Space Cowboys (2000)

When a retired engineer is called upon to rescue a failing satellite, he insists that his equally old teammates accompany him into space.

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writers:

Ken Kaufman, Howard Klausner

Stars:

Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clint Eastwood	...	Frank Corvin
Tommy Lee Jones	...	Hawk Hawkins
Donald Sutherland	...	Jerry O'Neill
James Garner	...	Tank Sullivan
James Cromwell	...	Bob Gerson
Marcia Gay Harden	...	Sara Holland
William Devane	...	Eugene Davis
Loren Dean	...	Ethan Glance
Courtney B. Vance	...	Roger Hines
Barbara Babcock	...	Barbara Corvin
Rade Serbedzija	...	General Vostov (as Rade Sherbedgia)
Blair Brown	...	Dr. Anne Caruthers
Jay Leno	...	Jay Leno
Nils Allen Stewart	...	Tiny
Deborah Jolly	...	Cocktail Waitress

Storyline

When a Russian satellite orbiting the Earth starts to veer off course. It seems like the guidance system in the satellite is of American origin. It's important to try and fix it before it comes into the atmosphere. The NASA man, Bob Gerson tries to find out who designed it and discovers that it was designed by Frank Corvin, an Air Force pilot who 40 years ago was part of the team who was originally suppose to go to space but when NASA was formed and Gerson's influence they were dropped. Gerson asks Frank to help but Frank still holds a grudge. But after some prodding he agrees but only if he and his team can go there so he can fix it. Gerson reluctantly agrees so Frank recruits his former team members, Tank Sullivan, Jerry O'Neill and Hawk Hawkins to join him. After some strenuous tests, they're cleared. And they go up with two other astronauts and check out the satellite and discover that they weren't told the whole truth.

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Plot Keywords:

space shuttle | old age | satellite | astronaut | rear nudity | 

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Taglines:

Space will never be the same

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 August 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jinetes del espacio

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$65,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$18,093,776, 6 August 2000, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$90,464,773

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$128,884,132

Company Credits

Production Co:

Clipsal Films, Digital Image Associates, Mad Chance

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Black and White Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

James Garner's character is named "Tank" Sullivan. Sixteen years earlier, Tank (1984) which also featured James Cromwell (who plays Bob Gerson here) in one of his earliest movie roles.

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Goofs

A geostationary equatorial orbit would be the worst choice among commonly used orbits for a weapons platform. The satellite always remains over one point on the Earth, and the weapon would have to travel at least 22,000 miles after firing, providing more time for it to be detected. A low polar orbit would provide a much shorter travel time for the weapon, would pass over all parts of the Earth's surface twice a day, and would also have been easier to reach from the USSR. Which is exactly why the Soviets, wanting to put a weapons platform *secretly* on a satellite, might choose one intended for a geostationary equatorial orbit rather than a low polar orbit.

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Quotes

Jerry O'Neill: It's got nothing to do with me.
Jerry O'Neill: It all depends on the woman and how willing she is to discover her infinite supply of orgasms.

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Crazy Credits

The Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow logos are static and in a grayish tone on a black background, rather than being animated and in full color.

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Connections

References Casablanca (1942)

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Soundtracks

Grazin' in the Grass
Written by Harry Elston and Philemon Hou
Performed by Boney James and Rick Braun
(Courtesy Warner Bros. Records)

User Reviews

A nice little movie, not too outrageous and the expert acting makes it enjoyable

We own this movie in our home collection and we haven't watched it in a while. Saw it again tonight on TV, and realized that it is still a good movie.

Clint Eastwood produces and directs this movie, and draws some "experienced" actors to help him fill the lead roles. They manage to extol the trials and tribulations of the senior years, while still capturing the exuberance of youth from the past.

the story leads a mildly predictable pattern, but in this case it is not the end of the story that is primarily important, but instead how they get there. Also, all 4 lead actors all come off as really having a good time in the movie, it feels like they really enjoyed making this one and it comes out on the screen in the performances.

The pace is even and smooth, again demonstrating Clint Eastwood's legacy of directing and acting in watchable, enjoyable movies, no matter what the gender.

I should also mention that the special effects and the space sequences are stunning and much better done than most other movies in near-earth space. That would be the industrial Light and Magic team doing it again.

Overall, enjoyable.