Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39735 in DVD
• Released on: 1998-11-24
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 96 minutes

Amazon.com
When the Western slipped into theatrical oblivion in the late 1970s, many of the best examples of the genre began appearing as made-for-television films. After the success of The Sacketts, from the Louis L'Amour novel, producers quickly reunited stars Tom Selleck and Sam Elliott in another fine adaptation of a L'Amour book, The Shadow Riders. As brothers Mac and Dal Traven, sporting blue and gray uniforms, respectively, they wind their way home at the close of the Civil War to discover a band of confederate rebels have ravaged their town and kidnapped their sisters and brother and Dal's feisty sweetheart (Katharine Ross). With the help of their outlaw uncle (Western stalwart Ben Johnson), whom they must break out of prison, they track the guerrillas to the Gulf Coast and down into Mexico for a final, fatal showdown. Veteran director Andrew McLaglen sets this TV movie on a loping pace and a jovial tone, defined largely by Selleck's easygoing performance and the jocular comic relief of rascally Johnson. Elliott provides the intensity, at times positively ferocious under his heavy brows and burning, sunken eyes. The mood is occasionally too comic, but McLaglen delivers the goods in a series of gritty action sequences, proving that old Western directors don't die, they just drift on over to the small screen. Western icons R.G. Armstrong and Harry Carey Jr. and 1950s leading lady Jane Greer also appear in key roles. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

A great Louis L'Amour film adaptation
"The Shadow Riders" has all the grit, matter-of-fact speech, incredible landscapes and action of a great Louis L'Amour book. Tom Selleck, Sam Elliot and Jeff Osterhage also starred in "The Sacketts" in 1979, and do just as fine a job in this movie as that one.

The part that will surprise you is how strong the female lead role is. Katharine Ross does an excellent job as the fiesty Kate Connery, the love interest of Dal Travern (Sam Elliot). She had as good a character and as much screen time as many of today's heriones -- a highly unusual circumstance in the early 80s and certainly unusual for the genre.

"The Shadow Riders" has a great mix of romance, action, humor and good old fashioned Western elements. This mix makes the film appealing to a much wider audience than just Western fans or Louis L'Amour fans -- although they will come away thrilled.

It's worth it for Tom Selleck alone!
This movie is based on the book by Louis L'Amour by the same name. It doesn't follow the book too closely (which usually bothers me, but they did this very well) but still came up with a very entertaining movie that hangs well together. The story is about 3 brothers and two sisters. Two of the brothers fought on opposite sides of the Civil War, but meet up just as the war has ended when renegades are about to hang one of them. They go home to discover that more renegades have stolen the third brother and both little sisters. This movie has some great actors in it and it's just a good all-around entertainment movie.

Good Action and Humor
Even though this movie was made in 1982, I just saw it for the first time. The people involved gave good performances. A good story line went along with good action and humorous scenes. A good movie for fans of Tom Selleck and Sam Elliott.