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Specifications: - Region 1 - Run time: approx. 130 minutes - Subtitle: English, French - Menu selection: Animated - Scene selection: Static - Package: Snap case - 36 chapters
Video Features:
Audio Features: - English: Dolby Digital 5.1 - French: Dolby Surround
Bonus Materials: - "Up Close with the Editor" featurette - "Tonight on Leno" extended scene -
"The Effects" featurette (about the -
"Back at the Ranch" featurette with - Cast and crew
DVD-ROM* features: -
Space Shuttle Challenge (launch your - Web link** to the original web site - Theatrical trailer sampler
Release Dates: Theatrical Release: 2000 DVD Release: 04/17/01 Review Date: 03/25/01
List price: $ 26.98 On-line price: $ 19.99 Pre-order price was: $ 18.89
*DVD-ROM features require DVD-ROM drive on your PC with certain minimum system requirements
**web links require internet access
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| Space
Cowboys
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Starring: Clint
Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Director: Clint Eastwood
MPAA Rating: PG-13 Genre: Action - Adventure - Comedy Studio: Village
Roadshow Pictures - Warner Bros. |
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Movie: B+ Video: A Audio: A- Extras: B-
Summary:
"Space
Cowboys" is an entertaining look at four pre-space age
aircraft
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The Story
Clint Eastwood directed and starred (as Frank Corvin) in this high-flying and out-of-this world action-adventure film, co-starring Tommy Lee Jones (as Hawk Hawkins), Donald Sutherland (as Jerry O'Neil), and James Garner (as Tank Sullivan). These men were the "best of the best" among U.S. Air Force pilots in the late 1950s who tested Air Force experimental aircraft, such as the X-2. However, the Air Force's experimental program Daedalus was unexpectedly cancelled as the civilian agency NASA was created to take over the space program. When the head of the Daedalus program, Maj.Bob Gerson (James Cromwell), announced that the first American to go into space is a monkey called "Mary Ann", the pilots of Daedalus program were shocked and offended. They took early retirement from the Air Force and left what was the beginning of the space program. Each man took on different paths and careers, an aerospace guidance and control engineer, a bi-plane stunt pilot, a roller coaster engineer, and a Pastor.
Nearly 40 years later, the only (yeah, right) Russian communications satellite is failing to stay in orbit, and NASA engineers cannot figure out how to fix the failing guidance system, as its technology pre-dates digital computer guidance systems. Only Dr. Frank Corvin understands this analog technology and NASA summons him to help fix the problem. When Frank finds out that Bob Gerson is behind this mission, he blackmails Gerson for the four original Daedalus pilots, who are in their late 60s, to go into space to rescue this satellite. Gerson eventually agrees to the deal, thinking that these four has-beens would fail the medical and physical screening tests. As expected, our four "Space Cowboys" pass their tests and complete their compressed 30-day training and are sent into space on STS-200 (STS for Space Transport System, the equivalent of a flight number for the Space Shuttle missions). To everyone surprise, the task turns out to be much "bigger" than everyone has imagined. I'll let you enjoy the rest of the movie, therefore I won't give away the rest.
Though the plot is pretty preposterous in some areas, this movie is very entertaining nonetheless. I am not referring to the age of these "Space Cowboys", as the legendary John Glenn proved that concept very possible. The geriatric-themed comedy was well integrated and turned out as a pleasant surprise. The special effects, produced by the world-renowned Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) team, is pretty amazing (as expected). But I did notice that the live-action weightless sequences depicted inside the Space Shuttle were rather inconsistent. The actors were uneven (in speed) in their slow movements, simulating behavior in weightlessness. The charm to this to film ultimately comes from the characters and their relationships to one another, and the film succeeds as a comedy in as much as an action-adventure.
There are also DVD-ROM features: a Space Shuttle Challenge (launch your own space shuttle mission), original theatrical web site, and theatrical trailer sampler.
Video & Audio
The image quality of this anamorphic widescreen DVD is very good. The colors are accurate and saturated, while shadow detail is also very good. The Dolby Digital 5.1-channel surround sound is well balanced and effective, while the dialogue is crystal clear. There is plenty of low frequency effects (LFE) information encoded in the ".1" channel to give the action sequences plenty of realism.
Buy the "Space Cowboys" DVD at: This DVD is released on April 17, 2001. Support
this site: buy through our links. |
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Rent it at NetFlix.com
(Sign up for
NetFlix.com "Unlimited" DVD Rental Service Visit the "Space Cowboys" theatrical web site and the Warner Home Video.
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