59"H x 105"W viewing area; 16:9 aspect ratio; mildew resistant; washable; black backing; CineGrey 5D 1.5-gain material; wall-mountable design

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.