The Cowboys [Blu-ray]

• 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 DernRunning Time: 134 min. Format: BLU-RAY DISC Genre: WESTERN Rating: NR Age: 085391142706 UPC: 0853911427

The Old West.. where a lone cowboy leads an uprising against a terror from beyond our world. 1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don't welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). It's a town that lives in fear. But Absolution is about to exp! erience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known. Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he's been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveler Ella (Olivia Wilde), he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents-townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriors-all in danger of annihilation. United against a common enemy, they will prepare for an epic showdown for survival. Cowboys & Aliens fuses rip-snortin' horse opera with some whiz-bang sci-fi, melding dry and austere badlands with slimy, mucusy aliens. Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig, of James Bond fame)! wakes up in the midst of sagebrush with a mysterious gadget a! round hi s wrist and no idea who he is--but he sure does remember how to take care of the bounty hunters who want to bring him in. His path soon crosses with a ruthless cattle baron named Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford, of Indiana Jones fame), who's not too happy with Lonergan, who got Dolarhyde's son in trouble. But their fracas becomes beside the point when spaceships descend and start lassoing people like cattle. The humans, including a mysterious woman (Olivia Wilde, Tron), a Native American tribe, and some snaggletoothed outlaws, band together to fight off this invasion from another world. The first two-thirds of Cowboys & Aliens is peppy fun, with its tongue-in-cheek Wild West-ness and colorful supporting cast (including Sam Rockwell, Keith Carradine, Paul Dano, and Walton Goggins) and fairly understated CGI. The last third, with the obligatory assault on the alien vessel and a mess of clichés and inconsistencies, deflates a bit, which isn't surprising given th! at six screenwriters were involved. Director Jon Favreau (Iron Man) does what he can to keep things lively. Fortunately, the good spirits of the first two-thirds will carry most viewers through to the end. --Bret FetzerDaniel Craig and Harrison Ford star in this action-packed sci-fi western from the director of Iron Man (Jon Favreau) that critics call "wickedly original, unlike anything you've ever seen" (Jake Hamilton, Fox-TV Houston, TX). A stranger (Craig) stumbles into the desert town of Absolution with no memory of his past and a futuristic shackle around his wrist. With the help of mysterious beauty Ella (Olivia Wilde) and the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford), he finds himself leading an unlikely posse of cowboys, outlaws, and Apache warriors against a common enemy from beyond this world in an epic showdown for survival. Starring: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, Adam Beach, Paul Dano, Noah Ringer, Keith Carradine, Clancy ! Brown, Ana de la Reguera Directed by: Jon FavreauCowboys & ! Aliens fuses rip-snortin' horse opera with some whiz-bang sci-fi, melding dry and austere badlands with slimy, mucusy aliens. Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig, of James Bond fame) wakes up in the midst of sagebrush with a mysterious gadget around his wrist and no idea who he is--but he sure does remember how to take care of the bounty hunters who want to bring him in. His path soon crosses with a ruthless cattle baron named Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford, of Indiana Jones fame), who's not too happy with Lonergan, who got Dolarhyde's son in trouble. But their fracas becomes beside the point when spaceships descend and start lassoing people like cattle. The humans, including a mysterious woman (Olivia Wilde, Tron), a Native American tribe, and some snaggletoothed outlaws, band together to fight off this invasion from another world. The first two-thirds of Cowboys & Aliens is peppy fun, with its tongue-in-cheek Wild West-ness and colorful supporting cast (including Sam R! ockwell, Keith Carradine, Paul Dano, and Walton Goggins) and fairly understated CGI. The last third, with the obligatory assault on the alien vessel and a mess of clichés and inconsistencies, deflates a bit, which isn't surprising given that six screenwriters were involved. Director Jon Favreau (Iron Man) does what he can to keep things lively. Fortunately, the good spirits of the first two-thirds will carry most viewers through to the end. --Bret FetzerThis box set includes 8 westerns, all containing elements of sci-fi, horror, robots, death rays, and mystery: Radio Ranch, Ghost Patrol, Tombstone Canyon, Riders of the Whistling Skull, Sky Bandits, Gun Packer, Saddle Mountain Roundup, and Vanishing Riders. Filmed two years before Predator, many have commented that Alien Outlaw could have been that film's inspiration -- An alien ship lands in a remote mountain location and its occupants go on a hunting party. And, yes, their prey is human! This science f! iction adventure has been praised for its subtle social comme! ntary an d humankind's relationship with guns, friends and nature. Fashioned like an old comic book story, ALIEN OUTLAW is the second film that B-Western film star Lash La Rue did for Writer/Director Phil Smoot. Always starring in cowboy flicks that featured him with a whip, La Rue said, "They just won't let me put that thing down!" But in his last leading role, Lash La Rue breaks the mold in a film that features both guns and horses but allows him to put down his trademark weapon. Perhaps, as a result, this has been called La Rue's finest film performance. Bonus Features: Uncut and Available for the first time in the USA| Contains a New Widescreen (1.66:1 Anamorphic) and a New Full screen version| Commentary track with both the Writer/Director (Phil Smoot) and the Editor (Sherwood Jones)| Meet the Legends: A one of a kind interview as Republic "B" Western Star, Sunset Carson, interviews legendary "King of the Bullwhip" Lash La Rue| Meet the Ingénue: Sunset'! s behind-the-scenes interview with newcomer Kari Anderson| Behind the News: News Conference before the filming| Behind the scenes: Home video footage on the set of Alien Outlaw| Trailer of The Dark Power with Lash La Rue. Specs: DVD9; Dolby Digital Mono; 90 minutes; Color; 1.66:1&1.33:1 Aspect Ratio; MPAA - NR; Year - 1985; SRP - $5.99.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 DernNotorious as the first John Wayne film that does the unthinkable--subject Wayne's character to a nasty fate after only a short time--the 1972 Cowboys isn't much more interesting beyond that. The story finds Wayne playing a rancher who takes 11 boys on a cattle drive. They run into a nut case (Bruce Dern) who deprives the kids of their leader, and the rest of th! e film is a tale of revenge. Mark Rydell (Cinderella Libert! y) d irects an unexciting production, although performances by some of the younger actors such as A. Martinez and Robert Carradine are memorable. --Tom Keogh