Drugstore Cowboy (Criterion Collection): 4K UHD Review
In 1989, director Gus Van Sant released his sophomore feature film, Drugstore Cowboy, which stars Matt Dillon, Kelly Lynch, James LeGros, Heather Graham and James Remar. Pulling in just under $5 million on a $2.5 million budget during its’ theatrical release, Van Sant’s gritty drama about a group of drug addicted pharmacy robbers earned universal acclaim from critics. This week Drugstore Cowboy arrives on 4K UHD for the first time, courtesy of Criterion.
Set in 1971, Bob Hughes (Dillon) and his wife Dianne (Lynch) travel around the Pacific Northwest robbing pharmacies. Along for the ride is their friend Rick (LeGros) and his teenage girlfriend Nadine (Graham). Cash isn’t their main target. They are looking for the strongest drugs available to support their habits.
After hitting a pharmacy in Portland, Detective Gentry (Remar) is confident that Bob and his crew were responsible and pays them a visit. While the drugs were not found (because Dianne buried them outside), he is still sure that they were behind the job. Because of this, the detective and his team put Bob’s crew under surveillance. Unfortunately, Bob notices this right away and forms a plan to get the cops off their back, which surprisingly works. The crew decide to take their robberies on the road, since there is a little too much heat on them locally. After scoring thousands of dollars’ worth of pure powdered Dilaudid, Bob decides to hit a hospital, because that is where the even bigger score is.
Drugstore Cowboy doesn’t go the way many films about addicts go. While a majority of similar films would show their characters as desperate and without hope, in Van Sant’s film, his main character’s show some sort of control, with the ability to make decisions that arguably make sense, at least for them. Though, this isn’t a happy ending kind of film.
Dillon does give one of his career-best performances here and Lynch is also great as his wife, who may or may not be as committed to their relationship. Remar is also good as the detective. In the 80’s the actor was known more for more hardcore characters in films like The Warriors and 48 Hours. Here goes more lowkey.
This new 4K restoration was sourced from the original camera negative and approved by Gus Van Sant and DP Robert Yeoman. While Dolby Vision and HDR are not available, that doesn’t mean the restoration doesn’t look great. Shot mostly in Van Sant’s hometown of Portland, the new 4K presentation brings the overcast and sometimes rainy locale to life. The biggest improvements you will notice in the new 4K presentation are in the appearances of the characters themselves. Skin tones look much more natural than they have in previous formats, especially in close-ups. The original stereo mix has been remastered as well and I have no complaints, the dialogue is extremely clear, which of course is a great thing for a dialogue-driven film. I was very happy with the LPCM 2.0 track.
We do get new bonus content featuring Kelly Lynch and Robert Yeoman. However, the other bonus features have been ported over from previous releases. If you are a fan of Drugstore Cowboy, you may want to grab this release from Criterion.
Bonus Content:
- New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Gus Van Sant and director of photography Robert Yeoman, with uncompressed stereo soundtrack
- One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
- Audio commentary featuring Van Sant and actor Matt Dillon
- The Making of “Drugstore Cowboy,” featuring interviews with Van Sant and members of the cast and crew
- New interviews with Yeoman and actor Kelly Lynch
- Deleted scenes
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by author and screenwriter Jon Raymond
By: Marc Ferman