Stars: Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, James Garner, James Cromwell, Marcia Gay Harden, William Devane, Courtney B. Vance, Loren Dean

Director: Clint Eastwood

Summary: In 1958 four test pilots lose the chance to be the first men to go into outer space due to the actions of their leader. Back into the present a Russian satellite is about to crash into the Earth's atmosphere and the original four are the only people able to save the day...

Clint Eastwood teams up with some old friends to make SPACE COWBOYS, a rollicking motion picture that wraps action, comedy, and science fiction into one neat package. Eastwood plays Frank Corvin, a former air force pilot who was shunned from flying into space in 1958 after NASA was created. Forty years later, when a Russian satellite appears to be headed for a collision with Earth, Corvin finally gets his chance. He bribes his archrival Bob Gerson (James Cromwell) into letting his team go into space to repair the satellite, on the condition that they pass the physical. However, passing the physical isn't so easy for aging veterans Jerry O'Neil (Donald Sutherland), Tank Sullivan (James Garner), and Hawk Hawkins (Tommy Lee Jones), who, while still mentally sharp, aren't in the best of physical shape. Nonetheless, they manage to fill all the requirements. Ignoring the two cocky upstarts who have been sent along to back them up, the old-timers blast off and head straight for the satellite. But when they get there, the realization that the satellite is actually carrying six nuclear warheads changes the course of the mission, endangering the lives of the astronauts as well as the citizens of America. With exceptional special effects and a breezy tone, SPACE COWBOYS is one of Eastwood's most entertaining films to date.

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Space Cowboysis a slice of cornball Americana that's so much fun you'll be tempted to stand up and salute. Director and co-star Clint Eastwood manages to turn what might have been ludicrous into a jubilant tribute to age and experience, and Space Cowboyssucceeds 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 Russkie bird is a Cold War leftover equipped with live nuclear warheads, and the movie 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 sub-plot involving a weasely NASA administrator (James Cromwell) is rather perfunctory, but it hardly matters. Space Cowboysearns its wings, once again demonstrating Eastwood's comfort with any genre he chooses. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

On the DVD: Even though it boasts no sub-title like "Special Edition," this DVD has some of the nicest extras you'll 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 think. Longtime Eastwood editor Joel Cox provides insight into the director's work routine. The highlight, though, is an extended version of the four principle's appearance on The Tonight Showwith Leno providing some interesting comments on how he chooses what films will "appear" on his show. --Doug Thomas, Amazon.com

Aspect Ratio:	16:9 Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Cast Visits The Tonight Show, Interview, Special Effects And Behind The Scenes, Special Effects Featurette
Subtitles:	Arabic, Bulgarian, English, Romanian
Year:	2000
Release Date:	May 14, 2001
Runtime:	125 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	D 018722
Keywords:	Action, General, Space, Cowboys, Wide, Screen, Adventure
Genre:	Action/Adventure