Gunfights in the DVD corral

Looks like Hollywood studios are continuing to dig deep in the vaults for Westerns worth releasing in restored DVD editions. Coming May 8 to a video store near you: Volumes 1 and 2 of Classic Western Round-Up, a couple of four-title collections from Universal.

Volume 1 includes King Vidor's The Texas Rangers (1936), with Fred MacMurray, Jack Oakie and -- no kidding! -- Gabby Hayes; Jacques Tourneur's Canyon Passage (1946) , with Dana Andrews, Brian Donlevy, Susan Hayward and Ward Bond (as a character named, believe it or not, Honey Bragg); Ray Enright's Kansas Raiders (1950), with Audie Murphy as Jesse James, Tony Curtis as Kit Dalton, James Best as Cole Younger and Brian Donlevy as William Qunatrill; and Raoul Walsh's The Lawless Breed (1953), with Rock Hudson (as John Wesley Hardin) co-starring with John McIntire, Hugh O'Brian, Dennis Weaver and Lee Van Cleef.

But wait, there's more: Volume 2 includes James P. Hogan's The Texans (1938), with Randolph Scott, Walter Brennan, Robert Cummings and Joan Bennett; John Farrow's California (1946), with Ray Milland, Barbara Stanwyck and Anthony Quinn; Budd Boetticher's The Cimarron Kid (1952), with Audie Murphy, James Best, Leif Erickson and Hugh O'Brian; and another Budd Boetticher classic, The Man from the Alamo (1953), with Glenn Ford, Julie Adams, Chill Wills -- and, hey, Hugh O'Brian again.

Now if only the folks at Columbia would finally get around to releasing DVDs of the great Westerns that Boetticher filmed with Randolph Scott between 1956 and '60!

West meets East

“Out West: The Great American Landscape” – an ambitious and exhaustive collection of contemporary art depicting aspects of the American West – will be showcased throughout China during the next several months. Organized by the Meridian International Center of Washington, D.C., the National Art Museum of China in Beijing and the Chinese Ministry of Culture, the touring exhibit – which includes 68 works by 50 artists -- opens Thursday at the Beijing museum, and later will go to Urumqi, Xi'an, Shanghai, Qingdao and Hong Kong.

Among the prominent Western artists represented in the exhibit: Julie T. Chapman, Dana Boussard, Russell Chatham, William Matthews, Dan Namingha, Howard Post, Kevin Red Star, and Donna Howell-Sickles.

A great view of the Grand Canyon

From the Associated Press: Hualapai Indians, whose reservation is about 90 miles west of Grand Canyon National Park, have teamed with a Las Vegas developer to create a unique attraction on their side of the canyon -- a glass-bottom observation deck that will allow visitors to gaze into the chasm beneath their feet. The Grand Canyon Skywalk is scheduled to open to the public March 28.

Western fast-forwards to DVD

Seraphim Falls made only a fleeting appearance in a handful of theaters a couple months ago. But if you missed it, don't fret: Director David Von Ancken's gritty Western, starring Pierce Brosnan and Liam Neeson as Civil War veterans who wage their own private war on each other, will be released May 15 on DVD.

By the way: Brosnan evidently enjoyed making the flick -- he's now talking about making "an all-Irish Western" with fellow actors who hail from the Emerald Isle.

Cheryl Crow: Calling all cowboys!

While appearing Wednesday at the Houston Livestock and Rodeo Show, Cheryl Crow playfully vamped the audience by announcing: "I'm looking for a cowboy!" Not surprisingly, the crowd responded with a rousing cheer. No word yet, however, as to whether she actually found someone strong enough to be her man.

BTW: The lady certainly knows how to make an entrance -- and an exit. According to People.com, Cheryl "entered the rodeo ring on her own horse, a black and white-spotted Tennessee Walking Horse that reared on cue. She rode around the ring waving to the crowd before her horse extended its front left leg and bowed deeply." When it came time to leave, though, "she left the rodeo in suitable style – driving away in a red Mustang convertible."

Calgary stampede?

Shhhhhhhhhhhhh! Be very quiet. They're hunting rabbits.

Celebrating the John Wayne Centennial on DVD

Warner Home Video (WHV) and Paramount Home Entertainment (PHE) will join forces on an unprecedented initiative to honor John Wayne on May 22 -- just four days before what would have been The Duke’ 100th birthday.

The companies will pool their DVD sales and marketing resources, digging into their vast libraries for a total of 48 Wayne films. The lead titles in the promotion are Rio Bravo in both a Two-Disc Special Edition and Ultimate Collectors Edition; The Cowboys as a Deluxe Edition; and True Grit as a Special Collector’s Edition.

WHV also will debut the John Wayne Film Collection, a six-disc set (also available individually) featuring six films never before on DVD: Allegheny Uprising, Reunion in France, Tycoon, Without Reservations, Trouble Along the Way and Big Jim McLain. Counting titles already in release, there will be a total of 34 Wayne films available from WHV.

PHE has a total of 14 Wayne titles on DVD, highlighted by the all-new Special Collector’s Edition of True Grit along with three DVD collections: the John Wayne Century Collection which features 14 films including The High and the Mighty Special Collector’s Edition, Island in the Sky Special Collector’s Edition, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Shootist and Big Jake; the John Wayne Western Collection which features nine films including Hondo Special Collector’s Edition, McLintock! Special Collector’s Edition, El Dorado and Rio Lobo; and the John Wayne Adventure Collection which features five films including The High and the Mighty Special Collector’s Edition, Island in the Sky Special Collector’s Edition and In Harm’s Way.

But wait, there's more: Turner Classic Movies will celebrate John Wayne throughout May by airing several of The Duke's biggest hits. And don't worry, pilgrim: We'll run the complete list of titles as soon as they're available.

Back in the saddle again

From Western-Saddle-Guide.com, your handy-dandy online resource for Western saddles, we now have The Western Saddle Blog. Scheduled to be updated three to four times a week, the blog covers a wide variety of Western tack and riding subjects, and answers such burning questions as, hey, just what the heck is a Monel stirrup? Also included: Reviews of the latest gadgets and products, including a Hall of Fame for the top picks, and posts on valuable resources and upcoming events.