Space Cowboys was one of those films that you see in the video shop, recognise some big names in the starring roles, but you have no idea what the film is really like. I can't recall this one being at the cinema, let alone reading a review in the press, so I was taking a bit of a chance when ... Read review
Space Cowboysis a slice of cornball Americana that's so much fun you'll be tempted to ... more
stand up and salute. Director and co-star Clint Eastwood manages to turn what might have been ludicrous into a jubilant tribute to age and experience, andSpace Cowboy...
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Space Cowboysis a slice of cornball Americana that's so much fun you'll be tempted to ... more
stand up and salute. Director and co-star Clint Eastwood manages to turn what might have been ludicrous into a jubilant tribute to age and experience, andSpace Cowboy...
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They were the bravest boldest and fastest test pilots ready to serve their country as ... more
the first Americans in space when they were cruelly pushed aside and a chimpanzee got the honour. The team retired but the dream of going into space never died. No...
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They were the bravest, boldest and fastest test pilots, ready to serve their country as ... more
the first Americans in space when they were cruelly pushed aside and a chimpanzee got the honour! The team retired, but the dream of going into space never died. No...
They trained body and mind for American's leap into space. When the moment came, the brash ... more
flyboys of Team Daedalus were replaced. Now, 40 years later, another moment has come. And this time, it's all theirs.Directing for the 22nd time and starring for the 42nd, Clint Eastwood leads a stellar cast into orbit in this exhilarating high-tech adventure. Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland and James Garner join him as old-school test pilots whose grasp of outdated technology makes them the only ones able to repair a primitive, deorbiting Russian satellite that imperils Earth. Strap in for some of the rightest stuff around (The Wall Street Journal). With an irresistible payload of heart, humor and heroics, Space Cowboys is all-systems-go.
When director Clint Eastwood doesn't employ regular composer Lennie Niehaus, you can ... more
guarantee the soundtrack will be populated with a very distinctive style of song. Right from Play Misty for Me, it's been apparent his penchant is for light jazz and smoky ballads. So the simple formula for this movie was to apply preference to the old-gits-in-space scenario. The result is what can be described as a bar-room drawl. Joshua Redman features three times with "The Best is Yet to Come", "Hit the Road Jack" and "The Second Time Around", Willie Nelson twice with "Young at Heart" and "Still Crazy After all these Years", which is also covered by the Brad Mehldau Trio which goes on to contribute "Old Man". Rounding things out are Mandy Barnett ("I Only have Eyes for You"), Chad Brock ("Take it to the Limit"), Larry Goldman featuring Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley ("Last Night"), and the essential Frank Sinatra and Count Basie ("Fly Me to the Moon"). Lots of tippity-tappity cymbal backing, subdued sax, and keyboard are the order of the day. Quite intentionally, and in the nicest of ways, this is music to feel old by. --Paul Tonks
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Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 1995 - Action/Adventure - Director: Tom Clegg - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Sean Bean, Daragh O'Malley, Allie Byrne, Oliver Cotton, Emily Mortimer, Michael Cochrane
Production Year: 1977 - Action/Adventure - Director: Clint Eastwood - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring:Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney
Production Year: 1996 - Action/Adventure - Director: Tom Clegg - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Daragh O'Malley, Oliver Cotton, Jason Durr, Sean Bean, Allie Byrne
Advantages: Good fun, never a dull moment Disadvantages: Perhaps a little far fetched
Space Cowboys was one of those films that you see in the video shop, recognise some big names in the starring roles, but you have no idea what the film is really like. I can't recall this one being at the cinema, let alone reading a review in the press, so I was taking a bit of a chance when I hired this one. (The guy in the video shop said it was excellent, but then he would say that, wouldn't he?). Even the cover design was pretty dull, so I couldn't ... ...assigned to work on the space programme - all four men hope to be the first men in space. At a later press conference they are unanimously horrified to discover that they have been expelled from the project- their replacement is a chimpanzee - and their dreams of space travel seem over.
The film then cuts to the modern day, where we discover that ground crews have lost control of a Russian communications satellite. The satellite is ... more
Space Cowboys was one of those films that you see in the video shop, recognise some big names in the starring roles, but you have no idea what the film is really like. I can't recall this one being at the cinema, let alone reading a review in the press, so I was taking a bit of a chance when I hired this one. (The guy in the video shop said it was excellent, but then he would say that, wouldn't he?). Even the cover design was pretty dull, so I couldn't say, "Well, the cover looked good!".
The verdict?
The film is an extremely effective blend of gentle humour, and space-age thriller, and I for one thoroughly enjoyed the movie from start to finish.
The film opens in 1958 where two US Airforce pilots are shown getting into difficulty in a test plane. Forced to abandon the craft at the last minute, they are quickly reprimanded by Gerson, their senior officer, for having lost "another " jet. The two pilots are half of a project team who have been assigned to work on the space programme - all four men hope to be the first men in space. At a later press conference they are unanimously horrified to discover that they have been expelled from the project- their replacement is a chimpanzee - and their dreams of space travel seem over.
