Rating: 
Summary: Wayne & Browne Shine - The Climax Sickens
Review: THE COWBOYS isn't a terrible movie; it has some real merit. Wayne & Roscoe Lee Browne both turn in fine, mellow performances, and the leisurely pace of the story complements their work nicely. But the final 20 minutes is as cynically hand-tooled as a Dirty Harry movie, particularly the death of villain Bruce Dern, sadistically designed to turn on the audience and play to their well-stoked bloodlust. Dern's role embodied a new kind of hack writer's cliche -ironically emerging in the peace & love era of the late 60s/early 70s- the villain so repellently subhuman that no death, no matter how cruel or degrading, ever seems cruel or degrading ENOUGH. Dern is alarmingly well-suited to these roles; with his rodent features and demeanor, all he's missing is a snout and tiny paws to clutch cheese with. I suppose his character's demise is the reason why so many see the climax of THE COWBOYS as a passage-into-manhood rather than the descent into the maelstrom that it is. Too bad, as the early going here has its moments, most of them Browne and the Duke's, both in peak form. And that sneakily brings up another point, the oft-stated foolishness that Wayne had, here in his twilight years, finally learned to act. (Yeah, thank God Wayne finally escaped the confining clutches of career-killing hacks like John Ford & Howard Hawks, huh? God knows what he might've accomplished had he not been hampered by drivel like THE QUIET MAN or RED RIVER or THE SEARCHERS or RIO GRANDE.) What people respond to in his 70s work is that Wayne had finally begun getting parts that made constant reference to his being a old man and a dying-breed, fifth-face-on-Mt-Rushmore type living legend, and that sometimes the writing allowed him some dignity, as here. Many times these roles were damn-near offensive, the equivalent of winking nonstop at the audience, as in RIO LOBO and ROOSTER COGBURN. But the Duke, who'd made something like 70 movies BEFORE getting his big break on 1939's STAGECOACH, always knew more about acting, and displayed it, than critics and audiences ever gave him credit for. He knew what he could and couldn't get away with and honed his craft between those two borders. That he didn't win an Oscar until the Hallmark-card sentimental hogwash of TRUE GRIT, rather than for his great work with Ford or Hawks, is just one more reason nobody should take the Academy Awards seriously; and those people who hold their noses at his war movies ought to look at THEY WERE EXPENDABLE, as restrained and lyrical a 'flagwaver' as any nation at war could hope to produce. Even in pure-entertainment films like SEVEN SINNERS and REAP THE WILD WIND the Duke casts a mighty big shadow: this was an unselfish actor who knew and understood the craft well enough to let the other guy get the notices while taking care of the dirty work of selling the tickets. Sorry to momentarily diverge off the film at hand, but you too might be tempted, while watching THE COWBOYS, to believe John Wayne had suddenly 'discovered' how to act because the whole production is built around his acknowledgment of old age; don't you buy it. He'd mastered that particular trick 30 years earlier.
Rating: 
Summary: Surprising...Much better than I thought...
Review: I purchased this DVD as part of a package of John Wayne films. I had never seen "The Cowboys" from beginning to end and had always believed the story would be too "corny" -- even though I love "B" and adult westerns. But I was mistaken. "The Cowboys" is one of Wayne's best films, much better than Duke's films I recall from the 1960s. My only disappointment with the film was the fact that Slim Pickens appearance is too brief. It would have been great to have Slim ride along on the cattle drive. Bruce Dern, as expected, is sensational as the villian. His fight with Wayne is well staged and an intergal part of the story. The boys all do an excellent job. The restoration and presentation of the film on DVD is superb. Also, John Williams's score is beauifully reproduced and is a highlight for viewers with home theater systems.
Rating: 
Summary: John Wayne's Death In "The Cowboys" Brings Many Tears
Review: The movie, "The Cowboys" has always been my favorite John Wayne movie. I found the acting terrific and "The Code of The West" in effect throughout the film. Although the "good guy", Wil Anderson did not win first, he instilled a sense of honor and commitment to the young "Cowboys" he hired to take the herd to Belle Fourche. As a footnote to Rebecca Sutterby's comment regarding the actor who played Hardy, Clay O' Brien Cooper, Clay is a 7 time PRCA World Champion Team Roper, not Calf Roper. Just thought she would like to have the correct stats regarding him. Thank you for your time.
Rating:
Summary: Great Western
Review: Wonderful evocation of the end of an era as the hard-work ethic gives way to the day of the get-rich-quick scheme. After a lifetime of hard work, aging cattleman Wil Anderson (in a great performance by John Wayne) must go on one more cattle drive, this time accompanied by schoolboys since all of his experienced hands have taken off to search for gold. Not only must he get the cattle to their destination safely, but he must also teach the boys how to be men. Great supporting performances and a surprising turn in the plot toward the end.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite movies of all time!
Review: I, too, am excessively puzzled by the negative Hollywood reviews. This is a really great movie. Did you know that the youngest cowboy in the film, "Hardy", who couldn't been more than 8 or 9 was played by Clay O'Brien Cooper? He went on to become a World Champion PRCA Calf Roper! Can you imagine the auditions for this film? Everyone of those boys was extremely talented - not only were they pretty good actors, but they were true "cowboys"!
Rating:
Summary: "A REAL WESTERN"
Review: I think this is one of Wayne's best performances and one of his least respected films. I think he showed more character in this movie than any other one that he ever made. Although some think this is a weak story line there is a lot of truth to it.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best DVDs I own
Review: Not only does this movie feature one of my favorite actors, John Wayne, but this DVD edition gives me the option to watching some of the theatrical trailers of the movies that Wayne made from 1939 on to the early 70s. I only hope that Warner Bros and other companies begin to release all of John Wayne's movies on DVD.
Rating:
Summary: One of John Wayne's Best Westerns
Review: Like the other reviewer before me, I cannot for the life of me understand the negative reviews by the professional cognoscenti. Unlike many other westerns, this plot is original and keeps the film moving. It's more analagous to good triumphing over evil than strictly revenge. John Wayne is great in this role as is the supporting cast.
Rating:
Summary: A pretty good film.
Review: I haven't seen too many of the films that John Wayne has been in besides this and True Grit. I know I've seen about a handful of others, but I can't remember the names of them. The Cowboys is a film that I've viewed a few times and enjoy--it's quite entertaining. The entire cast does well in their roles. The plot is cohesive with no loose ends. I am a bit surprised with some of the film's scenes though. The Cowboys is quite gritty in places. I don't know if I can consider this to be a family-oriented movie. One of the things I can't figure out is why the parents would let their kids go out on a job that was so dangerous. The Cowboys is a satisfactory film that I don't mind seeing every once in a while. Worth a watch.
Rating:
Summary: Makes a lie out of the phrase "John Wayne couldn't act!"
Review: John Wayne had a rennaissance in the early 70's. His academy award from "True Grit" and a renewed appreciation of his work in the 40's and 50's opened up opportunities for him to stretch his acting legs. His work as Wil Anderson in "The Cowboys" is one of his greatest performances. It is a very moving role of a rancher abandoned by all the grown men he needed to drive his cattle to the railhead. He is forced to turn to school boys to get the job done. He is a hard man whose own sons grew up bad on him and died early, violent deaths. Now he has to become the surrogate father to these young boys. He is simply magnificent. Especially touching is the scene where they bury one of the boys who died in a tragic accident, John Wayne was never finer and shows that the man certainly had the ability to add depth and emotion to a character. The man was a great actor!
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