Kelly Reichardt’s “First Cow” was one of the most buzzed about films on the festival circuit earlier this year and was all set to be released by A24 in cinemas on March 6th.
In mid-late March though, as cinemas began shutting down, A24 opted to pull the film from the handful of cinemas it had been playing and hoped to re-release it theatrically when things were back to normal.
As normal now seems a long way off, A24 has decided to release “First Cow” on digital next week with plans for a July 10th release across all digital platforms.
In the film, two travelers are on the run from a band of vengeful hunters in the 1820s Northwest and dream of striking it rich – but their tenuous plan to make their fortune on the frontier comes to rely on the secret use of a landowner’s prized dairy cow.
Reichardt is an admitted big-screen purist but admits it’s due in part to where she’s based: “When I’m living in New York, it’s easy to be down on VOD, because there are so many art houses. In a dream world, we would all be going to the movies, but since we aren’t, there’s this option.”
With 90 reviews counted, the film sits at a stunning 96% (8.4/10) on Rotten Tomatoes and a 90/100 on Metacritic – in the latter’s case that makes it the second highest scoring film of the year so far behind only “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” on 91/100.
A24 says they still hope to bring the film back to arthouse theaters for a special run later this year, but those who have been wanting to check it out will finally get a chance next week.
Source: Indiewire
