Midnight Cowboy
A "cowboy," Joe Buck, moves to New York City from Texas to make his fortune as a hustler servicing rich Park Avenue women. Shortly after arriving, he is hustled by homeless con man Ratzo Rizzo, who had said he would manage him for a $20 fee. Bent on getting his money back, Buck finds the rapidly deteriorating Rizzo, ends up feeling sorry for him, and moving into Rizzo's room in an abandoned building to care for him. The two remain hopeful of striking it rich with Rizzo managing Buck's career, but it soon becomes obvious that they are no match for the urban jungle.
Member Reviews
High Quality but Pointless Tragedy - KevinJaques
The acting was charismatic yet touching and subtle. The direction was effective, taking the viewer from a poor but healthy and bright beginning to a dark and disorienting degradation and tragedy. Yes, I suppose it was original. Certainly there hadn't been a lot of movies about dim-witted wannabe gigolos.
But I knew the tragedy was coming the whole time. It was dreadful and unpleasant to follow along. And the tragedy was aggravatingly pointless. All they had to do was just get a damn job!
And is the ending supposed to be redemptive? Yes, he did a nice thing for his friend, but what about that terrible thing he did?Ten Stars - neutrahouse
I would give this movie 10 stars if I could. A model of perfection in American filmmaking - completely original, with great writing, directing, cinematography and acting. I have watched it several times and always hope it ends differently.
To those who find it dated: you've missed the point. Every cultural and social situation depicted here still exists, albeit at different levels. Rather than being dated, I find it somewhat nostalgic. The depth of the relationship between the characters is something we don't see in film today.
To you filmakers out there: it's not rocket science. This is how to make a movie. No excuses, this is the template - now get going!An Original Story with Original Characters - TheShamus
Midnight Cowboy is an Academy Award winning movie produced in 1969. It stars Jon Voight as somewhat niave and dimwitted "cowboy" who is going to use his looks to sell his body for sex. Dustin Hoffman plays a sick, bottom feeding small-time scam artist who takes advantage of Voight but later befriends him.
It's a story about their struggle in the big city meat grinder ... and the dreams/hope that drive people, regardless of their circumstance.
At times, the movie has dark comedy. At other times, it is just "dark". The movie captures New York parties of the 60's perfectly -- and it has gritty reality and interesting characters you just do not see in today's cinema.
For me ... this is one of the movies which remains interesting almost 40 years later ... but I see that some viewers disagree to some extent. I'd like to see more "human" stories like this in currently cinema instead of the parodies and the stereotypes we see so much of today.
Oh ... there is the point about this being an "X-Rated" movie. By today's standards, this is likely an R-Rated movie ... mostly for the drug use and a bit of nudity -- but seriously, it's not very graphic (although your grandmother may not agree).
Thumbs way up.
/\/\/\/\ the Shamus /\/\/\/\
Member Reviews
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High Quality but Pointless Tragedy - KevinJaques
The acting was charismatic yet touching and subtle. The direction was effective, taking the viewer from a poor but healthy and bright beginning to a dark and disorienting degradation and tragedy. Yes, I suppose it was original. Certainly there hadn't been ...Ten Stars - neutrahouse
I would give this movie 10 stars if I could. A model of perfection in American filmmaking - completely original, with great writing, directing, cinematography and acting. I have watched it several times and always hope it ends differently.
To those who ...An Original Story with Original Characters - TheShamus
Midnight Cowboy is an Academy Award winning movie produced in 1969. It stars Jon Voight as somewhat niave and dimwitted "cowboy" who is going to use his looks to sell his body for sex. Dustin Hoffman plays a sick, bottom feeding small-time scam artist who ...