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Cocaine Cowboys (1979 film)

Cocaine Cowboys is a 1979 American crime drama film directed by Ulli Lommel and written by Lommel, Spencer Compton, Tom Sullivan and Victor Bockris.[1] It stars Jack Palance, Sullivan, and Andy Warhol[2] who made a cameo appearance.[3][4] It was actor Tzi Ma's film debut.[5]

Cocaine Cowboys
Directed byUlli Lommel
Screenplay by
Produced byFranz-Christoph Giercke
Starring
CinematographyJochen Breitenstein
Edited byPaul Evans
Music byElliot Goldenthal
Release dates
  • October 5, 1979 (1979-10-05) (New York City)
  • June 11, 1980 (1980-06-11) (United States)
Running time
87 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot summary

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Cocaine Cowboys is about cocaine dealing members of a rock band who get into trouble with the American Mafia.[6]

Andy Warhol appeared as himself interviewing Jack Palance.[7][3]

Reception

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The film was given a very negative review at the time of its release by Tom Buckley in The New York Times.[3] Buckley wrote that apart from a good performance by Jack Palance, the other actors were "obvious amateurs", the story "flimsy", the dialogue poor and despite previous acting and directing successes Ulli Lommel's direction was "rudimentary".[3]

When mentioned in a Reuters news article in 2007 the film was referred to as a "clunker".[8]

Filmmakers Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary both praised the film on the first episode of The Video Archives Podcast.

Film set

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Lommel and Warhol on the set of Cocaine Cowboys. Warhol is using a Polaroid SX-70 camera.

Cocaine Cowboys was filmed in 1978 at Warhol's estate Eothen in Montauk, a hamlet in East Hampton, New York on Long Island.[3][9]

Selected cast

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References

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  1. ^ "Cocaine Cowboys (1979)". British Film Institute. Accessed 7 February 2018.
  2. ^ "Cocaine Cowboys (1979)". American Film Institute. Accessed 7 February 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e Buckley, Tom (5 October 1979). "Film: 'Cocaine Cowboys':Powdery Smugglers". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  4. ^ Christine Jun, "Andy Warhol's great grandchildren". Dazed, 6 August 2013. Accessed 7 February 2018.
  5. ^ Tzi Ma on The Farewell, Rush Hour, and working with the amazing Veep cast, retrieved 2019-12-22
  6. ^ "Cocaine Cowboys (1979)". Turner Classic Movies. Accessed 7 February 2018.
  7. ^ Warhol, Andy; Hackett, Pat (1989). The Andy Warhol Diaries. New York: Warner Books. p. 162. ISBN 978-0-446-51426-2.
  8. ^ Michael Rechtshaffen, ""Cocaine Cowboys" relives Miami's high times[dead link]". Reuters, 19 January 2007. Accessed 7 February 2018.
  9. ^ Anthony Haden-Guest, "Inside Jue Lan, The Hamptons’ Hot New Art Hangout". The Daily Beast, 28 May 2016. Accessed 7 February 2018.
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