Review of The Cowboys (1972) by Daniel P — 16 Jul 2007
The movie tells the story of a cattle rancher who can't find anyone to help him drive his cattle because a nearby gold rush has sucked up all the local labor. His friend talks him into hiring eleven local schoolboys, none over the age of fifteen, most closer to ten.
While the movie is rated PG and is a coming-of-age movie about young boys, this isn't a children's movie. It's dark and violent with some grim moments and some racial slurs and would probably get an R rating if it were filmed today.
The pacing is slow; despite moments of action, this isn't an action movie. In the first ten or fifteen minutes I still wasn't sure if I was going to like the movie or not. But once the boys got up on their horses and John Wayne started instructing them in the finer arts of cattle handling, I was hooked. This is an excellent Western and I'm just surprised I'd never heard of it before NetFlix recommended it to me.
The score is also outstanding. It was composed by John Williams (Star Wars) and has a full, hearty orchestration that reminded me at times of Aaron Copeland's work. The director, Mark Rydell, has a good eye for the Western, having directed many episodes of "The Wild Wild West" and "Gunsmoke." Between Rydell's direction and Willam's score, there is a solid, traditional feel to this Western.
I found The Cowboys to be emotionally stirring and visually rich. I would highly recommend it to any fan of the Western genre.
This review of The Cowboys (1972) was written by Daniel P on 16 Jul 2007.
The Cowboys has generally received positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
