Midnight Cowboy (1969)

Director:

John Schlesinger

Writers:

Waldo Salt (screenplay)
James Leo Herlihy (novel)

Release Date:

16 June 1969 (Brazil)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Whatever you hear about Midnight Cowboy is true.

Plot:

A naive male prostitute and his sickly friend struggle to survive on the streets of New York City.

Plot Keywords:

Enema | Male Bonding | Dishwasher | Gritty | Public Sex

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 23 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

Dustin Hoffman	...	Enrico Salvatore 'Ratso' Rizzo
Jon Voight	...	Joe Buck
Sylvia Miles	...	Cass
John McGiver	...	Mr. O'Daniel
Brenda Vaccaro	...	Shirley
Barnard Hughes	...	Towny
Ruth White	...	Sally Buck - Texas
Jennifer Salt	...	Annie - Texas
Gilman Rankin	...	Woodsy Niles - Texas (as Gil Rankin)
Gary Owens	...	Little Joe - Texas
T. Tom Marlow	...	Little Joe - Texas
George Eppersen	...	Ralph - Texas
Al Scott	...	Cafeteria Manager - Texas
Linda Davis	...	Mother on the Bus - Texas
J.T. Masters	...	Old Cow-hand - Texas

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Black and White | Color (DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Brazil:16 | Canada:PA (Manitoba) (original rating) | Iceland:16 | South Korea:18 | Canada:14A (Manitoba) (DVD rating) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Argentina:18 | Australia:M | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Netherlands:12 (re-rated) | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:M18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (video rating) (1988) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R (re-rating) (1971) | USA:X (original rating) | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

114 East 72nd Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Florin Productions

Trivia:

The only X-rated film ever to win a Best Picture Oscar.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: As the bus Joe Buck rides approaches New York, the view focuses on the Statue of Liberty. However this shot is from the New Jersey Turnpike's Holland Tunnel-Newark Bay Extension (Interchange 14C) going southbound, away from New York. Minutes later in the same scene, the view from the bus shows the Midtown Manhattan skyline as it enters the Lincoln Tunnel.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Joe Buck: Whoopee-tee-yi-yo. Get along little dogies. It's your misfortune and none of my own.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Indie Sex: Censored (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Fun City

Unique

The only reason I knew of Midnight Cowboy was because it was in the AFI Critic's Top 100. For a top 100 it is not a very well known movie; indeed, I had to look hard to find a copy, I got the DVD version for about half-price. Surprisingly it was only rated M15+ (the uncut version).

I doubt many will take notice of this review (more like comment) so I'll make it brief.

This is perhaps one of the strangest movies I've seen, partly because of the use of montages, artistic filming (very art-house) and the unusual theme. There are many things in the film I still don't understand (I've seen it twice), and it makes for an emotionally confusing film.

The filming and acting were very good, and it is the larger than life characters which make this film memorable. The main character is Joe Buck, a 'cowboy' from Texas who moves to New York to become a male prostitute. He meets the crippled conman Enrico 'Ratso' Rizzo and, of course they become friends going through the usual escapades. What makes the film interesting is the two characters are so different.

I felt the film didn't really develop the relationship between Buck and Enrico Rizzo for the audience to have any real emotional connection, although the ending is certainly quite sad and tragic. You probably already know what happens by reading the reviews, but its pretty obvious from the start.

I personally think the film beautifully and poignantly explores its main themes. The deprivation of humanity (shown by the darkness of the city streets, the breaking-down tenements). Most of the characters in the film exist beyond the law (a conman, giggolo.etc) yet you can't help liking them. Joe Buck is endearing because he is so naive and optimistic, while we begin to feel pity for Ratso later in the film.

I think the film was rated so high because it was certainly very ground-breaking for its period. At the time (And even now) it was definitely not a typical movie (quite art-house). At a time when the cinema was dominated by tired westerns, musicals and dramas a film with such an unusual theme as Midnight Cowboy pops up.

On a personal level, I must say I quite liked the film. The imagery conveyed a dream-like quality. I particularly liked the scene at the party, the music, images etc stay in your mind for a long time after watching. However, as a movie for entertainment's sake it was a bit lacking (not really my style of movie) in thrills. This is a film to be savoured and appreciated, rather than a cheap thrills action flick.

Although I would hardly consider myself qualified to analyse this film, the characters and their motives were quite interesting. From what I understand from the flashbacks, Joe Buck was sexually abused as a child by his grandmother, although it still doesn't seem to be relevant to the story. He is a happy-go-lucky young stud, who suppresses his darker memories. The religious connotations in the film are also puzzling. Some have suggested a homosexual connection between Buck and Ratso, although I fail to see where they have got the idea from. The theme of homo-sexuality in general is more than touched upon in their conversation, and later in Joe Buck's encounter with a lonely old man, but it has little to do with the main story.

Certainly from a technical point of view one of the finest films of the decade (it has more of a 70s feel to it than a 60s feel) and revolutionary for its time touching on subjects few other films dared to do. While it has a simple, sentimental story to it (disguised by a hard edge) the beauty of the film is in the strange, often psychedelic sequences.