's comfort with any genre he chooses. --Jeff Shannon

Description

In 1958, the members of Team Daedalus, a group of top Air Force test pilots, were ready to serve their country as the first Americans in space but were pushed aside. Now, as a Russian satellite fails and is about to crash into earth, Team Daedalus is back in action in a rescue mission.

Customer Reviews:

For Those Who Love Clint Eastwood.......2007-04-14

This is a wonderful movie; interactions between the main characters (Frank Corvin, Hawk Hawkins, Tank, and Jerry) are great to watch!!

Good Actors.......2007-02-15

Nice job, I think the stars had fun doing this one. Nothing real special just a fun movie to watch.

Chuck Yeager's Revenge..........2006-11-04

This is a fun movie based on an interesting premise. Back in the 1950's it was the Air Force that assumed that they were going to lead the country into space. Air Force test pilots were pushing aircraft to the edges of space and preparing to become the first astronauts when space research was taken away from the Air Force and became the mission of the newly created civilian agency, NASA. This was a real shocker to most of the top pilots of the Air Force, and although many of them left the Air Force to join the fledgling NASA eventually making it in to space, many like Chuck Yeager, (the man who broke the sound barrier) stayed in the suddenly mundane Air Force. Yeager served in Vietnam, and led an Air Force Fighter Group in Europe in the 1970's, but never got closer to space than he was in the late 50's.

In this movie, Clint Eastwood plays Frank Corvin a Yeager-like member of a fictional Air Force project called Team Daedalus that was pushing at the limits of space in the late 50's, only to have the rug pulled out from under them when space research went to NASA. Tommy Lee Jones plays Hawk, the best pilot on the team, and James Garner and Donald Sutherland are supporting members of the team.

The movie starts very effectively as a blue-tinted flashback to the Muroc glory days of the Air Force sometime in 1958 with a portrayal of Team Daedalus' fall from grace. The theme music, written by Eastwood who also directed the movie, complements perfectly this nostalgic look at simpler and starker times.

Flashing forward to the present the film picks up the pace as we learn that the Russians have a huge communications satellite called Ikon that has a deteriorating orbit and will be plummeting to Earth in 70 days or so. The Russians are adamant that the satellite must be saved and the only way to do it is with the Space Shuttle. Unfortunately, the shuttle isn't big enough to retrieve the massive satellite to return it to Earth, so repairs will need to be made in orbit. Adding to the complexity of the project is that the guidance system is 1970's era technology and there is no one around that knows enough about it to fix it.

Surprisingly, it turns out that the guidance system is a copy of the guidance system that Eastwood's character Frank Corvin designed for SkyLab in the 1970's, and Corvin is still around, although retired. Suffice it to say that Corvin is lured out of retirement by the chance to go into space as long as he can take the other members of the old Team Daedalus with him.

Eastwood, Jones, Garner and Sutherland are hilarious as the cantankerous old veterans cramming to learn how to fly a crash Space Shuttle mission. And James Cromwell, one of Hollywood's great character actors of the last 20 years does a fantastic job of playing the oily project manager, Bob Gerson. Cromwell is the kind of guy that seemingly pops up in small roles in every movie you see, but never actually stars in one. Every era of Hollywood has actors like that, think of Sidney Greenstreet in the 30's and 40's, and without them movies wouldn't be what they are. That said, Cromwell is truly great in this movie in what he does best, a supporting role.

The rest of the movie is pretty standard: they go into space, things don't work out the way they were planned, there's a surprise or two, a disaster to be averted, and a "will they make it?" trip home. But the special effects are fantastic, everything outside of the shuttle was done with computer graphics with the actors faces plopped in behind their face shields, and it is absolutely convincing. Of course you hear the hiss of the propulsion units on the space suits and the roar of the maneuvering rockets in supposedly silent space, but physics has never been Hollywood's strong point.

And while the second half of the movie is pretty formulaic, it is well done. The first half of the movie is different enough to make the whole thing an interesting and entertaining whole.

Old codgers show the young-uns how its done!.......2006-03-26

Okay--it is a viable genre--the old codgers who come to save the day and don't use the new fangled computers that the young-uns are dependent on--etc. This is the top of that genre--Donald Sutherland displays why a younger woman would go for an older man--his aplomb, lack of shame and frank yet respectful worship of female beauty are hard to resist. Tommy Lee is hilarious, Clint is always Clint and James Garner rounds out the team.

