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Rated: Unrated
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, et al.
Director: John Schlesinger Review
The first, and only, X-rated film to win a best picture Academy Award,
John Schlesinger's Midnight Cowboy seems a lot less daring today (and has
been reclassified as an R), but remains a fascinating time capsule of
late-1960s sexual decadence in mainstream American cinema. In a
career-making performance, Jon Voight plays Joe Buck, a naive Texas
dishwasher who goes to the big city (New York) to make his fortune as a
sexual hustler. Although enthusiastic about selling himself to rich ladies
for stud services, he quickly finds it hard to make a living and
eventually crashes in a seedy dump with a crippled petty thief named Ratzo
Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman, doing one of his more effective "stupid acting
tricks," with a limp and a high-pitch rasp of a voice). Schlesinger's
quick-cut, semi-psychedelic style has dated severely, as has his
ruthlessly cynical approach to almost everybody but the lead characters.
But at its heart the movie is a sad tale of friendship between a couple of
losers lost in the big city, and with an ending no studio would approve
today. It's a bit like an urban Of Mice and Men, but where both guys are
Lenny. --Jim Emerson ------------ Midnight
Cowboy is an Oscar-winning movie that stays with you long after viewing.
It has a timeless message about urban life, searching for dreams and the
reality of living. The movie is very very strong and
affecting. The best is to see the whole movie without the editing for
television, so that one can follow the story of Joe's life back in the
country. The flashback scenes are crucial to understanding why Joe came to
New York and the television versions cut these out!
When first released, it was rated X! But this refers to
the party scenes including drug use and sexual content of some scene of
the movie. These scenes are MILD compared to the majority of R-rated films
today. "Cowboy" Joe Buck (Voight) tries to make a living as
a male prostitute, what he feels he does best. This belief is shaken by
the harshness of New York City living. Joe meets Enrico "Ratso"
Rizzo and teams up with a poverty-stricken handicapped man to find a dream
for both of them. The end of this film is amazing and I challenge anyone
to stop himself from be moved at the closing scene. Coupled with the
haunting musical theme, Hoffmann makes a presentation not soon to be
forgotten.
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