Product Description

In 1958, the members of Team Daedalus, a group of top Air Force test pilots, were ready to serve their country as the first Americans in space but were pushed aside. Now, as a Russian satellite fails and is about to crash into earth, Team Daedalus is back in action in a rescue mission.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5901 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2001-04-17
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 130 minutes

Amazon.com
This slice of cornball Americana is so much fun you'll be tempted to stand up and salute. Director and costar Clint Eastwood manages to turn what might have been ludicrous into a jubilant tribute to age and experience, and Space Cowboys succeeds as two movies in one--a comedy about retired pilots given one last shot at glory and an Apollo 13-like thriller with all the requisite heroics. With a dream cast of Hollywood vets playing old farts described in tabloids as "The Ripe Stuff," the movie jumps from a 1958 prologue (establishing their lost bid for space travel) to 40-plus years later, when the retired Air Force aces (Eastwood, James Garner, Donald Sutherland, Tommy Lee Jones) volunteer to rescue a falling Russian satellite that only Eastwood's character can repair.

It turns out that Russky bird is a cold war leftover equipped with live nuclear warheads, and Space Cowboys revs up to a rousing climax in which our heroes prove their mettle. But first the comedy: watching these codgers struggle to pass NASA's physical tests is a total hoot, with running gags about wrinkles, dentures, and oysters for sagging libidos. (Sutherland is the scene-stealer, but they're all having a blast.) Once in space, the movie gets down to business, and the visual-effects wizards at Industrial Light and Magic provide stunning vistas from Earth's orbit; a shot looking down at the boot of Italy is particularly beautiful. A subplot involving a weasely NASA administrator (James Cromwell) is rather perfunctory, but it hardly matters. Space Cowboys earns its wings, once again demonstrating Eastwood's comfort with any genre he chooses. --Jeff Shannon

Additional features
Even though this DVD doesn't boast that it's a special edition, it has some of the nicest extras you'd want to see. There's nearly an hour of behind-the-footage material, all of it superior made-for-cable featurettes so often included on DVDs. The technicians divulge little tricks of the trade, revealing more computer effects in the film than you'd think. Longtime Eastwood editor Joel Cox provides insight into the director's work routine. The highlight, though, is an extended version of the four principles' appearance on The Tonight Show, with Jay Leno providing some interesting comments on how he chooses what films will "appear" on his show. --Doug Thomas

Customer Reviews

Space Cowboys
A Russian satellite is having problems with its' guidance system. The technology is dated, and the only one that has a solution to the problem is the person that designed it. That person is Clint Eastwood, and he has a hard time comprehending how they got a hold of classified information, but agrees to do what he can to help as long as they include his other buddies that were never given the chance to be in space. Tommy Lee Jones, James Garner, and Donald Sutherland are his partners in crime, and the situations and antics they get into are hilarious. What a stellar cast, and the supporting cast is just as impressive with James Cromwell, Marcia Gay Harden, and William Devane. This film is very entertaining, well acted, and has many memorable moments. It is one you will enjoy time after time.

THE RIPE STUFF...
This is a well acted film with a stellar cast. How can you go wrong with a movie that stars Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, and James Garner? Deftly directed by Clint Eastwood, it is a well made, entertaining film.

The plot revolves around a crisis in space that is triggered when a Russian satellite malfunctions and is due to collide with Earth in densely populated areas, unless someone can repair it in space. The problem is that the technology on the satellite is obsolete and no one knows how to tackle it except the inventor of that technology, retired Air Force pilot Frank Corvin, played by Clint Eastwood.

Corvin agrees to do so, but only on condition that he and his top gun crew of forty odd years ago go into space to do it themselves. Having been kicked out of the space program in 1958, he wants an opportunity for them to do what they had come so close to doing in the past. NASA agrees, but only if this now geriatric quartet can pass the physical. Their preparation for their big moment provides some laughs, as they ultimately prove themselves the physical equal of their younger counterparts and exceed them in experience and wisdom.

Permission for them to go into space is reluctantly granted, but much to their consternation, they ultimately realize they have been sold a bill of goods. Not only has NASA not been dealing in good faith with them, but they eventually discover that a much more serious problem than a satellite malfunction exists. Unfortunately, they do not discover it until they are out in space.

What happen in space will keep the viewer glued to his or her seat. There is action, pathos, tension, and heroics. It is a film that says that one is never too old for adventure.

Space Cowboys is the best!
Hey, the title says it all man!..LOL This movie had Clint...need I say more? Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland and James Garner all give stellar performances. The combination of humor, drama, action/space adventure and character development is thoroughly comprehensive and unparalleled. With the first half being a wonderful and brilliant space adventure comedy and the second half a perfectly directed and acted drama/space action adventure, Space Cowboys truly has it all! HURRAY FOR SPACE COWBOYS!

However, the rating is 4 as I am not one to rate movies a 5 barring the fact that they are the best movies ever made and are equally flawless and without developmental defects. However, my one reservation concerns the films ending which I feel could have been much less mainstream and cliched. The last shot is pure directorial brilliance and demonstrates the clearly understated, subtle yet surreal aspect of the masterful direction of Clint Eastwood. It is perfectly Kubrickian and pays testament to the style of the late, great director. However, despite its merits, the conclusion scene knocks the total rating down a notch. As it stands however, this film rates at 4/4.5 out of 5.