Enjoyable and worth seeing.

space cowboys.......2006-02-26

This is one movie I will watch over and over. The actors are superb in their characters and the movie seems to be real. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Average customer rating:

Good Flick!
The Hallelujah Trail
The Hallelujah Trail
BIG, BIG WESTERN, BIG, BIG COMEDY!
Hallelujah Trail- dvd

The Hallelujah Trail
Starring: Burt Lancaster , Lee Remick , Jim Hutton , Pamela Tiffin , and Donald Pleasence
Director: John Sturges
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000056H2I
Release Date: 2001-03-20

Description

Acclaimed director John Sturges (The Magnificent Seven, Bad Day at Black Rock, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral) turns the legends of the West upside down in this rip-roaring western comedy about the year Denver was nearly devastated by a droughtof whiskeyand had to have fortywagonloads imported through very harshand very thirstyterritory! Academy AwardÂ(r) winners* Burt Lancaster and Martin Landau team with OscarÂ(r) nominee** Lee Remick inthis beautifully filmed epic adventure that "wins both laughs and thrills" (The Hollywood Reporter)! Also starring Jim Hutton, Brian Keith and Donald Pleasence, this irreverent and literally dry look at frontier life is "possibly the funniest western ever made" (Los Angeles Times)!

Customer Reviews:

Good Flick!.......2007-05-15

This was an entertaining film, epecially the performances of Burt Lancaster, Lee Remick, the "Good Republican"....Brian Keith, and Robert Wilke. Though none of these fine actors are generally known for their comedic talents, they pull off this whiskey tale in style!

The Hallelujah Trail.......2007-02-01

We originally owned a VHS copy which no longer works and so we need a replacement and also we enjoy old movies ,

The Hallelujah Trail.......2007-01-10

this is a laugh a minute movie, it gets everyone going.
a Western thatmakes joke at everything from drunks to Temperance

BIG, BIG WESTERN, BIG, BIG COMEDY!.......2006-03-07

I first saw this great comedy in our local Cinerama theatre in Denver, Colorado in its first release. Our whole family roared and have enjoyed catching HALLELUJAH TRAIL whenever it pops up on TV, which hasn't been too often. It pretty much disappeared over the last 40 years, so it's wonderful that it's been released in all its glorious widescreen panorama on DVD. No extras except the trailer, but this is the only way you'll get to enjoy John Sturges' fine film letterboxed, so pick 'er up! The cinematography (by Bruce Surtees) is gorgeous, making full use of the location filming and expansive skies. The cast throw themselves into their parts with broad gusto, and Burt Lancaster even gets the chance to rib his own image with those fabulous teeth. Brian Keith makes sure we all remember that he is a taxpayer and a good Republican, Lee Remick does a pretty fair drunk act when it comes time, Donald Pleasance as Oracle Jones goes wide-eyed whenever the proper amount of strong whiskey prompts a vision (NOW I SEE IT!), Jim Hutton gets to wrestle with Pamela Tiffin, and Martin Landau gets huge laughs with very few lines as Walks-Stooped-Over (his expressive face gets to do most of the talking). Stalwart character actors like Dub Taylor and John Dehner (the narrator) fill in the rest of the cast, making this a joy from start to finish. Now, be advised: this is not your frenetic slam-bang speed-edited comedy. HALLELUJAH TRAIL plays out its story at a deliberate, almost leisurely pace. It knows that the laughs are there; Sturges (GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, MAROONED, ICE STATION ZEBRA, THE EAGLE HAS LANDED) allows the story to unfold naturally. This was, unfortunately, his only comedy, but he does a fine job. Pop some corn, grab a big soft drink (or maybe something stronger--it's going to be a hard winter in Denver) and laugh along with THE HALLELUJAH TRAIL!

Hallelujah Trail- dvd.......2006-01-16

I saw this movie in 1968 and I liked it and found it very entertaining and very funny. I bought it for my daughter and family .

