Urban Cowboy | 
| Actors: Brooke Alderson, Sheryl Briedel, Barry Corbin, Steve Chambers, Charlie Daniels
Studio: Paramount
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.98
Buy New: $3.02
You Save: $11.96 (80%)
New (40) Used (9) from $3.01
Rating:  72 reviews
Sales Rank: 39954
Format: Ac-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Portuguese (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Dubbed)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number Of Discs: 2
Running Time: 134 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.7
MPN: PARD138154D
UPC: 097361381541
EAN: 0097361381541
ASIN: B0019GO5F0
Theatrical Release Date: 1980
Release Date: August 5, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Movie DVD
Amazon.com essential video
John Travolta traded in disco duds for a cowboy hat in this corny love story about a working man who breaks up with his girlfriend (Debra Winger), then plays out their relationship's turmoil inside a huge honky-tonk called Gilley's. The story essentially parallels Travolta's prior hit film, Saturday Night Fever, in its blend of ordinary life, incomplete relationships, and personal pride channeled into niche stardom at a neighborhood club. But for all its regional flavor, Urban Cowboy never enjoys the immediacy and urgency of Fever, and after awhile you can't help but feel bemused by the macho silliness of ongoing "mechanical bull" competitions (basically a faux rodeo device only brave men can master at great chiropractic risk). The Travolta-Winger relationship is pure soap, as well. But this film really is a kind of time-capsule piece on a lot of levels--notably Travolta's career and late '70s Western kitsch--and while it's silly, it's certainly not disagreeable. --Tom Keogh
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| Customer Reviews: Read 67 more reviews...
 A ridiculous excuse for `makes no sense' cinema... March 3, 2009
Andrew Ellington (Mulholland Drive)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
It may possibly be one of the dumbest movies I have ever seen, but I cannot help but praise it for one very notable fact; Debra Winger is a goddess. Yes, `Urban Cowboy' is silly, predictable and unnecessary, but Winger is so good she should have won an Oscar; seriously.
Take her out of the equation and there is no use for this ridiculous mess of a film whatsoever.
The film tells the story of Bud, a cowboy who travels to the city to start over. He leaves his family behind (immediate that is) to move in with his Aunt and Uncle. He works in construction by day and immerses himself in the Honky-Tonk culture at a local bar by night. That is where he meets and falls in love with Sissy, a sexy young girl who could tame any mans heart. The only problem is that Bud is an unlikable controlling jerk and Sissy is headstrong and independent. So, like, they get married, fight and then split up; all because Sissy wants to ride a mechanical bull that Bud says is too dangerous for a woman. Their marriage ends bitterly; Bud shacks up with a pretty city girl and Sissy lets a local ex-con seduce her. The film boils down to a faux rodeo challenge where the men ride the mechanical bull for money.
Really, a movie about an obsession with a mechanical bull?
I am not a Travolta fan, but I have been known to enjoy him (especially when he works with Tarantino), but this performance was a mess. He tries way to hard to be a cowboy that he comes off comical. That and the character is just very off putting. He has no redeemable qualities, in fact he's so rigid and unlikable that when he and Sissy split up we are not upset nor do we want them to get back together. Sure, we like Sissy and we don't want to see her with that creep of a man she ran to, but we don't want to see her back with her creep of a husband either.
Like I said; Winger is the only reason this movie is remotely watchable. She nails her portrayal of a small town girl who just wants to be loved and appreciated. Her love for Bud, no matter how ridiculous, is believable; and her interest in winning him back on her own terms is reaching.
That, and she makes that bull look GOOD!
So, I can't recommend this, although I wish I could since Winger's performance deserves a better movie. Anyways, this is stupid, truly, and I should give it an F, but Winger's performance is such a triumph for this film (really, superb characterization here) that I'm forced to give it a D. Still, I'd stay away unless you are a die-hard Winger fan. She has given superb performances in better films.
From One Abusive Man to Another and Back October 23, 2008
Laura Christine (Toledo, OH)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I realize that Travolta was at the height of his stardom and Winger was an up-and-coming and talented actress. I also realize that the honky-tonk mechanical bull-riding mentality had its season of popularity.
Even so, it is horrifying to me that a popular cable station describes Bud as a "good old boy" when he hit Sissy twice. One abusive incident would have been enough to cost this character the "good" label.
In short, Sissy goes from the abusive Bud to the abusive "real cowboy", then back to the abusive Bud. It is rather bizarre that Bud gets angry and outraged over somebody ELSE hitting Sissy, although he does not seem to have a problem doing it himself! What an awful example to put out there for young girls to see.
Despite the star power and the short-lived mechanical bull craze, this is a movie about unprincipled men and a girl with too little self-esteem to seek relationships elsewhere. Young and impressionable girls: beware.
 An 80's Honkytonk Classic! August 15, 2008
J.R. Janicek (Hendersonville, TN United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Fun love story that takes place in a Texas honkytonk. Some of the best music of the 1980s, country and pop are in this film! As an added bonus many country artists have cameos; Mickey Gilley, Charlie Daniels, Johnny Lee, and Bonnie Raitt.
Great classic 80's flick. One of my favorite shots in the movie is a wide shot of Debra Winger and John Travolta sitting at a table, facing each other in a dark and smoky night club.
Best of Travolta's Early Films May 11, 2008
Lynn Ellingwood (Webster, NY United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This was supposed to be the country version of Saturday Night Fever and was quite popular. It actually is an even better movie. The story was again taken from a magazine article on the popularity of a Texas bar named Gilley' where a new feature was the mechanical bull. The writers developed a fictional love story to tell the story of the bull along with featuring Mr. Travolta and country music. The movie was a great showcase for John Travolta's acting talents and featured two even more talented actors - Debra Winger and Scott Glenn. They blew me away then and had pretty good careers. Debra Winger left the profession for the most part but how can we forget her? Scott Glenn is still seen occasionally. The whole film jells into a fine fairy tale of love almost lost but found again. It is very moving and entertaining.
 Urban Cowboy February 26, 2008
James Ronald Colyer (Nashville, Tennessee)
#3 in Travolta's trilogy of blockbusters. He dances to disco, rock 'n' roll and country. He heads to Houston to find work and love. Gilley's is the hot spot, and it is the time of the mechanical bull. Not to be outdone, I rode the bull at a club in Nashville. I saw this nearly forgotten film on television and remembered how good it was and what a good period it was in my own life. I wore a black cowboy hat like Travolta. Debra Winger was in her prime. She is sexy in her red top, and there is plenty of chemistry. Bud and Sissy are the ideal couple even if they are trailer trash. They split up just because it feels so good getting back together. The film has good music, Looking For Love by Johnny Lee.
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