Stars: Matt Dillon, Kelly Lynch, James Le Gros, Heather Graham, William S. Burroughs, James Remar, Grace Zabriskie, Max Perlich

Director: Gus Van Sant

Summary: Being a junkie is a full time job for Bob. He leads his wife and another addicted couple on a spree of drugstore robberies. When he has a brush with death, Bob realises that he must leave his wife to conquer his addiction if he is to survive.

Being a junkie is a full-time job for Bob (Matt Dillon), who leads his wife (Kelly Lynch) and another addicted couple (James LeGros and Heather Graham) on a reckless spree of drugstore robberies. When he has a brush with death, Bob realises he must leave both his addiction and his wife if he wants to survive. This indie classic by Gus Van Sant features an excellent performance by Dillon.

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Drugstore Cowboywas the breakaway change of pace and success for a number of those involved in its making. Principally, Gus Van Sant became a director of immediate notability winning multiple international Festival awards and acclaim. It also allowed Matt Dillon to stretch his acting abilities well outside of the teen rebel pigeonhole he'd become associated with in the 1980s and provided far meatier roles for Kelly Lynch and Heather Graham.

Adapted from James Fogle's novel, the broad strokes of the plot are simple enough; a junkie foursome led by Dillon's headstrong Bob, move around the Pacific Northwest in the early 70s scoring pharmaceutical drugs in a series of robberies. The finer details, created with the sense of family developing between the principals, and how they are not portrayed as either victims or "bad" criminals. Van Sant occasionally slips into the surreal depicting Bob's drug-addled thinking like a James Bond title sequence, along with a questionable in-joke cameo with Williams S Burroughs, dish out advice and temptation to Bob. In one simple way, it's little more than a road movie. Yet on another level there's a cautionary tale of the life of a junkie that has relevance well beyond the film's timeframe.

On the DVD:A stereo track and a grainy print in 1.85:1 usually does a movie little favours, but here they add to the overall gritty atmosphere surprisingly well. The only extra is unfortunately the original trailer. --Paul Tonks

Aspect Ratio:	1.77 Wide Screen, 16:9 Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Original Theatrical Trailer, Interactive Menu, Chapter Selection
Subtitles:	Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
Year:	1989
Release Date:	September 16, 2002
Runtime:	105 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	22936 D V D
Keywords:	General, Cowboy, Drugstore, Drama
Genre:	Drama