Average customer rating:

A Peckinpah Film
Review of Major Dundee
Major Dundee
very satisfied
"Fall in behind the Major"

Major Dundee (The Extended Version)
Starring: Charlton Heston , Richard Harris , Jim Hutton , James Coburn , and Michael Anderson Jr.
Director: Sam Peckinpah
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Westerns | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B00083FZFY
Release Date: 2005-09-20

Amazon.com

This restoration of Sam Peckinpah's 1965 western Major Dundee is nothing short of magnificent, a noble attempt at restoring a famously wrecked masterpiece. When Peckinpah went over budget and over schedule during the Mexico shoot, unshot scenes were canceled and the footage rudely cut by the studio. The director disowned the results. In 2005, surviving footage was patched back in, and a new musical soundtrack commissioned to replace the score Peckinpah hated. This raises some legitimate questions about interpreting a director's intentions, and about messing with film history, but Major Dundee--The Extended Version is such a rousing, mysterious experience, one feels grateful.

Major Dundee (Charlton Heston) is a vainglorious officer busted to the decidedly inglorious job of overseeing prisoners in a fort in New Mexico. An abduction gives him the excuse to mount an expedition into Mexico, chasing the perpetrators and perhaps a shot at greatness. His ragtag posse includes Confederate POWs, notably one Captain Ben Tyreen (Richard Harris), whose intense former friendship with Dundee is tainted with a sense of betrayal on both sides. (Heston and Harris, two actors not known for subtlety, are splendid.) Part Ahab, part Alexander the Great, Dundee leads the expedition away from its purpose and into a near-mythic kind of wandering.

Peckinpah gets everything right--the landscapes, the sneaky humor, the code of men. He also takes time to distinguish the supporting characters, such as Jim Hutton's awkward young officer and Senta Berger's stranded widow. The Peckinpah stock company of amazing character actors is in place, too, including James Coburn, Warren Oates, Ben Johnson, L.Q. Jones, and Slim Pickens. It will never be exactly what Peckinpah envisioned, but now Major Dundee rides suspiciously close to greatness. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

A Peckinpah Film.......2007-06-12

The only reason I gave it a 4 star instead of a 5 star is the length of the movie with a slow middle. Sam Pechinpaw movies are always action packed. Heston plays a tought Major who's only purpose was to hunt down some murdering Apaches, but falls in love along the way.

Review of Major Dundee.......2007-05-24

The disk arrived in a timely manner and was in excellent condition.
The film, although of course dated, was very interesting and enjoyable. I much prefer Charlton Heston in dynamic roles such as this to in his "epic" roles such as Moses in The Ten Commandments. He seemed a real person in this film. Richard Harris is also excellent, as are the supporting cast. All in all I enjoyed the film very much and am glad that I bought it.

Major Dundee.......2007-05-17

One of the finest western genre movies ever made...complexity of the characters interaction coupled with fine acting and action scenes make this movie a must see

very satisfied.......2007-05-10

I am very satisfied with the dvd movie Major Dundee. It was well worth the money. Very enjoyable.

"Fall in behind the Major".......2007-03-21

You can read all about the behind things that went on during the making of this movie, so lets talk about the movie itself.
I remember watching this movie as a child and loving it. I know that this isn't what Peckinpah wanted us to see but even in the form most of us have seen it the talent and strong direction make even this "flawed masterpiece" one of the great westerns and great movies period. Now after all these years they have found the missing scenes and we can see(at least as close as possible) the epic western that Sam wanted. With these new scenes,soundtrack(Sam hated the old one), and using his notes, the movie comes alive again and even better than before. Now if you are like me i loved the old soundtrack(yes it's corny and i hate to say it,but i do love it)not to worry as you can choose which one you would like to hear. With extras glore this is one of the better extended version discs out there. nothing is over looked and now "Major Dundee" can take its place beside "The Wild Bunch" as one of the best films Peckinpah made!!

Average customer rating:

We enjoyed this movie, but...
Has Some Amusement Value
Excellent Video
The English Crown and greedy commerce
Not just a movie

Allegheny Uprising
Starring: Claire Trevor , John Wayne , George Sanders , Brian Donlevy , and Wilfrid Lawson
Director: William A. Seiter
Manufacturer: Turner Home Ent
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000O599LW
Release Date: 2007-05-22

Amazon.com

Allegheny Uprising is an engaging blend of historical fiction, boisterous backwoods comedy, and pretty much nonstop rowdydow that qualifies as one of John Wayne's more offbeat vehicles. Made half a year after his stellar breakout in Stagecoach, the picture re-teams Wayne with Claire Trevor as a frontier tomboy who supplies feisty love interest. A decade and a half before the Revolutionary War, a community in south-central Pennsylvania (apparently Chambersburg) stages a principled rebellion against King George III's forces that's more social protest than full-fledged revolt. Wayne plays a thoughtful fellow named Jim Smith who, with his "men of the Conococheague," demonstrates to the Crown that it's bad faith to lend military protection to unscrupulous traders (cue Brian Donlevy) clandestinely peddling firearms and English-made weaponry to the Indians.

