Midnight Cowboy (1969)

Disappointment for a huge fan!

Best movie ever!

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Stars magnificent in eliciting our sympathy. Wished treatment of gay characters was more sympathetic and we saw more of New York's underbelly, besides Ratso's squat. Some aspects of direction haven't aged well.

I did not expect to get as attached to Rizo and Joe as i did. The movie takes you through the whole evolution of their friendship, and leaves on a hopeful note at the end. The redemption of Joe is very much tied to his bond with Rizo-and both end up in a better place than they were at the start of the movie; and probably their lives. This movie deserves all the praise I've heard about it. It's a much watch for writers or anyone who deals in characters. Dustin Hoffman; who plays Rizzo, is in a kind of role I never would have expected to see him play. But it's an impactful one, for sure. I actually really love the music they chose for this as well. The lyrics and pacing of the music really fit well into this world that has been depicted for us. Though keep in mind it is rated R for some content.

An X-rated film at the time of its release, Midnight Cowboy is the definition of the Hayes Code ending and New Hollywood beginning. The film centers around Joe Buck, a young Texan dishwasher played by Jon Voight, whose confidence in his looks and southern charisma lead him to pack for New York with the intention of becoming a male prostitute. The irony being, his first "taker' ends up being a working woman herself and Buck ends up giving her money instead. In New York, Buck meets Ratso, a street smart New Yorker with a limp whose blunt nature and smart mouth are a perfect compliment to Buck's dry Texan humor. In addition to exploring sexuality and the boundaries of sexual explicitness which with the American public was comfortable in the late 1960s, the film does a fine job touching upon mental illness, with the local girl Annie, drug use and experimentation, as observed in the party scene, and also the alienation many felt during this period. Alienated characters were a staple in film noir and loneliness and finding one's purpose are themes most people can identify with. However, something about the loneliness of the two main characters in this film whose bond with one another is the only thing preventing the other from emotionally crumbling is too real and strikingly well executed in the film's end. A must watch for any fan of classic New Hollywood movies.

"Midnight Cowboy" is a great film, mostly thanks to the performances of the two leads: Jon Voigt as dense wannabe male prostitute Joe Buck and Dustin Hoffman as doomed bum Ratso Rizzo. Their unlikely friendship is the soul of the movie. Why should we, the audience, care about these guys? At best, they're losers, and at worst, they're criminals. But they're also human beings, and the movie shows that -- and that's why it's great.