TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: John Wayne Westerns (The Cowboys / Fort Apache / Rio Bravo / The Searchers)
TCM Greatest Classic Films: John Wayne Westerns (4FE) (DVD) THE SEARCHERS John Wayne plays an ex-Confederate soldier seeking his niece, captured by Comanches who massacred his family. He wont surrender to hunger, thirst, the elements or loneliness. And in his five-year search, he finds the unexpected: his own humanity. This 12th John Wayne/John Ford collaboration resulted in a universally acclaimed cinema landmark. FORT APACHE The soldiers at Fort Apache may disagree with the tactics of their glory-seeking new commander. But to a man, theyre duty-bound to obey even when it means almost certain disaster. John Wayne, Henry Fonda and others familiar players from director John Fords "stock company" saddle up for the first film in the directors famed cavalry trilogy. RIO BRAVO On one side is an army of gunmen dead-set on springing a murderous cohort from jail. On the other is a sheriff (John Wayne), two deputies (Dean Martin and Walter Brennan), an unseasoned, trigger-happy youth (Ricky Nelson) and a woman with a past (Angie Dickinson). Howard Hawks directs one of the genres greatest and most influential works. THE COWBOYS John Wayne had one of his richest late-career roles as a leather-tough rancher who, deserted by his regular help, hires 11 greenhorn schoolboys for a cattle drive across 400 treacherous miles. Roscoe Lee Browne, Colleen Dewhurst and Bruce Dern co-star. ]]> The CowboysAlmost 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 |
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Brand Name: WARNER HOME VIDEO Mfg#: 883929058969
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Shipping Weight: 0.40 lbs
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Manufacturer:
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Genre: GIFT SET
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Product Information Specifications for TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: John Wayne Westerns (The Cowboys / Fort Apache / Rio Bravo / The Searchers) Below:
Manufacturer | Turner Classic Movie |
Brand | WARNER STUDIOS |
Model | 5072335 |
UPC | 883929058969 |
Item Weight | 0.3 pounds |
Item Size | 5.4 x 0.55 x 0.55 inches |
Package Weight | 0.15 pounds |
Package Size | 5.4 x 0.7 x 0.7 inches |
Units in Package | 1 |
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