Now, there just aren't that many "Westerns" set in Pennsylvania, so Allegheny Uprising gets points for freshness. It also falls into a limbo between A and B movies, coming in at a trim 80 minutes but boasting larger action set-pieces (shot on location in credibly Pennsylvanian pockets of California) than was customary for RKO, a studio that tended toward in-house miniatures; Nicholas Musuraca, a future Val Lewton and film noir mainstay, proves himself a master of sunlit cinematography as well. Director William A. Seiter (with a string of Shirley Temple movies behind him) never finds a satisfying overall rhythm, and there are odd scraps of unrealized intentions in producer P.J. Wolfson's script (e.g., the sudden murder of a captured Indian raider at knifepoint, whereupon Smith ruefully observes, "We teach 'em everything, don't we?"). The most interesting element of the film is George Sanders' performance as an intransigent Brit officer who causes much of the strife with the Colonials, yet discloses unexpected vulnerability in private moments. --Richard T. Jameson

Customer Reviews:

We enjoyed this movie, but..........2006-11-03

We enjoyed our copy of Allegheny Uprising that was recently purchased on Amazon. We are history buffs, so picking up a few more facts about about US history pleased us. However, the Claire Trevor character was totally un-necessary! We wondered what movie she was acting in because her part didn't fit in at all. Here were these colonial characters talking and then Trevor starts talking a la 1930s movie style. Great for 1939, but not for the 1700s! Kinda reminds one of the bouffant hairdos on the 1960s tv shows like "The Big Valley"! Anyway, if you want something with a plot and is interesting, buy it. Especially if you want to just relax and not worry about something distasteful popping up on the screen -- it won't. Just phase out the Trevor character!

Has Some Amusement Value.......2006-05-27

John Wayne had been making low budget movies for almost 15 years when he starred with Claire Trevor in the William Seiter directed "Allegheny Uprising". He must have felt his career was going backwards as the production values here are second rate even by the marginal standards of his earlier films. Cast before the release of "Stagecoach", he and Trevor were given a more central role in "Allegheny Uprising" as it is not an ensemble piece like "Stagecoach".

The new popularity of the two B-Movie actors required P. J. Wolfson to alter his adaptation of Neil Swanson's novel "The First Rebel". In place of his straight historical fiction action-adventure tale (based on the Smith's Rebellion and Fort Loudoun in southern Pennsylvania) Wolfson was forced to add a romance and pad Trevor's role. Unfortunately adapting a novel to the screen is difficult enough without having to insert a character utterly irrelevant to a story already too expansive for easy adaptation. Contemporary viewers will find the forced insertion of Trevor into most of the scenes rather puzzling, at least in part because she has little going for herself as an actress or a screen presence. The younger John Wayne was much better when paired with talented leading ladies like Ella Raines and Cecilia Parker.

Set in Pennsylvania's Conococheague Valley in 1759, Wayne plays title character James Smith who returns to the valley with a friend called The Professor (John Frank Hamilton). They find the local British commander (George Sanders) a martinet and a local civilian (Brian Donley) trading contraband goods (whiskey and weapons) with the Indians, in league with some corrupt soldiers.

Trevor plays Janie MacDougall, a loud tomboy who loves Smith and manages to insert herself into his affairs at every turn.

1939 was not a good time for a movie which portrayed our soon to be allies (insert the British here) as stupid and corrupt. And southern California was not a good location for shooting a film about colonial America. There are far too many shots of grassy, almost treeless, California valleys to maintain the necessary geographical illusion. Also jarring is the contemporary dialogue which leaves you expecting Mickey Rooney and Lewis Stone to pull up outside the fort in the family sedan.

When not painful, the inattention to period detail is unintentionally amusing. My favorite scene involves the British soldiers laughing at the idea of the settlers taking over the fort. It will remind you of the "Robin Huck" episode of "Huckleberry Hound" where he exhorts his merry men to "yuk it up a bit" and they respond by going "yuk, yuk, yuk".

