Cowboys [Commemorative Packaging] [Deluxe Edition]

Warner Brothers has done well by one of its John Wayne classics with this special edition of The Cowboys. The video transfer offers an anamorphic, remastered image that does a beautiful job of capturing the colors and texture of Robert Surtees's magnificent Cinemascope photography. The film's soundtrack is represented with a Dolby 5.1 stereo mix that is subtle but deploys the rich John Williams musical score with great effectiveness. This special edition also offers a nice set of extras to compliment the film. First is a feature-length commentary track by director Mark Rydell: he does a fine job conveying his fondness for the film as he offers up a steady stream of anecdotes about the production (example: his first choice forJohn Wayne's character was actually George C. Scott), fond memories of the cast and observations on his choices as a filmmaker. He sometimes gets caught up in watching the film but, given its quality, it's hard to blame him. There are also two featurettes: a new retrospective interview piece called "The Cowboys: Together Again" and a vintage making-of featurette. The former reunites many of the cast members with Rydell and the group offers an array of fond memories that will entertain the film's fans. The latter piece is a more standard making-of piece but it offers some nice on-the-set footage. A theatrical trailer is the last part of on-disc features but the disc's packaging adds one last extra: a lovely set of black-and-white publicity photo reproductions included inside the disc case. All in all, this is an excellent package for an excellent film and a must for fans of The Cowboys.