Drugstore Cowboy (1989)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	Theatrical Trailer
Rating
Year Of Production	1989
Running Time	97:00
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Language Select Then Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Gus Van Sant
Studio Distributor	MGM	Starring	Matt Dillon Kelly Lynch James LeGros Heather Graham Eric Hull Max Perlich James Remar John Kelly Grace Zabriskie George Catalano Janet Baumhover Ted D'Arms Neal Thomas
Case	?
RPI	$19.95	Music	Elliot Goldenthal

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) German Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) French Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired German for the Hearing Impaired French Spanish Italian Dutch Portuguese Greek	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Quite by accident I was introduced to the directorial work of Gus van Sant in a kind of reverse chronological order - first enjoying the well crafted, emotionally rewarding but comparatively mainstream coming of age dramas Finding Forrester and the much lauded Good Will Hunting, which launched two actors' careers - one for which I am thankful, the other not so much. It wasn't until some time later that I had the opportunity to enjoy the juicy satire of To Die For, which won Nicole Kidman her first Golden Globe, the intriguing My Own Private Idaho and the director's first major work, Drugstore Cowboy. Sandwiched in there is a certain remake of a classic which, to borrow from J. K. Rowling, is 'that which must not ever be named, or seen, or spoken of...' and more recently audiences have been able to witness the inexplicable horror of the Columbine High School tragedy in van Sant's chillingly realistic Elephant. He is undoubtedly one of American's most eclectic directors, and this film from 1989 certainly has the look and feel of an original thinker and craftsman.

    Matt Dillon and Kelly Lynch play husband and wife drug addicts living in the northwestern reaches of the United States circa 1971, whose lives, and those of their devoted friends (Heather Graham and James Le Gros) revolve entirely around the pills and paraphernalia they are able to relieve local pharmacies of. Unlike later films about drugs, however (Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream and the latter stages of Steven Soderbergh's Traffic spring to mind), the audience isn't dragged into complete despair nor made too aware of the moral issues involved. Van Sant likes his characters and spends time with them, allowing us to see them as flawed but honest, never preaching to us nor manipulating our emotional responses to their behaviour. The film and its characters have a 'take it or leave it' mentality that is low key and unobtrusive. After their criminal activity places a little too much heat on the group they hit the road and the film follows their journey through a free-spirited USA, trailed by a dedicated copper intent on breaking their little racket. Life choices present themselves as the story builds to its end, and thankfully, the resolution is free of preaching or cheap emotional payoffs.

    Drugstore Cowboy is an indie fully deserving of a wide and open-minded audience.

Video

    The video transfer is certainly not spectacular but accomplishes its job satisfactorily. It is presented at its accurate aspect ratio of 1.85:1, with 16x9 enhancement.

    Sharpness levels are acceptable although not terrific, and shadow detail, whilst suffering too much at times, is reasonable.

    Colours are a little inconsistent, with some blurring. The palette is not particularly adventurous.

    The transfer does suffer from intermittent grain, but considering the age and budget of the film, I was not overly concerned.

    Film to video artefacts are occasional, with some aliasing interfering at times. Compression artefacts are something of a concern at times, too.

    The print is relatively clean, although I thought there was a little too much dirt hanging around.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio tracks on the disc are undemonstrative and dialogue-driven, which perfectly suits the film. We get a total of four tracks - one Dolby 2.0 English track and three dubs in German, Spanish and French, all in Dolby Digital 2.0.

    Dialogue is clear and easy to understand at all times. Audio sync is excellent.

    There were no detectable dropouts or blemishes.

    The music in the film is a terrific collection of 70s hits - sure to be a winner amongst many aficionados of one of the greatest decades in popular music.

    The surrounds and subwoofer are basically silent throughout, but they are not missed.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    The lone extra is a fairly poorly presented theatrical trailer.

    Disappointing! Compared to the Region 1 release, we miss out on:

• Audio commentary with director Gus van Sant and star Matt Dillon
• 30 mins (approx) making-of feature
• Production notes
• Cast & Crew information

    Drugstore Cowboy is a terrifically off-beat film.

    The video transfer is acceptable.

    The audio is unremarkable but suits the film well.

    The lack of extras is disappointing.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall