Alicia I love this movie so much

GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

MARIO GAUCI Actor Cliff Robertson’s clout after his Oscar win in CHARLY (1968) allowed this personal venture which he wrote, produced and directed as well as starred in; the film, though much admired in some circles and certainly well-made, is essentially dreary and somewhat overlong for its purpose. Incidentally, rodeo is not a subject which has been treated often by Hollywood: a couple more notable efforts were Nicholas Ray’s rare but highly regarded THE LUSTY MEN (1952) – which I recently acquired but have yet to watch – and Sam Peckinpah’s contemporaneous and better-known JUNIOR BONNER (1972).Anyway, the titular figure is an enthusiast of the sport who wants to pick up where he left off following a 10-year stint in jail for fraud; after a pathetic reunion with his senile mother (a cameo, despite her second billing, by a disheveled Geraldine Page), he sets off to seek a prominent spot in the National Finals. This entails a series of contests across the country – he starts off by hitching rides to each destination, then borrows a van (through a friend) from a military base but, after scoring a number of successes and winning a pile of money, he can afford to fly the rest of the way.Robertson meets spirited young hippie Cristina Ferrare; following the initial distrust (being a middle-aged uneducated cowboy himself, they have virtually nothing in common), he comes to appreciate her devoted presence by his side – however, when he finally proposes marriage, she quits him. Coop’s biggest rival is a brash stud half his age whose wealth is able to keep him well ahead of the game (getting to the various rodeo venues by way of a private plane). Still, our hero perseveres – but his dream seems to come to an end when he breaks a leg; undaunted, he decides to mount a particularly wild bull…but his triumph this time around is short-lived and he’s gored by the testy animal! Robertson elicits fine performances all around and shows great feeling for small-town America – as well as passion for his central theme (which isn’t so much about achieving one’s goals no matter what, as how this often rings hollow when all one has to show for it is loneliness). A nice folksy score supplies the perfect accompaniment to the film’s attractive photography – offsetting the generally downbeat tone and the occasional instance of self-conscious direction (such as the use of abrupt zooms or Coop’s slow-motion last ride). Equally agreeable are its sparse moments of humor – namely the cowboy’s ironic home address, 1313 Luck Road, requested by an apologetic cop when he’s forced to give him a ticket (Coop’s driving his late father’s ‘smoking’ broken-down car) and the incident in the diner’s lavatory where rednecks attack the hero’s black pal but, even outnumbered, they beat up their assailants and, when the cops arrive, Robertson justifies the mess by claiming the locals had been making “weird advances”!

inframan Cliff Robertson has always been one of the hugely underrated actors of stage, TV & film. Anyone who saw his original performance in Days of Wine & Roses on Playhouse 90(with Piper Laurie) or saw him doing Tennessee Williams on Broadway knows that this is someone who for whatever reasons missed out on the major stardom that was his natural due. J.W. Coop is one more surprise from Mr. Robertson. This movie is the closest approximation I've ever seen on the screen to a Hemingway story. It's full of the rich true details of place and incident, and the aching pain of the fighter/cowboy/soldier/man rubbing up against life, trying to make some kind of mark, some kind of sense, before his end comes, & it always comes too soon for these guys.

helpless_dancer Excellent story about a cowpoke who wants to be the number one rider in the nation. He worked hard at it, and made his name well known on the circuit, even getting to the point of acquiring his own airplane. A good look at the rodeo from behind the scenes. Near the end was a very graphic scene of a cowboy caught up in the harness of a raging bull. I heard it was not a setup take, but was real footage from a rodeo. I know it made me cringe to watch it. 4 stars.

Doctor_Bombay Growing up in the Mid_West, the concept of `art' film was quite foreign to me in 1971. The first time I saw J.W. Coop, it struck me like a thunderbolt. Lots of ambin' around, reaction shots, quiet confidence, pseudo-documentary style, unspoken sub text…WOW.A labor love for Cliff Robertson, JW COOP is an indie-like movie developed in the 1970's studio system, where titles like POSEIDON ADVENTURE and TOWERING INFERNO were the only things that made sense at the time.As a result, studio-type compromises are evident throughout--Christina Ferrare is atrocious as the hippie-chick who interjects JW's dust covered mind-set to the present. I'm certain the original script-by Gary Cartwright and the ingenious Bud Shrake was likely funnier…and edgier.What's left is still engaging, and the rest of the supporting cast is solid, the story interesting--spiced with wonderful little vignettes throughout. I highly recommend.