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| The Horse Soldiers | 
 enlarge | Director: John Ford
Actors: John Wayne, William Holden, Constance Towers, Judson Pratt, Hoot Gibson
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.98
Buy New: $6.09
You Save: $8.89 (59%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $4.36
Avg. Customer Rating:  (41 reviews)
Sales Rank: 7637
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), French (Dubbed)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 115 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
DVD Layers: 2
DVD Sides: 1
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.6
MPN: MGMD1001835D
ISBN: 0792849558
UPC: 027616861054
EAN: 9780792849551
ASIN: B000059TFU
Release Date: May 8, 2001
Theatrical Release Date: June 12, 1959
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Description
John Wayne teams with William Holden and eminent western director John Ford for this frontier actioner "packed with laughter, romance and thrills" (The Hollywood Reporter)! Written by John LeeMahin and Martin Rackin, this faithful representation of one of the most daring cavalry exploits inhistory is both a moving tribute to the men who fought and died in that bloody war and a powerful, action-packed drama.Based on an actual Civil War incident, The Horse Soldiers tells the rousing tale of a troop of Union soldiers who force their way deep into Southern territory to destroy a rebel stronghold at Newton Station. In command is hardbitten Colonel Marlowe (Wayne), a man who is strikingly contrasted by the company's gentle surgeon (Holden) and the beautiful but crafty Southern belle (Constance Towers) who's forced to accompany the Union raiders on perhaps the most harrowing mission in the war.
Amazon.com
This latter-day sort-of Western from John Ford--falling midway between The Searchers and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance--is a crisp retelling of a true-life episode from the Civil War. In 1863 a Union colonel named Grierson (Marlowe in the film, and John Wayne by any name) led his cavalry several hundred miles behind Confederate lines to cut the railroad between Newton Station and soon-to-be-embattled Vicksburg. Grierson's Raid was as successful as it was daring, and remarkably bloodless. Never fear that the screenplay makes up for that un-Hollywood lapse--as well as supplying amatory distraction for the colonel in the form of a feisty Southern belle (Constance Towers) who has to be dragged along to protect secrecy. There's a certain amount of bombast in the running arguments about wartime ethics between Marlowe and the new regimental surgeon (William Holden), who don't take to each other at all. But Ford more than makes up for it with such tasty scenes as an encounter with a couple of redneck Rebel deserters (Denver Pyle and Strother Martin), an ethereal swamp crossing led by a cornpone deacon (Hank Worden), and above all the famous skirmish with a hillside full of grade-school cadets from a venerable military academy. The film ends rather abruptly because Ford abandoned a climactic battle scene--the veteran stunt man and bit player Fred Kennedy having been killed in a horse fall. Golden-age cowboy star Hoot Gibson, who acted in Ford's directorial debut, Straight Shooting, appears as Sergeant Brown. --Richard T. Jameson
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| Customer Reviews: Read 36 more reviews...
 The Horse Soldiers June 16, 2008
This is a Hollywood version of real events that took place during the Vicksburg Campaign in 1863. While there is a lot of Hollywood flair, the events of the raid and the impact on the fall of Vicksburg are well documented. All in all it is quite enjoyable and great for a rainy afternoon.
 I Left My Home,I Left My Love,For The U.S. Cavalry June 16, 2008
Based on a true incident during the Civil War,Horse Soldiers,a spectacular cavalry film from the great John Ford,starring John Wayne and William Holden who make up pretty good rivals locking horns throughout the movie,the Duke also locking horns with sexy actress Constance Towers,as a slow gradual love is brewing.Plenty of action and battle scenes,true to realistic,Horse Soldiers is a helluva cavalry picture.Look for Ken Curtis(Festus on Gunsmoke)Curtis also played parts in a few other John Wayne movies.This MGM dvd is 16x9 widescreen and remastered with good sound and picture,a must for your John Wayne,John Ford cavalry collection.
 Not What I Had Hoped For June 5, 2008
Over the years I believe I've seen all the significant films of John Wayne and John Ford, except "The Horse Soldiers." Tonight I finally viewed it on the DVD release and have to admit it was a let-down. Oh, I enjoyed it but it did not live-up to the reputation of these many years. Much of the problem with placing this films highly among others with Wayne/Ford is in the screenplay which struck me as too scattered and without real focus. The Duke did his usual thing well but I believe John Ford was not at his best in this particular effort. A few classic western scenes are included but it lacks the style of so many other Ford movies that are recognized by his fans. Worth seeing but not twice.
Not that kind of engineer. April 18, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The Horse Soldiers DVD
John Wayne stars as the Union Colonel Grierson in John Ford's dramatization the Union's Grierson's Raid in 1863 ( Grierson led Grierson's Raid in 1863, a major diversionary thrust deep into the Confederacy, ordered by General Grant as part of his Vicksburg Campaign. He departed from La Grange, Tennessee, on April 17, in command of 1,700 men of the 6th and 7th Illinois and the 2nd Iowa Cavalry regiments. Over 17 days, his command marched 800 miles, repeatedly engaged the Confederates, disabled two railroads, captured many prisoners and horses, and destroyed vast amounts of property, finally ending in Baton Rouge on May 2. More importantly, he diverted the attention of the Confederate defenders of Vicksburg away from General Grant's main thrust. He was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers in June. In 1864 he was assigned to the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Mississippi and in 1865 he took part in the campaign against Mobile. On March 2, 1867, Grierson received a brevet promotion to the rank of major general in the United States Army for his famous raid.) William Holden plays a Union doctor at odds with Grierson.
Highly recommended for fans of John Wayne, Cilvil War era movies and William Holden.
Gunner, April, 2008
A good tale of the Civil War with horses, battles, and colorful supporting characters January 19, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This movie by John Ford paired John Wayne (Col. John Marlowe) and William Holden (Maj Hank Kendall, regimental surgeon) as the male leads in the film while Constance Towers provided the female lead and love interest as the Southern Belle Hannah Hunter. The movie was expensive for its time and everyone involved expected it to be a blockbuster. Both Wayne and Holden received $775,000 and a promise of 20% of the profits. However, the film did not do all that well and there were no profits to distribute. Some say that the era of lead star megadeals began with this movie.
This movie is loosely based on Grierson's Raid in April and May 1863 as part of the Vicksburg Campaign in Mississippi. Wayne's Marlowe is a former railroad builder without much formal education, but he is smart and brave. Marlowe is leading a regiment of cavalry through Mississippi to reach Vicksburg and join Grant's campaign. We know it is dangerous because most of his officers are looking for excuses to turn back and head North to safety. During the film we learn he is a widower and how losing his wife caused him to dislike doctors. Holden's Kendall is a doctor who cares for people and is only part of the war because he was put there. Wherever he sees someone who needs his help, he offers it and this gets him on Marlowe's bad side.
Along the way, they stop at a plantation and requisition horses, supplies, and refresh themselves. They meet the mistress of the plantation, Hannah Hunter and when they leave they take her so she cannot warn the Confederates of their presence of plans. Her joining the regiment of hundreds of horse soldiers provides a tense love story with Marlowe with some competition with the more sophisticated Kendall. The final resolution of the love story is one of the less satisfying aspects of the story, but in war who gets to wrap up personal stories in a neat package anyway?
The movie has some spectacular vistas, lots of great work with the horses (it is cavalry, after all) a couple of fine battle sequences, the Duke fighting on the side of the Union for once, and lots of colorful supporting characters. While I don't think it is a great Wayne movie like "The Searchers" or "The Shootist", it is still a good one. Enjoy!
Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI
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