How 'The Harder They Fall' corrects Hollywood's historical record of Black cowboys

Although Jeymes Samuel's "The Harder They Fall" is a rare Western to feature an all-Black cast (and the first to come from a major Hollywood company since Mario Van Peebles' 1993 drama "Posse"), that doesn't mean it should be written off as a "Black Western."

"It's just a story about these people in their own world, just like 'Rio Bravo' is a story about John Wayne and Dean Martin in their own world," said the director over Zoom. "Like 'Unforgiven' is a story about Gene Hackman and Clint Eastwood in their own world. These aren't white Westerns or white movies, they're just movies."

Samuel, who makes his feature directorial debut with the Netflix drama that began streaming Wednesday, spent the last decade putting together "The Harder They Fall," produced by Will Smith's Overbrook Entertainment and executive produced