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Possibly my favorite western ever

Posted by in movies, whateves on July 17th, 2006 @ 3:48 pm

Another late night cable experience led me to the first half of The Culpepper Cattle Co. on AMCs western night. It was about 6 am when it started and I hadn’t been to bed yet, so I only made it through the first half. At that time a few years ago, this film was out of print on all formats. Newly released on DVD with a great transfer, The Culpepper Cattle Co. was quickly snatched from the evil clutches of netflix and into my hands. Released in 1972 and starring Geoffrey Lewis and Billy Green Bush, The Culpepper Cattle Co. tells the story of a 16 year old buy who wants more than anything to be a cowbody, so he signs on with Frank Culpepper and his crew to drive a large herd. While the boy may have stars in his eyes about cowboy life, the film depicts this job as a harsh and unpleasant one. This is one of the first westerns that had a more realistic feel to it. Everyone is dirty and tattered, and cowboys are shown as hard, merciless men, as well as hard working, caring individuals. The point it that the film shows people how they really are, with the potential to be good and bad, selfish and generous. While the blood effects are fairly bad (never has blood been so obviously red paint), this is mostly attributed to the level of technology available to film-makers at that time. In any case it does not detract from the story or the performances, or the beautifully shot landscapes, all of which were top-notch.