Cocaine Cowboys (1979 film)

For the 2006 documentary film directed by Billy Corben, see Cocaine Cowboys (2006 film). For the 1999 heavy metal song by the band W.A.S.P., see Helldorado (album).

1979 American film

Cocaine Cowboys

Directed by| Ulli Lommel
Screenplay by|

* Ulli Lommel
* Spencer Compton
* Tom Sullivan
* Victor Bockris

Produced by| Franz-Christoph Giercke
Starring|

* Jack Palance
* Tom Sullivan
* Andy Warhol

Cinematography| Jochen Breitenstein
Edited by| Paul Evans
Music by| Elliot Goldenthal

Release dates

* October 5, 1979 (1979-10-05) (New York City)
* June 11, 1980 (1980-06-11) (United States)

Running time

| 87 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English

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]

## Plot summary

[edit]

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.[3]

## Reception

[edit]

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".[7]

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

## Film set

[edit]

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

Cocaine Cowboys was filmed in 1979 at Warhol's summer home in Montauk, East Hampton, Long Island, New York.[3][8]

## Selected cast

[edit]

* Jack Palance
* Tom Sullivan
* Andy Warhol

## References

[edit]

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. ^ Michael Rechtshaffen, ""Cocaine Cowboys" relives Miami's high times[dead link]". Reuters, 19 January 2007. Accessed 7 February 2018.
8. ^ Anthony Haden-Guest, "Inside Jue Lan, The Hamptons’ Hot New Art Hangout". The Daily Beast, 28 May 2016. Accessed 7 February 2018.

## External links

[edit]

* Cocaine Cowboys at IMDb
* Cocaine Cowboys at Rotten Tomatoes

* v
* t
* e

Ulli Lommel

Feature films|

* Haytabo (1971)
* The Tenderness of Wolves (1973)
* Jodeln is ka Sünd (1974)
* Wachtmeister Rahn (1974)
* A Second Spring [de] (1975)
* Adolf and Marlene (1977)
* Ausgerechnet Bananen (1978)
* Cocaine Cowboys (1979)
* Blank Generation (1980)
* The Boogey Man (1980)
* BrainWaves (1982)
* Olivia (1983)
* Boogeyman II (1983)
* The Devonsville Terror (1983)
* Strangers in Paradise (1984)
* Revenge of the Stolen Stars (1985)
* I.F.O.: Identified Flying Object (1987)
* Overkill (1987)
* Cold Heat (1989)
* WarBirds (1989)
* The Big Sweat (1991)
* Marilyn, My Love (1994)
* Daniel – Der Zauberer (2004)
* Zombie Nation (2005)
* Zodiac Killer (2005)
* B.T.K. Killer (2005)
* Green River Killer (2005)
* Killer Pickton (2006)
* The Raven (2006)
* Black Dahlia (2006)
* Diary of a Cannibal (2007)
* Curse of the Zodiac (2007)
* The Tomb (2007)
* Borderline Cult (2007)
* Killer Nurse (aka: Angel of Death 2007)
* Nightstalker (2007)
* Baseline Killer (2008)
* Son of Sam (2008)
* Dungeon Girl (2008) (aka: Blood Dungeon, 2012)
* Absolute Evil (2009)
* D.C. Sniper (2010)
* Mondo Americana (2015)
* Factory Cowboys: Working with Warhol (2018)
* Queen of Rio (2018)
* Genus X (2018)
* America: Land of the Freeks (2018)

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template