Happy 2009 everyone. Having trouble juggling the hours in the day....but have managed to come throu...
Happy 2009 everyone. Having trouble juggling the hours in the day....but have managed to come through with a review at long last. :)
Member since:03.08.2001
Reviews:416
Members who trust:336
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/ Romanian/ Bulgarian/ English for the Hearing Impaired. DVD-Rom PC: 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 Devane - Eugene Davis Marcia Gay Harden - Sara Holland
The film starts in Black and White, showing the characters as young men in the late 1950s. They are TEAM DAEDALUS, a group of American Test Pilots, who push their planes to the limit in a bit to be part of the Space Programme. They dream of going into space, but are replaced by a chimp and they all go their separate ways and get different jobs.
Forty years later they get the chance to go into orbit at last. A Russian satellite, called IKON, which mysteriously has the guidance schematics of the American circa 1960s Skylab, has a decaying orbit and needs to be saved before it crashes to earth. The actual reason is much more sinister than this, but I won’t spoil that surprise.
The designer of the guidance system, Frank Corvin (Clint Eastwood) agrees to help, but only if the original Team Daedalus is allowed to do the job. What follows is a story that is both funny and sad, with a few twists and turns along the way. The characters are endearing and are played by some really good actors. I won’t give anymore away…I wouldn’t want to stop anyone watching, because it is a really entertaining film, so a basic plot outline is all you are going to get!
A lot of people have criticised Space Cowboys for being far-fetched and unbelievable, but I think this is what makes it really good and gives it charm. There is no extreme violence or too much swearing, so it is suitable for a variety of age groups. It is also nice to think that, however unlikely, this group of OAPs have been given a chance to live out their fantasy and make a dream come true. The charm of this film for me is that it gives everyone hope that it is never too late to succeed!
The film also translates well into the DVD format. Along with the usual trailers there are four documentaries:
UP CLOSE WITH THE EDITOR: Joel Cox gives an insight into the film. This is interesting and shows the progression from the initial script idea to the finished film. There is footage of the original animation storyboards, showing how they became translated into the eventual special effects seen on camera.
TONIGHT ON LENO: A longer version of the mock chat show seen on the actual film. This is quite funny, but I’m not too keen on American chat shows so I didn’t really enjoy it as much as some people would. It also includes an interview with Jay Leno himself, interspersed with the “Chat Show” sequences.
THE EFFECTS: This is exactly what it sounds like; a really interesting and well made documentary about how the special effects sequences were achieved. It starts with the Black and White scenes and describes sequences right through the film. I really enjoyed this documentary and it made me appreciate how much effort went into the process and the lengths they went to in making the props look realistic.
BACK AT THE RANCH: A look behind the scenes of the film. There are interviews with the Cast, Crew and the Consultants from NASA. I liked this documentary the best because I got to see what the cast thought of their characters and their roles within the film. There is a lot of humour in this and, once again it gives a good insight into the thought processes behind Space Cowboys.
I haven’t played the DVD-Rom extras yet and I’m not sure if I will. I’m not really interested in looking at the original Web-site because I saw that at the time of the film release. I’m also not interested in simulator games, so I’m not sure if I would enjoy controlling a Space Shuttle mission. I would be interested to hear what other people thought of these features though.
The film and special features make Space Cowboys good enough value for me and I think that the DVD is well worth watching. If you like a bit of escapism, and a chance to see some fine cinema greats in their element, then this is the film for you. The special Effects are out of this world (well they are mostly in outer space after all!) and there is a good story with a bitter-sweet ending.
I would definitely recommend Space Cowboys, and I would encourage people to watch it on DVD.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
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
ooh i remember this film being advertised ages ago and wanted to watch it but never got round to it. will have to keep an eye out for it! Em x
orbitcutback 09.10.2001 13:21
I saw this in the shop under a month ago and I wasn't sure whether I would enjoy it. But after reading this review I know that I was being silly. I'll check it out this week. Thanx.
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...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
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...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
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...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
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...
![Space Cowboys [2000] [DVD]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78521568.jpg "Space Cowboys [2000] [DVD]")
Sep 3rd, 2001
(Sep 10th, 2001)
very helpful by (100%):
