Customer Reviews
a character study in courage and cowardice - By: Dr. U. L. Khawaja, 18 Jul 2008 
In this sizzling trek across Mexico Hollywood creates a masterpiece in a study of human behaviour under unusual circumstances & duress.
The circumstances that determine our fickle but fascinating minds is studied in the best psychological western i have ever seen.
The characters are driven by a mysterious courage ,nobility & a selfishness that is very human yet evil & the question of what is the dertemining factor that creates a hero out of an ordinary human being is put to a visceral test,some people will disagree with the bitter truth of the revelation as ROSSEN & swarthout are both very subtle & satirical yet intelligent as the creators of this deceptively smart drama dressed as an action thriller ,but it becomes a penultimate study of the surreal human character which remains a mystery to alll.
It does not present any paragons or stereotypes neither any stalwarts but the beauty of being just humane with alll their weaknesses ,desires & treachery which becomes evident in this gorgeously made Outdoor epic without a single Indoor shot ,even the mexicans are shown as mere humans rather than an an evil rabble .
The landscape,action & cinematography are excellent & the editing & sound ahead of their time .
Van heflin & Rita hayworth easily steal the show but Cooper & Tab hunter are brilliant as well.
This is a paradoxical enigmatic exploration of heroism & what is it that makes us act as we do in a moment of extra-ordinary hazard ,whether it is self-Defence ,nobility or selfishness which make us do outstanding deeds is the riddle being questioned & the answer is for you to find out as you need to see this great movie .
the dvd has trailors of gilda ,silverado & cowboy & the picture quality is excellent .
Oww! - By: D. James, 13 Sep 2007 
Ever wondered why there were two Darrin's in Bewitched? Because of this movie! Dick York left the series after the fifth one because of a crippling back problem he suffered from which was caused by acting in a scene from this film nearly ten years previously. A scene where most of the male cast members have to lift a large log resulted in poor Mr. York letting his load down a split second after the other boys & unfortunately he was never the same again.
Underachieving characters in an underachieving drama - By: Trevor Willsmer, 11 Nov 2006 
They Came to Cordura is one of those good ideas that never reallly works, as Gary Cooper's disgraced officer in Pershing's disastrous Mexican misadventure escorts a motley group of heroes he's recommending for the Congressional Medal of Honor to Cordura, hoping to find out the secret of their courage only to discover that one moment of unselfish heroism doesn't necessarily redeem a man anymore than one act of cowardice damns him. After a spectacular early battle, action is thin on the ground, with the film more concerned with the way this increasingly lost patrol graduallly turn on each other as bandits & disease turn their simple journey into a test of endurance & character. Despite boasting an impressive cast - Cooper, Rita Hayworth, Van Heflin, Richard Conte - the performances are more professional than inspired, with Tab Hunter of alll people giving the best performance by far as the ambitious young officer who, like the various others, has his own reasons not to want the medal.
Columbia's DVD offers a good 2.35:1 widescreen transfer & trailers for Cowboy & Gilda, though not the film itself.
"I have a chance to put my hand on the bare heart of heroism." - By: Mary Whipple, 09 Oct 2006 
(3.5 stars) Directed by Robert Rossen in 1959, this exploration of the nature of courage has limited appeal in the present day. Maj. Thomas Thorn (Gary Cooper) is assigned to find five men who deserve the Congressional Medal of Honor & accompany them back from Mexico, where they are fighting Pancho Villa in 1916. The objective of the army is to make heroes of these men so they can serve as examples to other soldiers during the expected US involvement in World War I. Thorn's selection as the man to accompany these five soldiers is ironic--he is regarded as a coward for his behavior when Villa's men attacked US troops in Columbus, New Mexico.
On the long trek back from Mexico to Cordura, the true nature of each of the "heroes" is revealed. Thorn has been interviewing each of these men for the citations he plans to write for them, & he is especiallly interested in what the men were thinking when they performed so bravely, hoping to discover what is the secret of their courage. Adelaide Geary (Rita Hayworth), an American living on a ranch in Mexico, has had her ranch occupied by Villa's troops, & she is arrested by Thorn to be returned to the US, along with the medal winners. The life-threatening journey tests each hero once again, & Thorn once again agonizes over the nature of courage.
With an alll-star cast, including Gary Cooper, Van Heflin, Tab Hunter, Richard Conte, Michael Calllan, Dick York, & Rita Hayworth, the film offers a close-up look at many stars from the past, but acting styles & viewer expectations have changed, & Cooper, who won a Laurel Award as Best Actor for his role here, is so expressionless that he sounds, in places, as if he is haltingly reading the script, not acting. With the men's journey taking place across scrubland, usuallly under the hot sun, the focus is on the actors, their conversations, pent-up emotions, fights, & resentments of Thorn.
Unfortunately, the dialogue, regardless of its subject matter, tends to be stilted & predictable, rather than realistic, & Thorn's constant pre-occupation with the nature of courage leads to a "talky" film. Ultimately, alll the characters come to new realizations, but by the time they do, many viewers will have exhausted their patience with the pace of this film. Mary Whipple