All in all, a weak example of the B-movie product.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Excellent Video.......2005-09-12

I'm a big John Wayne fan. This video to me was one of the best. I'd highly recommend this to anyone. Clair Trevor is spectacular in her performance. Brian Donlevy is also at his best also. A must for classic video fans.

The English Crown and greedy commerce.......2003-10-19

John Wayne, a very young John Wayne, is animating (giving some life to) the situation exposed in the film : the unacceptable duplicity of the English, and particularly English soldiers and English businessmen in the territory of New York before the Independence of the USA. The businessmen want to make a profit from both the settlers and the Indians by selling both camps anything, even arms. The soldiers want to establish their own peace that is founded on the integration of Indians in their own scheme which is to control the territory more than govern the people : if they have to encourage the Indians in their skirmishes and wars to control the settlers, they will do it. If they have to encourage the settlers in their anti-indian attitudes and posses they will do it. The best situation from their military point of view is to encourage both camps into constant war because then they may appear as the intermediary or go-between, the peace maker or at least the peace keeper between the two camps, and the English Crown may find its interest in both camps. That is true if you do not take into account the wider perspective that the settlers represent and independence is already in their minds.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

Not just a movie.......2001-10-31

Not only is this film good entertainment it is based on historical fact. The Place Fort Loudoun does exist in South Central PA and Smiths rebellion actually did take place. Hollywood did take liberties as usual with certain things presented in the film but most of it is very sound. The events portrayed did not take place in the short time that Hollywood led you to believe in this film, but all did take place....

Average customer rating:

bad movie from a bad prequel of 'lonesome dove'
this is a "walk" worth taking
Old Western
A great western with a great cast!
would have made a great weekly series

Dead Man's Walk
Starring: F. Murray Abraham , Keith Carradine , Patricia Childress , Brian Dennehy , and Edward James Olmos
Director: Yves Simoneau
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00005O0SP
Release Date: 2001-10-23

Description

Set in the Texas Republic in the early 1840's, a time in which three cultures - Anglo, Hispanic and Comanche - were in furious conflict over the same harsh land, we are introduced to Augustus McCrae and Woodrow Call, the heroes of LONESOME DOVE. Gus (David Arquette) and Call (Johnny Lee Miller) are young Rangers, ripe for adventure, and they get it with the Texas-Santa Fe expedition, and ill-conceived effort on the part of some freebooters and adventurers to capture Santa Fe and annex New Mexico. Led by the land pirate Caleb Cobb (F. Murray Abraham), and guided by the legendary Bigfoot Wallace (Keith Carradine) and his mountain-man friend Shadrach (Harry Dean Stanton), the group fights several engagements with the great Comanche warchief Buffalo Hump (Eric Schweig), is whittled down by the silent Apache, Gomez (Victor Aaron), and is captured without resistance by the Mexican army. Marched south by a resolute Mexican officer, Captain Salazar (Edward James Olmos), they survive bear attacks, ice storms, and the rigors of the barren desert known as the Jornada del Muerto. In the end, they arrive at the leper colony of San Lazaro, where black and white beans are drawn to determine which of the invaders will live an which will die. Accompanying the men on this trek is the colorful, amply fleshed whore known as the Great Western - Matilda Jane Roberts (Patricia Childress). In Austin, Gus meets the love of his life, Clara Forsythe (Jennifer Garner), and in San Lazaro, they encounter the great English lady, Lucinda Carey (Haviland Morris), who, in the startling climax, helps them survive a last encounter with the wild men, led by the great Comanche, Buffalo Hump.

Customer Reviews:

