ign logo IGN.com | AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | GameSpy | FilePlanet | TeamXbox | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | Direct2Drive

RottenTomatoes.com

RT Bug Squash
Home Movies DVD Celebrities News Critics Photos & Trailers The Vine Forums
Box Office | In Theaters | Opening | Upcoming | Best Of | Certified Fresh | Showtimes
Register for free site & special features! | Log In | What is RT?
                       
MOVIES / ON DVD / THE COWBOYS
The Cowboys

Rate This Movie

Write a Review
Share This Movie
Add to List
Buy DVD
Buy Poster

Bookmark and Share

The Cowboys (1972)

75%
N/A
82%
N/A
N/A
N/A
75 %
Reviews Counted: 12 Fresh: 9  Rotten:3 Average Rating: 6.7/10
Runtime: 2 hrs 15 mins
Synopsis:
After his cowhands desert him for a nearby gold rush, aging, leather-tough rancher Will Anderson (John Wayne) resorts to hiring 11 schoolboys to help him on a 400-mile cattle run. Setting off with the boys and an eloquent but equally tough black cook (Roscoe Lee Browne), Anderson must get his... [More]
After his cowhands desert him for a nearby gold rush, aging, leather-tough rancher Will Anderson (John Wayne) resorts to hiring 11 schoolboys to help him on a 400-mile cattle run. Setting off with the boys and an eloquent but equally tough black cook (Roscoe Lee Browne), Anderson must get his cattle to their destination while contending with the wilderness and a psychotic, vengeful ex-con (Bruce Dern) who is out to get him. With an amazingly natural performance by Wayne, this stylized, action-packed Western is exquisitely filmed, emotionally sensitive, and highly entertaining. Director Mark Rydell gets solid performances out of not just Wayne (in one of his later screen roles) and Browne, but the group of youngsters accompanying them on the journey, as well as actors like Slim Pickens and Colleen Dewhurst who play smaller supporting roles. Close attention is also paid to the natural beauty of the mountains, wild mustangs, and other often overlooked standard Western fare. [Less]

Genre: Westerns

Starring: John Wayne, Roscoe Lee Browne, Slim Pickens, Colleen Dewhurst, Bruce Dern

Director: Mark Rydell
Screenwriter: Irving Ravetch, Harriet, Jr. Frank, William Dale Jennings
Producer: Mark Rydell
Composer: John Williams

DVD Info

Release:

Jun 5, 2007

[DVD Details]

HD DVD Features:

  • Anamorphic Widescreen

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English
  • Mono 1.0 - French, Spanish
  • Subtitles - English, French, Spanish - Optional

Additional Release Material:

  • Audio Commentary - Mark Rydell - Director
  • Featurettes - 1. THE COWBOYS: TOGETHER AGAIN
  • 2. THE BREAKING OF BOYS AND THE MAKING OF MEN
  • Trailer - Theatrical Trailer

Buy It On DVD

Reviews

 
T-Meter Critics
 
 
Top Critics
 
 
RT Community
 
 
My Critics
 
 
My Friends
 
 
DVD
 
 
 
1 - 15 (sorted by date)
Text View
Arrange By: Name | Fresh | Rotten | Date | Source
 
 
Ratings Image

A coming-of-age film of the toughest sort. Far from Wayne's best, but nevertheless a movie whose ending ignites a heated discussion.

Full Review | Comment
08/01/07 07:36 AM
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)
Ratings Image

A forgotten masterpiece.

Full Review | Comment
06/28/07 04:43 PM
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central
Ratings Image

Even with a closing that breaks with tradition, The Cowboys is not as eventful as one would have hoped for in a John Wayne movie.

Full Review | Comment
05/24/07 11:23 AM
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com
Ratings Image

At the center of this picture, just as in Red River, is the passing of the Western mores and masculinity code from John Wayne to the younger generation. Rydell's Western is formulaic and familiar, but the Duke is in top form.

Full Review | Comment
11/10/06 08:54 AM
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
06/24/06 04:19 AM
Time Out
Ratings Image

how old Hollywood promoted conservative agenda with the skill and efficiency modern-day liberals and leftists can only dream about

Full Review | Comment
10/11/05 06:00 AM
Dragan Antulov
Draxblog Movie Reviews
Ratings Image

No review available.

| Comment
10/09/05 01:02 PM
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily
Ratings Image

No review available.

| Comment
09/20/05 08:04 PM
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)
Ratings Image

An engaging late John Wayne Western, though the macho philosophy of the need to kill might turn off the more liberal viewer.

Full Review | Comment
09/16/05 02:34 PM
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Ratings Image

No review available.

| Comment
07/18/05 05:07 PM
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
05/09/05 03:16 AM
Vincent Canby
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
10/23/04 10:31 PM
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
05/24/03 08:13 AM
Channel 4 Film
Ratings Image

No review available.

| Comment
09/12/02 12:09 PM
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Ratings Image

No review available.

| Comment
07/26/02 06:41 PM
David Poland
Hot Button
1 - 15 (sorted by date)
Text View
See More Topics...

Related Forums

Wayne At His Best
by: Shudabinacritic 4/27

Around the Network

• The Cowboys at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Cowboys at IGN
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | ModCenter | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive

By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2008, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.