Arriving on DVD and Digital HD today is one of the most heart-stirring, authentic films I’ve seen in the past year, Chloé Zhao’s remarkable drama The Rider. Starring first-time actor Brady Jandreau in a story loosely based on his life, he plays a cowboy who must deal with the struggle of the reality of his life’s passion after surviving a near-fatal head injury. Winner of the top prize at Cannes Director’s Fortnight, we’re pleased to present a deleted scene from the film, which finds Jandreau in his sister’s room being confronted with the effects of his injury.
“What does a cowboy do when he can’t ride?,” Ed Frankl said in our review. “Chloe Zhao’s absorbing South Dakota-set sophomore feature has its titular rider come to terms with such a fate, in a film that’s a beguiling mix of docudrama and fiction whose story echoes much of history of its actors’ own lives. Zhao’s combination of the visual palette of Terrence Malick, the social backbone of Kelly Reichardt, and the spontaneity of John Cassavetes creates cinema verité in the American plains.”
See our exclusive deleted scene below courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
Based on his a true story, THE RIDER stars breakout Brady Jandreau as a once rising star of the rodeo circuit warned that his competition days are over after a tragic riding accident. Back home, Brady finds himself wondering what he has to live for when he can no longer do what gives him a sense of purpose: to ride and compete. In an attempt to regain control of his fate, Brady undertakes a search for new identity and tries to redefine his idea of what it means to be a man in the heartland of America.
The Rider is now on DVD and Digital HD.