The film then cuts to the modern day, where we discover that ground crews have lost control of a Russian communications satellite. The satellite is due to re-enter the atmosphere within 60 days - an outcome which would plunge the Soviet Union into communications chaos. The Soviet Union has approached the US military for their help in repairing the satellite, and restoring its orbit - and Gerson has been assigned as the Project Manager to assist them. When it is discovered that the technology used on the satellite is defunct, Gerson realises that the only man who may be able to assist them is Dr Frank Corvin - one of the four disgraced astronauts from 1958. The project team approach Dr Corvin to request his help, which he reluctantly agrees to provide, on the condition that he can use his team from 1958 - despite the fact that all four men are now "of retirement age". Dr Corvin's team are then faced with the task of training on modern technology, up to the standards of the young astronaut team - unaware that there is more to the task at hand than meets the eye…..
The film romps along at a suitable pace, with a good blend of humour and action that keeps the viewer genuinely engaged right the way through. The film balances the relationship between the four "Space Cowboys", with the politics of NASA and Gerson, and there are plenty of plot twists that ensure you never quite know what is going to happen. All too often, I find that the humour employed in American films verges towards the farcical side of things, but Space Cowboys is much more subtle, with some great lines from the cast members. The opening sequence, and last forty minutes or so contain some extremely competent action scenes, with high quality special effects and some stunning outer-space sequences.
It is quite evident from the start that Gerson knows more than he is letting on (James Cromwell always plays the villain anyway) and as the story unfolds, the viewer has a growing suspicion that the four cowboys' mission is going to become complicated. As the plot gradually unfolds, the film develops into an engaging thriller, with some real "edge of your seat" action.
However, Space Cowboys is highly implausible - despite their age, and despite the physical conditions required to make the trip into outer space, they all somehow manage to bungle, cheat and surprise their way through the rigorous testing - but ultimately they are all so genuinely likeable that you don't really care - indeed you can't wait for them to whip the youngsters' butts. It is only through the quality of the actors in the starring roles that this is really carried off.
Clint Eastwood stars as Dr Frank Corvin, the main man and designer of the system that they are required to fix. Eastwood, aged the least of the four cowboys, is a cantankerous individual, constantly reprimanded for his inability to be a team player, but refreshingly cynical and realistic. Still looking pretty good for his age, Eastwood is perhaps best placed to carry off some of the action sequences.
Tommy Lee Jones plays William "Hawk" Hawkins who since leaving the Air Force has set up a business providing white-knuckle plane flights for unsuspecting punters. Jones is effective enough, and also manages to get the only real love-interest in the film.
Donald Sutherland is Jerry O'Neill, a shortsighted engineer who now spends his time building rollercoasters. I thought Sutherland was excellent as the lecherous O'Neill and managed to make a move on anything in a skirt without being too slimy.
James Garner appears as Tank Sullivan, perhaps the quietest of the four men, and definitely the most wobbly. Garner is the most fragile of the four men, and hobbles his way through the scenes in a truly geriatric fashion - but is all the more likeable for it.
Space Cowboys is not a sophisticated film by any means - much of it is a little far fetched, and rather gung-ho - but it is a genuinely enjoyable film. There were parts I didn't like -the young astronauts have the voices of the older actors edited over the soundtrack - but I would definitely recommend the film for a couple of hours of fun film viewing.
Advantages: A Great film, very entertaining. Great Special Effects. Disadvantages: It's sad too!
Space Cowboys was released on video and DVD in 2001 by Warner Brothers. It is a single sided disc that has a number of Special features and also some enhanced DVD-Rom PC features. For those who like to know, the Special Features and Technical Specifications are as follows.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Interactive menus
Scene Access
Theatrical Trailer
4 Behind the Scenes Documentaries
Languages in Dolby Digital 5.1: English
Subtitles: English/ Arabic/ ... ...Space shuttle Challenge. Links to Original Web-site.
TECHNICAL DETAILS:
Widescreen 2.35:1
Running Time 126 minutes, approx.
Dual layer format
• Region 2 encoding (Europe, Middle East & Japan only) • Colour, Widescreen, PAL
CAST:
Clint Eastwood - Dr. Francis D. 'Frank' Corvin
James Garner - Tank Sullivan
Tommy Lee Jones - William 'Hawk' Hawkins
Donald Sutherland - Jerry O'Neill
James Cromwell - Bob Gerson
Loren Dean - Ethan Glance
William ...
tange 03.09.2001 (10.09.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Space Cowboys (DVD)
...film.
Thats right. Its a space film. Made for the big screen but looking more at home on a "made for TV" film channel like Bravo or such like.
What is it about?
Well, I looked forward to this film as I love space and particularly manned space flight. Due to my interest, im normally the first to spot inconsistencies in the realism of these type of films.
