The Good

Gary Grimes stars in a film that has the western feel in it's bones.

The Bad

Sparse extras.

I had never heard of The Culpepper Cattle Co. before I was asked to review it. Again, this is one of those movies that makes me happy to be a DVD reviewer. Starring the Summer of '42's Gary Grimes as Ben, a young boy who wants nothing more than to be a cowboy, this film is a coming of age story that wholeheartedly examines that lifestyle. It is a film where men fight, shoot guns, live off the land and in no way, shape or form did I feel like I was seeing actors playing parts.

The Culpepper Cattle Co. is a movie that examines a way of life I think many people would be fascinated to see.

Features

Galleries

The extras on this DVD are an "Exclusive Production Stills Photo Gallery" and a "Behind-The-Scenes Photo Gallery." Okay, I guess my question is what is the difference between the two? The images presented here seem just as gritty and dirty as the film itself. I guess what really impresses me is how much of a documentary this film seems like and seeing these photos reminded me that it wasn't.

Video

The Culpepper Cattle Co. can be watched in either Widescreen or Full Screen. I made the mistake again of putting the movie on in full screen and by the time I realized that (believe me, it makes sense if you think about it) I was to involved with the movie to flip the disc. I really love the rawness of how this film was shot and how it seems like the print of the movie (that was used to make this DVD) is barely being held together.

Audio

Dolby Digital. English (Stereo or Mono). Spanish and French Mono. Close Captioned. Subtitled in English and Spanish. The sound for this film has been designed in such a way that it is merely an accompaniment to what we are seeing on the screen. Nothing has been done to make the audio stand on it's own, but at the same time I don't think anything needs to be done to it. Presenting life as it's being lived works well enough.

Package

A very arty cover of a man on a horse with his head down and a silhouette of another man with a lasso, are the images that make up this front cover. The back features four Deadwood-like pictures of some of the main stars, a description of this movie, a "Special Features" listing, credits list and technical specs. This packaging does a very nice job of showcasing this understated film.

Final Word

I did a quick IMDB search to see what else Director Dick Richards had done. My goal was to see if I had screened any of his films and if I could draw some associations to him as an artist. Sadly, I hadn't really heard of any of the other films he directed. As an aside, he was supposed to direct the film Tootsie, but that job went to Sydney Pollack and Richards was made a producer. No real reason was given for why this happened, though

As a final thought, I would love to see what would happen if the director of The Culpepper Cattle Co. and Kevin Costner teamed up to make a western today.

The Culpepper Cattle Co. was released April 15, 1972.