Cowboys: A Documentary Portrait Releases Today

Published: Nov. 17, 2020, 7:01 p.m.

Co-directors John Langmore and Bud Force bring to life Cowboys: A Documentary Portrait, providing an aesthetically mesmerizing, sure-handed look at how Western traditions have found a way to coexist with society's modern achievements.

Cowboys: A Documentary Portrait follows the lives of several, multi-ethnic Cowboys (and Cowgirls, even though the actual term is considered a verb not a noun making Cowboy gender neutral) as they go on a cattle drive across several Western United States through Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and into Northern Nevada fighting the elements, isolation and being separated from modern society, while still following the structures of what has made the industry survive for over 150 years.

Langmore and Force spoke with me about how people forgot that the industry exists, how modern vehicles cannot replace the traditional cattle drive, what ranching today looks like and how being humane to the animals is far more important than people may have preceived the industry to be in the past century. In fact, they stated in the documentary that if someone hates the animals, they will washout of the industry rather quickly.

These cowboys are not only team members, but family, navigators and even veterinarians in making sure these animals make it to their destination healthy and safe.

Official Synopsis:

An authentic, intimate depiction of the contemporary cowboy, Cowboys: A Documentary Portrait straps audiences in the saddle alongside working men and women on some of today’s largest and most remote cattle ranches in the American West.  Told genuinely and reverently through first-hand accounts from cowboys in the deepest, most isolated parts of America, the timeless documentary illustrates not only the rewards of a cowboy’s lifestyle but also the unvarnished hardships of a celebrated but misunderstood way of life.

Utilizing their extensive collective backgrounds, co-directors John Langmore (published ranch photographer and former working cowboy) and Bud Force (rodeo cowboy turned award-winning director/DP) provide an aesthetically mesmerizing, sure-handed look at how Western traditions have found a way to coexist with society's modern achievements.

Visit the official website from 1922 Films at www.thecowboymovie.com for more information. Follow Cowboys: A Documentary Portrait on Instagram @cowboysmovie and on Facebook at Cowboys: A Documentary Portrait.

Cowboys: A Documentary Portrait is available on VOD today.