Search - Space Cowboys on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG-13 Content Advisory: Mild Violence, Adult Situations, Adult Language Movie Release: 2000 DVD Release: 04/17/2001 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: English, French SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 10 mins Studio: Warner Home Video Total Copies: 34 Genres: Comedy Drama, Science Fiction, Space Adventure, Buddy Film See Also: Space Cowboys [HD DVD], Space Cowboys [Blu-ray]

In this adventure drama, four men passed over by the space program get one last chance to be heroes and live out their dreams. Frank Corvin (Clint Eastwood), Hawk Hawkins (Tommy Lee Jones), Jerry O'Neill (Donald Sutherland), and Tank Sullivan (James Garner) were top pilots within an elite Air Force squadron and on the fast track to becoming the first Americans in space in the early 1950s. However, when NASA was established, the pilots were cut out of the loop; Corvin went on to become an aerospace engineer, Hawkins continued on as a freelance pilot, O'Neill became an astrophysicist with a sideline in designing roller coasters, and Sullivan took up preaching as a Baptist minister. Years later, a Russian satellite's guidance system has started to malfunction, and it is expected to crash into the Earth within a matter of weeks. The system is identical to the one Corvin designed for Skylab, so NASA head Bob Gerson (James Cromwell) asks Corvin to help him with the emergency mission to repair the satellite. Corvin agrees under one condition -- that he be sent up to do the repairs himself, with Hawkins, O'Neill, and Sullivan as his crew. Clint Eastwood directed Space Cowboys while also starring as Frank Corvin; his supporting cast includes Marcia Gay Harden, Courtney B. Vance, Loren Dean, and William Devane. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Clint Eastwood - Frank Corvin
Tommy Lee Jones - Hawk Hawkins
Donald Sutherland - Jerry O'Neil
James Garner - Tank Sullivan
James Cromwell - Bob Gerson
Marcia Gay Harden - Sara Holland

Warner Bros.' DVD edition of Clint Eastwood's high-flying space adventure is as good as they come. The picture is an excellent 2.35:1 widescreen transfer. Most impressive are the opening scenes, shot in a sumptuous black-and white, and the space scenes. As is often the case with films of this kind, the sound design is top-flight, bringing booming rockets and sound barrier-shattering jets to life in Dolby Digital 5.1. There is also a nice selection of extras to be found. There is a behind-the-scenes documentary that serves largely to promote the film, but still provides a great look at the creative process. Also included are a pair of featurettes that look at the making of the special effects and the editing of the film. Both offer some tidbits of information that one might pick up otherwise (for instance, in one scene where Eastwood is walking in space, everything but his face was created by a computer). Lastly, there is the full version of a clip from The Tonight Show that was shown in the movie, featuring the film's stars as their characters banter with host Jay Leno. It's a great bit of improv and fun to watch. The clip is interspersed with interviews with Leno about how he was tapped for the project. This is a solid DVD with plenty to recommend it. The only complaint would be the glaring absence of a commentary track from Eastwood and/or his co-stars. Watching them work together on film makes one wonder what they would have had to say. ~ Jeremy Brown, All Movie Guide