Customer Reviews

Urban Cowboy-Dvd

5 star:		(67)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I played the role of Marshallene in "Urban Cowboy" and so to answer one of your reviewers, what was Sissy's last name? well here is the way it was. We didn't have last names; at least not assigned to us when we got our scripts. I actually made mine up when I needed one quickly in the Dolly Parton Look-a-like contest. You might recall that Marshallene was caught in the trailer with Wes, the convict. This film is such a "cult favorite" that it plays every day somewhere;my residuals attest to the fact that this film is loved by many. It made a fashion statement, (people went out and bought jeans and hats and boot and belts) it gave a boost to the Club business - where more and more C/W clubs sprang up all over the country and Canada. I had a motor coach bus and opened shows for Mickey Gilley and Johnny Lee and others for about 8 years - well into the late 80's. It was a magical time for all of us! It was a fun time for me and for fans. This movie is legendary and will last well beyond. Hope you enjoy viewing it as much as I enjoyed playing in it.By the way, there are a lot of versions of it. The edited for TV version actually is so different - (I have several more scenes in it) - and it shows Sissy and Bud actually"dating" before they got married. The scenes were shot on location on the grass of Buffalo Bayou in Houston, Texas. I actually like that version because the original had them meeting one night at Gilley's and getting married the next afternoon!!!Connie Hanson

Although many folks laught this flick off, I have to admit that I am extremely fond of "Urban Cowboy." My wife and I watch it just about every time it comes on television. Granted, Bud slaps around Sissy and that may turn off some folks, but deep inside, there is more love between those characters than most of the couples in film and television these days.

With a giant honky-tonk as the primary setting, you get the expected rowdy crowds and rambunctious country music needed to set the stage. The entire story revolves around the trials and tribulations of a young couple brought together by the bull...mechanical bull that is, and how they're almost torn apart by it. They get "Bud" and "Sissy" license plates for Bud's truck. They are ecstatic over a new trailer house. They are pure white trash, and I love'em for it. Colorful characters such as Bud's aunt and uncle, Gator, the ex-con Wes, Jessie, Mickey Gilley and even the Charlie Daniel's Band make for a great movie. You couldn't make a film about a honky-tonk these days with characters like that. First of all, you'd anger someone for making the working man look like an idiot. Secondly, people will scream about spousal abuse. Lastly, there aren't many real country stars like they had back in those days. Can you imagine Tim McGraw onstage with back hair coming out of his vest instead of the incomparable Johnny Lee? I think not.

Others say the acting is bad, that may be, but it is so bad that it is wonderful to see on screen. Travolta's bathtub scene where he fusses at Sissy(Debra Winger) for not being home when he needs her is just hilarious. Winger is at her sexiest as the somewhat tomboyish Sissy. She's probably the main reason I watch this movie over and over. When Bud's aunt enters the Dolly Parton lookalike contest, her entire character becomes the focus of the film for a few brief, funny moments. Barry Corbin was perfectly cast as Bud's well-meaning uncle. You couldn't have picked a better cast.

Also, the characters are real. Admit it, you've seen a drunk guy at the local bar fall off of his barstool. In this movie, Gator just happens to fall off of a mechanical bull. There are always one or two fights at the bar. Also, I've seen plenty of angry drunks at the local Pitt Grill(an after-honky-tonk hangout with a great breakfast buffett at 3AM) throw fits like Bud did when Sissy gets a hat tipped to her by Wes.

Watch this movie for the time trip it is. It's a perfect rainy-day, holdin' you're better half type of movie. Add it to your collection now.

DVD version. This is a great film and I have seen it many times. Forget what other reviewers think. This movie was hot in when it came out and I was only about 6 or 7 years old, but my parents went to this movie at the drive in with us kids about 7 or 8 times and we loved every minute of it. What is so good is that it shows the classic theme of "Love conquers all". They fight, they flip each other off, they hit, curse and yell at each other but in the end the license plate goes back in the window at the end.
The DVD is well worth the beautiful look and the movie is great for the music. I also encourage you to buy the soundtrack. Keep your mind open and realize this was the in thing after disco. I agree with another reviewer who said "Pam" and "Sissy" are well worth seeing this movie. The DVD does not contain much extra footage or extras, but I am just glad it is out on DVD. Pick it up and prepare to two step with your favorite cowgirl.

John Travolta's performance in Urban Cowboy is truly amazing. Being from Oklahoma, and in the music business, it is easy to see that this production was right on the mark. I have known many Bud's and Sissy's and I am amazed at the realism of this movie. I have played in many honky-tonk bands since the early 80's and this is one of the the most believable scenerios I have witnessed on screen. I have seen it all; jealous husbands fistfighting with other men, wives dancing with other men to make thier husbands jealous, drunk "cowboys" riding the mechanical bulls, it is all here in this movie. Urban Cowbow changed many things in the honky-tonks and most of it was for the best. This movie shows a slice of true life that us Okies and Texans and other Southern peoples may choose to live if we want. I've seen this movie many times and will see it many more. Give me a twelve-pack and Urban Cowboy in the VCR and I feel like I'm right there at Gilley's with the rest of them. My Stetson is off to John Travoltla and the rest of the cast on this one.

