The creative team behind the movie
Wild Rovers (1971) try to recreate the true substance of what it means to be a cowboy in the American west in the late 19th century. The movie stars
William Holden and
Ryan O'Neal as two cowboys at different stages of their lives, but who come to the same realization about being a cowboy based on the older of the two's experience. Director
Blake Edwards changes the nature of a scene based on what Mother Nature has provided him. It is a physical and taxing shoot, even for the younger O'Neal, but the filmmakers have at their disposal modern technological conveniences, such as helicopters, their use juxtaposed against the rugged scenery which evokes older times. Different moods are created depending on where they are filming, the different locations including a recreated western town, interiors in a saloon for an intentionally claustrophobic feeling poker game, the wide open desert and the magnificence of Monument Valley. Holden discusses working with Edwards, who appears to be lackadaisical, a facade in Holden's mind to make the actors more at ease and feel more involved in the film-making process.
—Huggo