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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

Directed by James Bridges
USA 1980

 

John Travolta is the Urban Cowboy, breakin’ hearts and bustin’ mechanical bulls in one of his most electrifying film roles. By day, Bud Davis (Travolta) toils at a Texas oil refinery; at night, he trades his hard hat for a Stetson and heads to Gilley’s, Houston’s most popular nightclub. There, he meets a pretty two-stepper named Sissy (Debra Winger) who thinks Bud is a “real cowboy.” But Bud’s got to prove it when a dangerous ex-con (Scott Glenn) schemes to rob Gilley’s and steal Sissy’s heart. Travolta and Winger make an unforgettable screen couple in this compelling, Texas-sized look at a country-western way of life. Featuring a hit soundtrack and musical appearances by Mickey Gilley, Johnny Lee, Bonnie Raitt and The Charlie Daniels Band.

***

After moving to Pasadena, Texas, country boy Bud Davis starts hanging around a bar called Gilley's, where he falls in love with Sissy, a cowgirl who believes the sexes are equal. They eventually marry, but their relationship is turbulent due to Bud's traditional view of gender roles. Jealousy over his rival, Wes, leads to their separation, but Bud attempts to win Sissy back by triumphing at Gilley's mechanical bull-riding competition.

Posters

 

Theatrical Release: June 6th, 1980

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Review: Paramount - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Box Cover

CLICK to order from:

Distribution Paramount - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime 2:14:54.795
Video

2.39:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 43,732,387,584 bytes

Feature: 38,474,379,264 bytes

Video Bitrate: 31.89 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate Blu-ray:

Audio

DTS-HD Master Audio English 3686 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3686 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DUBs:
Dolby Digital Audio German 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps / DN -4dB
Dolby Digital Audio French 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps / DN -4dB

Subtitles English. English (SDH), German, French, None
Features Release Information:
Studio:
Paramount

 

2.39:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 43,732,387,584 bytes

Feature: 38,474,379,264 bytes

Video Bitrate: 31.89 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• "Good Times with Gilley: Looking Back at Urban Cowboy" (NEW!) (15:10)
• Deleted Scenes (NEW!) (8:02)
• Outtakes (4:08)
• Rehearsal Footage (4:05)

Digital Copy


Blu-ray Release Date:
June 2nd, 2020
Standard Blu-ray Case inside slipcase

Chapters 25

 

 

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Paramount Blu-ray (June 2020): Paramount have transferred the 1980 Travolta vehicle Urban Cowboy to Blu-ray. It is on a dual-layered disc with a high bitrate but the image has almost no visible grain structure intact. It looks inordinately soft and I can't help but think DNR is the culprit. What a shame. Inside Gilley's Bar is very dark so I would like to compare it to another release but don't have anything available. Bottom line is that this does not look very film-like at all. The 80's stock was weak but this looks like ugly digitization to me. 

On their Blu-ray, Paramount use a robust DTS-HD Master 5.1 track (24-bit) in the original English language. It carries some depth for the effects of mechanical bull-riding, construction work and separation in crowd noises. The score is by Ralph Burns (Cabaret, All That Jazz, Star 80) but more prominently would be samples of country music, often performed by the likes of Jimmy Buffett, Joe Walsh, Dan Fogelberg, Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band, Mickey Gilley, Anne Murray, The Eagles, Bonnie Raitt, The Charlie Daniels Band, Kenny Rogers, and Boz Scaggs. These are usually short samples to add to the favor and atmosphere of Gilley's. It sounds very solid in the lossless and there is a German and French lossy Dolby DUBs as options.  Paramount offer optional English, English (SDH), French or German subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Paramount Blu-ray offers new supplements including the 1/4 hour "Good Times with Gilley: Looking Back at Urban Cowboy" - essentially an interview with Mickey Gilley reflecting back on the heyday of his bar, plus 8-minutes of newly published deleted scenes that fans may find interesting. Repeated from previous digital editions are outtakes and rehearsal footage of riding the mechanical bull and the package includes a leaflet with access to a digital copy of the film.

One of the formulaic 80's flics, Urban Cowboy settles in a Texas cowboy bar scene with Travolta looking as handsome as any man has a right to. Debra Winger looking like a comely but bold and irreverent, cowgirl and Scott Glenn as the muscular immoral badass. It's Hollywood carried by decent production values, star appeal in a countrified milieu. Not bad at all for a revisit of some surface entertainment - nostalgia, too seeing as it's 40-years ago. The Paramount Blu-ray image is a head-scratcher but the audio is strong with some relevant new extras. Those sensitive to digitization should steer clear. 

Gary Tooze

 


Menus / Extras

 


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Box Cover

CLICK to order from:

Distribution Paramount - Region FREE - Blu-ray


 


 

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