However, I was impressed with the start of the film where 2 of our stars are taking part in ... ...of the Russian and American space agencies is in danger after a Russian "weather satellite" armed to the back teeth with Nuclear warheads is about to crash out of orbit. The guidance system on the satellite is broken and needs fixing and it appears it is a stolen design in the 1970's from the Americans! Who Designed it? Clint.... Who needs to go and fix it? Clint.......Who is he taking with him? His old buddies who never got to go up!
Special effects.
...
andycharger 02.09.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Space Cowboys (DVD)
...Such was the case with Space Cowboys (although I can't remember what it was that we'd been to see - Must have been good). The way that it disappeared from cinemas may point towards nastiness and indeed it didn't seem to take long for it to reach the video shelves but is that a bad thing? Well it could be. Even Mission To Mars had people talking (well screaming) but this didn't even have that. All of a sudden I'm starting to feel somewhat apprehensive. ... ...become the first Americans in space but see their chance for greatness stolen from them by a chimp. Oh well, that's that then. Skip forward 40 years and NASA finds itself with a problem - The Russian military asks for help with a failing satellite, but at the heart of the beast is an ancient (and stolen) US navigation system. Antiquated beyond belief, the only man capable of fixing the problem is Frank Corvin and his original Daedalus team. The deal ...
TheNeil 30.09.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Space Cowboys (DVD)
Advantages: Nice to see four big starts all in one film Disadvantages: can't think of one because i thoroughly enjoyed the film
...in high altitude travel and space flight. Although the four main characters at this time are played by younger men the stars actual voices are dubbed in with remarkable accuracy.
It's a typical american space scenario, you have the cape tracking a russian (communication) satelite which was put into orbit during the cold war, which has broken down and is falling out of orbit and will fall back to earth (with a bang)
It's guidance system was designed ... ...the original four go into space to fix it then they can forget it.
So as not to spoil the film for anyone all i will say is that the Space flight director has something to hid and can't afford for the satelite to return to earth at any cost.
This is probably not one of the best space films ever to be recorded but it has some funny, serious and sad moments in it, as well as the typicaal gung ho americanism that we have all come to know and love.
...
richiewalk84 29.05.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Space Cowboys (DVD)
...the most ridiculous yet enjoyable space romp since Capricorn One. The team have to settle past differences, pass a rigorous NASA medical test and embark on a training course which should take months, but of course our wrinkly heroes only have a few days.... The cast really milk the OAP gags in these earlier scenes, and it's all done with tongue firmly in cheek. Sutherland's character is blind as a bat so he cheats the sight test by memorising the ... ...right stuff. The space scenes themselves are extremely accomplished, and although director Eastwood decided not to film aboard the 'vomit comet' which produced such excellent effects in Apollo 13, space has nonetheless rarely looked so detailed and realistic. Needless to say, nothing on this particular mission goes according to plan, and what starts out as a relatively routine salvage job turns into a fully-fledged disaster requiring the astronauts ...
maxshreck 27.03.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Space Cowboys (DVD)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Firefly - DVD
In 1958 four test pilots lose the chance to be the first men to go into outer space due to the actions of their leader. Back into the present a Russian satellite is about to crash into the Earth's atmosphere and the original four are the only people able to save the day...
Cast Visits The Tonight Show, Interview, Special Effects And Behind The Scenes, Special Effects Featurette
Aspect Ratio
16:9 Wide Screen
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Professional reviews
Review
"...The old-pro actors fly in a pleasing, ageless orbit all their own..." (Entertainment Weekly, p.59, 01/09/2000)
"...[It's a great pleasure] watching four great actors reclaim their prime..." (New York Times, p.E16, 04/08/2000)
"...[The film has] its own ticklish charm..." (Total Film, p.83, 01/10/2000)
"...Four irresistible co-leads help it gallop along..." -- 3 out of 4 stars (USA Today, p.4E, 04/08/2000)
DVD Description
Clint Eastwood teams up with some old friends to make SPACE COWBOYS, a rollicking motion picture that wraps action, comedy, and science fiction into one neat package. Eastwood plays Frank Corvin, a former air force pilot who was shunned from flying into space in 1958 after NASA was created. Forty years later, when a Russian satellite appears to be headed for a collision with Earth, Corvin finally gets his chance. He bribes his archrival Bob Gerson (James Cromwell) into letting his team go into space to repair the satellite, on the condition that they pass the physical. However, passing the physical isn't so easy for aging veterans Jerry O'Neil (Donald Sutherland), Tank Sullivan (James Garner), and Hawk Hawkins (Tommy Lee Jones), who, while still mentally sharp, aren't in the best of physical shape. Nonetheless, they manage to fill all the requirements. Ignoring the two cocky upstarts who have been sent along to back them up, the old-timers blast off and head straight for the satellite. But when they get there, the realization that the satellite is actually carrying six nuclear warheads changes the course of the mission, endangering the lives of the astronauts as well as the citizens of America. With exceptional special effects and a breezy tone, SPACE COWBOYS is one of Eastwood's most entertaining films to date.
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