Urban Cowboy

1980
PG
2h 12m

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

17K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

Play trailer3:05

Contemporary Western Drama Romance Western

Bud is a young man from the country who learns about life and love in a Houston bar.Bud is a young man from the country who learns about life and love in a Houston bar.Bud is a young man from the country who learns about life and love in a Houston bar.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

17K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

3,526

1,912

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
- 7 nominations total

Videos1

Trailer 3:05

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Robert Evans sent Debra Winger back from location because he did not think she was attractive enough for the lead; it was only at the insistence of Director James Bridges that she did the role.

Goofs
The terrain of Houston/Pasadena Texas is very flat, yet as Bud and other characters are seen driving down his street in the trailer park, a significant range of hills is easily noticed in the background. (These scenes were filmed in a trailer park in a suburb of Los Angeles called Pico Rivera, California, and the hills are the San Gabriel Mountains.)

Quotes
Uncle Bob: You know Bud; sometimes even a cowboy's gotta swallow his pride to hold on to somebody he loves.
Bud: What do you mean?
Uncle Bob: Hell, I know, I pretty near lost Corene and the kids a couple of times just 'cause of pride. You know you think that ol' pride's gonna choke you going down, but I tell you what ain't a night goes by I don't thank the boss up there for giving me a big enough throat. 'Cause without Corene and them kids, hell, I'd just be another pile of dog shit in the canteloupe patch just drawing flies.
Bud: I guess so.
Uncle Bob: Think about it Bud, pride's one of those seven deadlies, you know what I mean?

Alternate versions
The conversation that Bud has with Uncle Bob right before Bud shaves off his beard was cut for the VHS release.

Connections
Edited into The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002)

Soundtracks
Hello Texas
Written by Brian Collins and Robby Campbell
Performed by Jimmy Buffett
Lively Music/New Chenaniah (BMI)

User reviews116

Review

Featured review

6/10

He's left the mirrorball for the honkeytonk

There's a part of me that wishes I was cognizant in 1980 when the "Urban Cowboy" craze hit; just to experience the hype if nothing else (I saw it in utero, but that doesn't count). As it stands, this is best viewed as a cultural curiosity; a snapshot both of Travolta in his prime and the Western craze. It's that star power that helps the film retain its potency for decades after the fact. The camera belabors that point with the shot of its lead actor posing against the bar, beer in hand, intensity smoldering (they even used that on the poster to sell tickets).

If we're talking substance, hell there's not much. The allure of bull-riding is lost on me and the men in this movie are absolute pigs. Watching Debra Winger go from one loveless abuser to another is a real drag, and she tends to be the film's sympathetic core.

I can't blame anyone for not being able to relate to this movie if their first watch is in 2020, but I can appreciate the mark it made in its time.