Cowboy Heroes of the Silver Screen [2 Discs] [Tin Can]

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: All
• Number of Discs: 2
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Screen: Color
• Features:
  • Disc 1:
  • Interview with Yakima Canutt
  • Tom Mix Short Film: King and the Cowboy
  • Disc 2:
  • Interview with Native American, Iron Eyes Cody
  • Tom Mix Short Film: Terror Trail

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Color Cinematography - 1961 (Charles B. Lang)

• Directors Guild of America

•     Nominated Best Director - 1961 (Marlon Brando)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Burt Lancaster - Owen Daybright
       Forrest Tucker - Frank Reno
       Joanne Dru - Jen Strobie
       Jack Nicholson - Billy Spear
       Ben Johnson - Bob Emory
       Carleton Carpenter - Hewie
       Larry Duran - Modesto
       Hugh O'Brian - Dick Fasken
       Denver Pyle - Clint Reno
       Grace Mills - Mrs. Burke
       Elisha Cook, Jr. - Bank Teller
       Chubby Johnson - Hyronemus
       Ray Teal - Bartender
       John Dierkes - Barber
       Margarita Cordova - Nika Flamenco Dancer
       Hank Worden - Doc
       Al Ferguson

• Director:

  Jean Yarbrough, Monte Hellman, Richard Thorpe, Tim Whelan, Sr., Marlon Brando

• Producer:

  Shelley Hull, Monte Hellman, Jack Nicholson, Nicholas Nayfack, Nat Holt, Frank P. Rosenberg

• Teleplay By:

  Jameson Brewer

• Screen Story:

  Leonard J. Goldberg

• Screenwriter:

  Adrien Joyce, Irving Ravetch

• Book Author:

  Luke Short

• Screenwriter:

  Horace McCoy, Guy Troper, Calder Willingham

• Book Author:

  Charles Neider

• Cinematographer:

  Henry Cronjager, Jr., Gregory Sandor, George Folsey, Ray Rennahan, Charles B. Lang

• Composer (Music Score):

  Hugo W. Friedhofer, Richard Markowitz, Rudolph G. Kopp, Paul Sawtell

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Paul Sawtell

• Editor:

  Joe Gluck, Monte Hellman, Conrad A. Nervig, Harry Marker, Archie Marshek

• Art Director:

  Paul Sylos, Malcolm Brown, Cedric Gibbons, Walter E. Keller, Hal Pereira, J. McMillan Johnson

• Executive Producer:

  Danny Thomas, Aaron Spelling, George Glass, Walter Seltzer

• Set Designer:

  Robert R. Benton, Sam Comer

• Costume Designer:

  Walter Plunkett, Yvonne Wood

• Makeup:

  Wally Westmore, Philip Rhodes

• Special Effects:

  Farciot Edouart, John P. Fulton

• Consultant/advisor:

  Rosita Moreno, Rodd Redwing

• Choreography:

  Josephine Earl

• Short Story Author:

  Frank Gruber

REVIEWS:

• Burt Lancaster's debut Western, Vengeance Valley is a so-so picture that has some good individual elements in it. One of these is Lancaster himself. Although he doesn't seem totally at ease in the role, he has the commanding presence that is required of this kind of film. Lancaster seems to be trying to find a way to add more depth to his part and coming up a little short, but his noble efforts in no way are damaging. Even better is Robert Walker, assaying one of his best rotten-to-the-core but able to project an amiable facade roles. The combination of friction and chemistry between the two actors is also notable. Sally Forrest and Joanne Dru also turn in good performances, if hemmed in by the lack of development in their characters. And there's some magnificent scenery, beautifully captured by cinematographer George Folsey. On the down side, Irving Ravetch's screenplay never succeeds in being as thoughtful as it seems to think it is, and much of the film gets mired down in talky scenes that don't have the desired impact. Director Richard Thorpe handles the action sequences well, but is much less successful with the dramatics of the storyline. As a result, the pacing lags and there's a noticeable lack o tension which eventually drags the film down. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi
• Often described by director Martin Scorsese as his favorite Western, Marlon Brando's only foray into directing resulted in one of the most interesting films in the genre. Brando plays an outlaw abandoned on a Mexican mountainside by his partner Karl Malden, while escaping from a posse. After doing a five-year hitch in a Mexican prison, Brando goes looking for revenge. A film whose troubled production history included contributions by Sam Peckinpah and Stanley Kubrick, in many ways it's a precursor to the operatic, slow-motion oaters of Sergio Leone. Basically a standard Western, it's raised a few notches by a great performance from Brando, who is given all he can handle by a memorably sadistic Malden. The pace of the scenes is undeniably slow, and one's enjoyment of the film probably depends on the extent to which viewers find Brando's myriad expressions of slow-burning rage compelling. Either Brando has an excellent eye or he was lucky in his choice of cinematographer Charles Lang, because the photography of Monterey, the Sierras, and the Mexican coastline is spectacular. Katy Jurado, Slim Pickens, Ben Johnson, and the always disturbed Timothy Carey round out the colorful cast. ~ Michael Costello, Rovi