Cowboy Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Cowboy Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 18, 2015

Delmer Daves' "Cowboy" (1958) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Carlotta Films. The supplemental features on the disc include an original U.S. trailer for the film; new filmed conversation with Michael Daves, son of director Delmer Daves; new documentary featuring Jan-Christopher Horak, Director of UCLA Film & Television Archive and Professor for Critical Studies; and new filmed conversation with director of photography Richard H. Kline. In English, with optional French subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

So you wanna be a cowboy, huh?

Jack Lemmon is Frank Harris, an energetic young man who has fallen in love with Maria Vidal (Anna Kashfi, The Mountain), a beautiful Mexican senorita. But he can’t have her because her father, a wealthy cattle baron, is convinced that his daughter deserves better -- and by better he means a man with a future, not a hotel clerk from Chicago.

When fast-talking cowboy Tom Reese (Glenn Ford, Gilda, The Big Heat) and his cattle drivers storm the hotel, Frank quickly concludes that fate has given him the perfect opportunity to convince Maria’s father that he is worthy of her love. Later that day, after Tom loses all of his money while playing cards, Frank offers to give him his savings if he makes him a partner and lets him ride the trail back to Mexico where Maria lives.

Loosely based on Frank Harris’ novel My Reminiscences as a Cowboy, Delmer Daves’ Cowboy is essentially an eye-opener for folks who might have been under the impression that cattle drivers in the Old West were honorable and prosperous men who lived their lives to the fullest. For the most part, this film tells it as it was: Cattle driving was a tough and extremely dangerous job and the cowboys that did it were often desperate men who barely made ends meet.

The film is full of fascinating contrasts. Almost immediately after Frank joins Tom’s outfit he has a number of painful experiences that quickly convince him that life outside of Chicago is not only harsh, but unforgiving as well. Later on, Frank also realizes that Tom’s men are ready to abandon each other if they sense that danger is near. Some of these discoveries are infused with light humor, but life on the trail is never even remotely romanticized.

The evolution of Frank and Tom’s relationship is rather predictable -- both undergo dramatic character transformations that eventually force them to see the world they live in from a completely different angle and reevaluate their lives -- but the terrific chemistry between Lemmon and Ford during the journey is what gives the film its identity. Brian Donlevy, who plays a retired marshal, also leaves a lasting impression.

The bulk of the outdoor footage was shot on location in New Mexico and Oklahoma. The massive stampede does not look as intense as the one seen in Howard Hawks’ epic Red River, but it is very well shot and there a few sequences where it literally feels like the camera is placed right in the middle of it. Also worth mentioning is the bull ring sequence, but a few times the camera comes too close to the angry bull and it becomes quite clear that its horns are not real.

Daves shot Cowboy with cinematographer Charles Lawton Jr. It was one of three westerns the two did together. The other two are the classic 3:10 to Yuma and Jubal.

The film’s opening animated title sequence was created by the legendary graphic designer Saul Bass (Alfred Hitchcock‘s Psycho, Stanley Kramer’s It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World).

Cowboy Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Delmer Daves' Cowboy arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Carlotta Films.

The release is sourced from a recent 4K restoration of Cowboy, which was completed at Sony Pictures. The end result is very impressive -- the film looks very healthy and strikingly vibrant, clearly the best it ever has. Almost all of the well-lit close-ups boast terrific depth, but even when light is restricted the visuals can be mighty impressive (see screencaptures #14 and 18). Clarity and sharpness levels are excellent. However, throughout the film there are some minor density fluctuations that pop up during short transitions and a few of the outdoor sequences. All of the fluctuations are inherited, which means that they can be traced back to the existing film elements (you can see what they look like in screencaptures #7 and 10). Color reproduction is terrific. There is a wide range of well saturated, healthy and solid organic colors. There are a few examples of extremely light saturation instability, but they occur during the above mentioned density fluctuations (see screencapture #7). There are absolutely no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. Image stability is excellent. The encoding is good, but it could have been optimized a bit better because there are a couple of sequences where some extremely light compression artifacts try to sneak in (you can see examples in screencaptures #17 and 19). All in all, this is a wonderful restoration of Cowboy and it really is quite a treat to see it on Blu-ray. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free Blu-ray player in order to access its content).

Cowboy Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 and French DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0. Optional French subtitles are provided for the English track. (You can turn off the subtitles only via your remote control).

The lossless English track is excellent. During the stampede depth and especially clarity are very impressive -- or at least for a Mono track of a period film that was shot on location in New Mexico and Oklahoma. George Duning's score is crisp and well balanced. The dialog is stable, clean, and very easy to follow. There are no pops, distracting background hiss, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report.

Cowboy Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Delmer Daves par Michael Daves (Seconde Partie) - in this featurette, Michael Daves, son of director Delmer Daves, recalls how various parts of Cowboy were shot (including the very dangerous sequence in which Jack Lemmon tries to help the cow in the moving train), and discusses the blacklisting of screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, Glenn Ford's performance, how the professional wranglers managed the big herd that is seen in the film, etc. The featurette was produced, edited, written and directed by Robert Fischer for Fiction Factory. In English, with optional French subtitles. (12 min).

• Bande-annonce - original theatrical trailer for Cowboy. In English, with optional French subtitles. (3 min).

• Comment Marqueur un Film/How to Brand a Film - in this documentary, Jan-Christopher Horak, Director of UCLA Film & Television Archive and Professor for Critical Studies and author of Saul Bass: Anatomy of Film Design, discusses the life and legacy of legendary graphic designer Saul Bass, who created the animated title sequence seen in the very beginning of Cowboy. The documentary was produced, edited, written and directed by Robert Fischer for Fiction Factory. In English, with optional French subtitles. (19 min).

• Images de l'Ouest/Capturing the West - in this documentary, director of photography Richard H. Kline (The Boston Strangler, The Fury) discusses the life and legacy of cinematographer Charles Lawton Jr. (Cowboy, 3:10 to Yuma), the visual style of Cowboy, Delmer Daves' working methods, Jack Lemmon's performance, etc. The documentary was produced, edited, written and directed by Robert Fischer for Fiction Factory. In English, with optional French subtitles. (16 min).

Cowboy Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Cowboy is a beautiful but quite gritty film about two very different men who are forced to reevaluate their lives in the cruel and unforgiving Old West. It is one of three westerns director Delmer Daves shot with the great cinematographer Charles Lawton Jr. (the other two are the classic 3:10 to Yuma and Jubal). The film has been fully restored in 4K by Sony Pictures and it looks beautiful on Blu-ray. This French release also comes with some excellent new supplemental features, including two very informative filmed conversations with Michael Daves, son of director Delmer Daves, and director of photography Richard H. Kline. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.