A group of seven Texan cowboys have found themselves journeying through America to get to Tennessee before the battle at Shiloh commences. Leader Buck ( James Caan) wants to keep an eye on all the boys and make sure they get safely to the killing fields. Miller (Michael Sarrazin) is his right hand man and best friend, Willie (Harrison Ford) is a dab hand with a knife and his fists and the other biys all have something to offer. There will be punches thrown, bullets fired and even some blood spilled in the name of futility and a war of ignorance and arrogance.

So what can be said about the westerns of the late 60s produced in the studio system. Well they were often harking back and looking at the war that split the nation apart. The view often taken is that the men who fought on either side were slaughtered for a just cause. This film keeps that ideology but also reflects on the state of the west as of the moment Italian cinema came into the picture and the Magnificent Seven popped up. It uses much of the same stucture of the squad (each have a talent), Character (one is angry, one is scared) and plot (they are destined to fight an enemy that is superior to them.)

So what did I think? Well its not great but its also not terrible. The acting is solid, With Caan stand out (sadly his hair is awful and distracts from this occasionally). The performances are rounded as is the direction by Hale (Who knew westerns and directed many TV Westerns). Both are kept in check by a workable and well crafted (if dull) script. The disc itself is solid enough in that the print is nice, the sound is good and the film comes out on top. No extras…It is Simply Media. The final comment is Sunday watching will be joyful with this…