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| Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald
Sutherland, James Garner, James Cromwell, Marcia Gay Harden |
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Anamorphic
widescreen |
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Dolby Digital
5.1 |
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DTS |
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Trailer(s) |
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Featurette(s) |
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Documentary |
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Audio commentary
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Deleted scenes
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Concept art
/ storyboards |
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Multi-angle
feature |
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Ethan
Glance (Loren Dean): You're not being very forthcoming on the workings
of the guidance system.
Frank Corvin (Clint Eastwood): Look kid, I've done everything
short of calculus instructions to bring you up to speed on this. Now
what do you want me to do, draw you a picture? Connect all the little
dots?...
Ethan Glance: Excuse me: I hold two Masters degrees from MIT,
Dr. Corvin!
Frank Corvin: Maybe you oughta get your money back...
An
elderly team of retired Navy men are the only ones who can fix an Russian
satellite losing its orbit and are sent up into space to repair its
antiquated system.
 Recent
years have seen something of a decline in Clint Eastwood's output both
as an actor and director. Following the glorious Unforgiven and
the popular In the Line of Fire, his career had descended to
the level of severely lacklustre thrillers like True Crime and
Absolute Power. Space Cowboys represents something of
an improvement, delivering a sympathetically unpretentious, lightweight
comedy that delights in its own goofiness and passes the time pleasurably
enough. The craggly old lead actors do little more than draw on their
familiar types, with Tommy Lee Jones coming closest to actually portraying
a credible character, bringing the movie some much-needed muscle.
What passes for a plot is predictable but moves along fast enough, and
the surprisingly strong visual effects also give the film some extra
clout. Its weakest link is Marcia Gay Harden, mostly seen gazing at
the old-timers in hilariously adoring admiration. Overall however, Space
Cowboys proves that Clint Eastwood still has it in him to direct
and star in a solidly likable hit, and that is quite a feat for a seventy-year-old
Hollywood icon. |
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Identical
DVD editions are available for Region 1 and Region 2.
The
anamorphic widescreen image is framed at an aspect ratio of approx.
2.35:1. The transfer is very clear, with good shadow delineation and
strong black levels, though occasional edge-enhancement is evident and
color saturation seems a little pale at times. The monochrome opening
sequence and the spacebound scenes however look crisp, clean and very
impressive, and there are no evident compression artifacts or source
print blemishes.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix even more impressive, with a wide dynamic
range and excellent use of all the discreet audio channels, including
fantastic directional effects and heavy-duty subwoofer action.
Four
featurettes form the core of the extras on board this release:
- 'Back at the ranch' is a 28-minute documentary that features interview
footage with the principals of cast and crew, and is organized in sections
allowing them to contribute one by one, combined with some scenes and
behind-the-scenes footage.
- 'The Effects' is an 8-minute item that rather
briefly outlines some of the special effects shots in the film, and
describes the involvement of George Lucas in preparing the special effects
sequences.
- 'Tonight on Leno' is a nice inclusion, comprising the entire
10-minute sequence of the astronauts appearing on Leno's Tonight Show,
a few minutes of which are used in the finished film. Jay Leno adds
a few comments on what it was like for him to be involved in the project.
- 'Up Close with the Editor' is a 7-minute interview with editor Joel
Cox, who explains some of the challenges that arose from shooting
and cutting a film with such extensive effects work, and his collaboration
with ILM.
The theatrical trailer (presented in anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen)
is also on board, as are some brief biographical notes on cast
and crew. There are also several DVD-ROM features available, which
sadly only work on Windows computers.
 The
static menu screens are accompanied by a music cue from the score.
Dan Hassler-Forest
Reviewed: 2001
Click
here for IMDB info on Space
Cowboys .
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