I was crushed to find that the DVD does not include certain key deleted scenes. Perhaps that will be remedied after customer demand becomes known to the producers. You will remember that Wes Hightower used the mechanical bull, at one point, to break Bud's arm at Gilley's. Bud accordingly had to leave his job, since he was no longer capable of manual labor ("I'm sorry, Bud, I really am," the foreman told him) and he had to get fill-in work clerking at a convenience store. There's a scene in the film where we briefly see Bud wearing the shirt from that convenience store job -- but one of the deleted scenes portrayed him doing behind-the-counter work, while Uncle Bob stopped by and asked how things were going. In that vignette we saw John Travolta's indescribable acting -- the literal torture he wove into the Bud character who had lost his real job and was forced to perform demeaning 7-11 labor. This casual deletion from the main movie probably cost Travolta the Academy Award that year... and now it's not even on the DVD. What a shame. However, we DO get to see Bud rehearsing the solo dancing he did so well at Gilley's, and we see Debra rehearsing on the bull, boy oh boy. But one big question remains: What was Sissy's maiden name?

I grew up watching this movie from an original, mid 1980's recording - and when it came out on VHS in 1997, I was one of the firsts on a waiting list to buy a copy.
In 1980, Urban Cowboy immortalized the name "Gilley's". The movie itself may not have the best special effects (if any at all) or the best storyline - but it's true to life, and could very well be the life story of a typical Pasadena, Texas "oil hand". John Travolta and Debra Winger are tremendous in their roles, capturing a true Texan accent and acting their roles extremely well. Anyone who negatively criticizes this movie is only showing their own futility - they obviously aren't a fan of either John Travolta or Debra Winger and probably have never taken the effort to read about the movie or "The Worlds Greatest Honkey Tonk - Gilley's".
The last great feature about this movie is the cast - John Travolta, Debra Winger, Barry Corbin, Madolyn Smith, James Gammon, Cooper Huckabee - the list goes on and on... I could easily watch this movie weekly, not only for the story, but for the music as well. I am a fan of the early 1980's country music, and the soundtrack to this movie is one of the best I've ever heard.
Money spent on this movie is well spent.
BTW - If you are a true fan of Gilley's and if you haven't heard - read about the NEW Gilley's being built in Dallas, TX. at ...

Watching this movie at the drive in Pasadena the age of five or six and actually remembering it means somethings. That it was great movie. Now some...I hate to say it, twenty years later. I still think it great. Growing up in Pasadena, and Houston. I can relate to this move. I ain't being biased, I'm just being honest. This movie actually tells the truth about relationships instead of sugar coating it like all the rest the Hollywood chick-flicks try to do. Instead of all the teen love storis and the rich kid and and poor girl from the wrong side of the tracks dying to be with the rich kid. Nope, this movie is as realistic as Hollywood can manage. Sissy and Bud(that is his name...right?) I mean Travolta's character was a spoiled, wanna-be macho redneck but at the end he forgets all that and finds himself still in love Sissy. And yes there are fights in honky-tonks. Aren't there also fights in any other bar. Then again aren't all girls not just country girls trying to get there guy jealous by dancing with other guys at bars also. I hate it when anyone who is not from the south or southeast making fun of people from here. WE are not all stupid inbreeders with a an IQ and education of fifth grader. I am going to end this with saying that this was and still is a great film.

Not yet released on DVD ,hopefully soon. This movies is something
you can watch over and over and not get tired of, at least for me
anyways. I have this movie on vhs look forward to the dvd, so when nothing is on the tube just throw in a familiar film. Its a movie that you can relate to not one of those far fetched flicks.
call me old fashion I would still have to give this movie a 5
star rating,even if it is a couple 3..4..5..years old. Hope you can enjoy it like I did.

I love this movie so much. I think this is the world's most romantic movie. It isn't romantic in the traditional sense like Ghost or anything like that. It is romantic in a realistic sort of way. The characters are real, they argue, are insecure, and jealous just like how we are in real life. In the end when Bud fights for his woman you know despite all his faults he loves his wife more than most of us can ever hope to be loved. That is romance!!!!

Even if you're not a fan of the Country/Western culture, you'll like UC. It's an entertaining film despite its simpering, too-cutesy women, cheesy trailer parks, and overabundance of testosterone.Having been raised a Yankee and a strict Catholic, and still both to this day, I found this movie to be an interesting introduction to a different culture the first time I watched it as a teenager. In contrast to my own austere culture, I saw Houston, Texas as a place were every man was a cowboy and could dance and charm women every bit as well as he could drink, brawl, and ride the mechanical bull. As for the women, they were all flirty and outgoing, sins which the nuns in school cautioned us against. And, the big shocker, most of the people lived in a trailer park and not in a twin home! Imagine that!I would have dismissed the movie as merely a glorified saga of life in a white-trash world, but it was too engrossing. Here we have Bud, struggling to make a new life in Houston at the oil refinery, and Sissy, the quintessential country girl who's the best dancer at her CW nightclub, where she meets Bud and succumbs to his charms. Then there's Pam, the rich girl who can have anything and anyone she wants, and Wes, the charismatic ex-con who sets his hat at Sissy. They and, it seems, all of Houston hang out at Gilley's, the aforementioned nightclub, where the fists, beer, two-steppers, and testosterone fly. I found the characters and the story to be too interesting to dismiss, even if the culture was vasty different from my own. Therefore, I think UC is a crossover film that appeals to people of different cultures, musical preferences, and geographic locations.