Product Details

• Actors: John Wayne, Roscoe Lee Browne, Bruce Dern, Colleen Dewhurst, Alfred Barker Jr.
• Directors: Mark Rydell
• Writers: Harriet Frank Jr., Irving Ravetch, William Dale Jennings
• Producers: Mark Rydell, Tim Zinnemann
• Format: Color, Dolby, HiFi Sound, Original recording reissued, NTSC
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• VHS Release Date: May 19, 1998
• Run Time: 131 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (185 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304457278
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #142,092 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Notorious 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 the film is a tale of revenge. Mark Rydell (Cinderella Liberty) directs an unexciting production, although performances by some of the younger actors such as A. Martinez and Robert Carradine are memorable. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Buy, April 15, 2010

By 

J. Everett (Houston TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: John Wayne Westerns (The Cowboys / Fort Apache / Rio Bravo / The Searchers) (DVD)

This collection is one of the best buys a John Wayne fan can make. Four classic John Wayne films for a low price and I was stunned by the great picture quality. The Cowboys is where this is most noticeable in my opinion but all the movies look greater than ever. Every movie on the discs comes with bonus features and extras too that are interesting to watch. I ordered this and got it two days after it shipped with standard shipping which was great and unexpected. I was a little worried with such a low price for the collection that something would be wrong somehow with the discs or there would be some catch but I can say in all honesty that you can trust this collection to satisfy your John Wayne needs.

61 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Duke and company in fine style in "The Cowboys", March 13, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Cowboys [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I'm puzzled by the negative reviews (vide supra). If the story's a little thin, then the acting more than makes up for it. John Wayne and Roscoe Lee Browne lead a cattle drive across the West with the aid of the only help they could find, schoolboys. They are trailed by some bad guys. So much for the story. But Wayne and Browne give superb performances, truly, and the boys more than hold up their end. Bruce Dern's a memorable villain who gets his. (Wayne is shot 1 hr., 50 min. into the picture--certainly not "early on"!) I rate this movie 4 stars because, sure, "Stagecoach" and "The Searchers" and the U.S. Cavalry trio rank higher; but 4 stars on the Wayne scale ain't too shabby. One day the world will come around to the realization that John Wayne was one of the greatest screen actors ever to walk through Hollywood.

49 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Duke's best!, May 22, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Chesnee, South Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cowboys (DVD)

This is absolutely one of the best of the best. John Wayne plays Wil Anderson, a rancher forced to use young boys to get his herd to market when his men desert him in search of gold. There are many wonderful messages in this film about duty, honor, and responsibility. They are messages our nation and our young people are in great need of right now. This movie contains many memorable and haunting scenes, but none more so then when Wayne is forced into a confrontation with Bruce Dern to protect the young boys he has on the cattle drive. He gives his life, and teaches them the meaning of strength, honor, and courage. I could not disagree more with Leonard Maltin's review - the message is not to seek violent revenge; the boys simply "finish the job" they were hired to do and take the money from the sale of the herd back to Wil Anderson's wife. This film captures the greatness of Wayne's legacy, and why he is so adored by millions of Americans who hold duty and courage dear. If I had to recommend only one John Wayne film to someone who had never seen one, this would be it. Truly unforgettable!