bad movie from a bad prequel of 'lonesome dove'.......2007-04-07

this is a ridiculous overkill of two fascinating characters in the 'lonesome dove'. the whole 2 dvds were just a bunch of idiots kept blabbering, small talking, yammering, blah, blah, blah from the first second to the last minute, just like mcmurty's novels, all the characters were just kept talking, talking, talking in meaningless small talks, almost talked your ears off. it's so controversial and contradictory to those two characters first appeared in 'lonesome dove', gus talked and talked, but call never talked like what was protrayed in this pathetic 'dead man's walk' and the 'comanchi moon', the more logic one is the real sequel, 'the street of loredo', at least gus was dead, and call remained not just silent but more quiet. by watching this horrible movie adaptation from the original book, scripted by the author, the whole movie was doomed to be horrible. because mcmurty simply couldn't omitted those yammering spread all over his original novel, page after page, blah, blah, blah, and we have to find the storyline among those conversations, dialogs, and dug them out of those garbage-like paragraphs. watching this movie was no different. those idiotic morons never kept their mouths shut. blabbering day and night, even during the comanchi attacks. what call showed in this movie and the novel could never developed into a character like what he had become in 'lonesome dove'. because from the very beginning, everybody just quacked and quacked like a school of chickens. drive me nuts. how come these two young characters portrayed in this blabbering novel would and could have developed into the profound older characters in the 'lonesome dove'? once a moron, a coward, an idiot, always would be a one, no matter how old you have become. adding experiences and sophistication in the aging process never happened to a moron, coward or an idiot. how could these two jokes would have survived in that harsh environment is simply beyond me. at least the 'lonesome dove' movie adaptation was close to what the novel read like. and 'the street of loredo' movie was also an adaptations from the novel.

this is a "walk" worth taking.......2006-05-25

dead man's walk is a preqeal to lonesome dove and alows us to meet gus and call as young men. once again we are sent into adventure with these two friends. while i will say that this isn't as good as the first,it is still lightyears ahead on "return ot lonesome dove",and if you like that or just a good western this is one to have.

Old Western.......2006-03-14

My husband had been looking for this DVD for quite some time. He was happy when I found it at such a low price.

A great western with a great cast!.......2006-02-16

I really enjoyed this movie. I really enjoyed the unique plot and the wide ranging cast from everyone to F. Murray Abraham, Johnny Lee Miller, David Arqutte, Jennifer Garner Etc. I orginally watched this movie because I am a big fan of F. Murray Abraham, I really enjoyed him in the role of the villian. This is also the first movie I really ever saw Jennifer Garner in, so it is fun to see her young as well. I really liked Miller and Arqutte's portrayal of the two main characters, I thought it was very well done.

The only complaint I have about this movie is that it is pretty violent, and many of the minorarty characters ( native Americans and Mexicans) are not portrayed with respect. Maybe this was because who the main characters were and thier association with peoples of these cultures...I don't know.

Anyway, if you are looking for a good western, try this one!

would have made a great weekly series.......2005-08-19

Dead Man's Walk is yet another great Lonesome Dove DVD. It's too bad they didn't make a regular series about the adventures of young Gus and Woodrow. It's not too late. Give us a TV series somebody!

Average customer rating:

The Duke Gives A Tough, Gruff...And..Touching Performance

The Cowboys [HD DVD]
Starring: John Wayne
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: HD DVD

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ASIN: B000P6XU5Q
Release Date: 2007-06-05

Description

A veteren rancher risks everything when he recruits schoolboys to man a dangerous cattle drive. One of John Wayne's solid twilight hits, co-starring Bruce Dern and Colleen Dewhurst. Year: 1972 Director: Mark Rydell Starring: John Wayne, Roscoe Lee Browne, Bruce Dern

Customer Reviews:

The Duke Gives A Tough, Gruff...And..Touching Performance.......2007-05-10

From 1971,THE COWBOYS finds our guy,The Duke, as an aging rancher who must hire 11 young boys to help him on a 400 mile cattle drive. He's tough and gruff, but really has a way with the kids,(only The Duke can cure a boy's stuttering in less than 2 minutes!), and soon finds himself acting as both trail boss and father to the group. The drive is rough for all and has the added suspense of some bad hombres led by Bruce Dern who are out to rustle The Duke's cattle.

Wayne, who by this time, just awed us with his on screen presence, turns in a touching performance and if it was up to me, would have recieved an Oscar for this role. It's one of my all time favorite films. Dern is the baddest of the bad as he goes after our hero. The film is not short on talent, Directed by Mark Rydell, it includes Roscoe Lee Brown, a young A. Martinez, and a small but meaty part for the wonderful Colleen Dewhurst.

Important: This DVD is an "HD DVD" and per notice on product page... "is compatible only with HD DVD players." For a regular Region 1 edition you'll find it here:The Cowboyswith some very nice features(see my review of that edition for details. Also available, collectors of Wayne may find it more economical to purchaseThe John Wayne Collection (The Cowboys/The Searchers/Stagecoach) Spanning 30 years of his career, it's a wonderful selection.

For more info in HD DVD click on the link to the buying guide near the top of the product detail page.

Saddle up and enjoy the ride...
Happy Trails.....Laurie