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Editorial Review:
Description:
Daring. Provocative. Shocking. Compelling. Nearly thirty years after its original release, 'Midnight Cowboy is still heartbreakingand timeless' (The New York Observer). This Academy Award® winner* for Best Picture, Director and Screenplay also boasts Oscar®-nominated** performances by Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, neither of whom have 'ever been better on screen than they are here' (Chicago Tribune)! When Joe Buck (Voight), a good-looking,naively charming Texas 'cowboy' makes his way to the Big Apple to seek his fortune, the only wealthhe finds is in the friendship of Ratso Rizzo (Hoffman), a scrounging, sleazy, small-time con man with big dreams. Living on the tattered fringe of society, these two outcasts develop an unlikely bond one that transcends their broken dreams and get-rich-quick schemes and makes Midnight Cowboy 'that rarest of things: [a film] every bit as moving now as it was when it was [first] released' (Premiere). *1969 **1969: Actor
Amazon.com essential video:
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
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Disappointed after I finally saw it - Midnight Cowboy
What a let-down. I had never seen the orginal movie in 1969 - finally bought it and was really disappointed in the overall movie. I really didn't see what the fuss was all about. Jon Voight and especially Dustin Hoffman gave terrific performances but I thought the movie style was really odd (was probably very cool at the time) and overall was very disappointed when I finally viewed it. Watched it once, will never watch it again probably.
Rating:  - Hauntingly ugly and beautiful
I heard the beautiful and haunting theme song on the radio as I had many times before and the DJ came on afterward and said it was from "Midnight Cowboy, the only x-rated film to win an academy award." Intrigued, I decided to buy the DVD, especially when I saw Dustin Hoffman was in it.
The film opens with many close-ups of John Voight's sunny face and blue skies as he heads to New York for (he believes and hopes) a bright future while experiencing images and sounds of exceedingly dark ... Read More
Rating: - Midnight Cowboy gets better with age
I was a corporal in the US Army when this movie was released, and a bunch of us GIs saw it at the base theater at Fort Holabird, Maryland. There were a few scenes we weren't thrilled with, but overall we enjoyed the movie. Fast forward nearly forty years, and I can only say the movie has aged like a fine wine. Yeah, "that scene" is still a little controversial, but the acting, photography, and sound track put this movie on my top-ten list of best movies. The "behind the scenes" disc is outstanding ... Read More
Rating:  - One of the Best Films of All Time! Too Bad About the DVD!
They sure don't make films today like they used to and this film has pretty good company having been made around the time of "Easy Rider", "2001-A Space Odyssey", "The Graduate" all great films that address social and other issues aka films of great depth that transcend the ages. This film is sometimes funny, certainly shocking but for me very moving and touching. This film is about people and how they use and are used by others ultimately causing them to become and to live the way that they do. Some ... Read More
Rating: - something's missing
I loved Midnight Cowboy, however this version is shortened from what I remember. Some scenes shortened or left out.
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