Rating: 
Summary: Still Meaningful Today
Review: 1969 was an excellent year for films.There was Anne of the Thousand Days, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,Hello Dolly,Easy Rider, the list goes on and on.Why is it then that this is the film that won the Academy Awards for best picture,director and screenplay of that year? (and was also given nods for both leading actors). Perhaps the voters over 30 years ago could forsee that this movie would stand the test of time.
This is a story that tugged at our heartstrings, and made us up sit up and take notice of the world around us. Joe Buck(John Voight), a naive,good looking,Texas "cowboy", in a get up that looks as if he is Alan Ladd reincarnated, hits the "Big Apple" in hopes of striking it rich (literally) with the ladies there.
It isnt long before his hopes are dashed, he is broke,life on the streets of New York is savage.He must do things that turn his stomach in order to survive. He finds himself in need of a friend. The friend comes in the form of one "Ratso" Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman), a sleazy. panderer, who offers Joe a place with him in a condemned apartment building.
Ratso takes Joe under his wing, and together they try to survive on one get rich quick scheme after another. These two very different men form a unique bond. Joe has disturbing thoughts of the past, and Ratso has dreams of the future. When Ratso falls ill,though. it is Joe who must care for him. Their friendship moved us then and it will move you now.
The actors are phenominal in their performances. Hoffman fresh off his success in "The Graduate" shows us way back then how versitile he is, and Voight the newcomer proved his dramatic skills early on. The director John Schlesinger (Far From the Maddning Crowd) gives us a very realistic view of life on the streets. At the time of it's release this film was rated X (it is R now) and although there are some expicit scenes, the main focus is on the kinship of man.
The DVD(MGM) is a nice transfer. The colors ar vibrant. It is in the original widescreen format (with a standard format on the b side of the disc) It is in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround,not the best I have heard done on a film of this age, but still good enough. The soundtrack is wonderful with the great song "Everybody's Talkin". No other special features on the disc itself but it does come with a booklet on the casting and making of the film, along with some other interesting facts about it.
This would be an excellent addition to any film collection.
Enjoy.......Laurie
Rating: 
Summary: "I'm walking here! I'm walking here!"
Review: John Schlesinger's "Midnight Cowboy" is a character study of two individuals. One is a simple man who holds idealistic beliefs toward life; the other is a realist who knows how cruel the world really is. One fashions himself a cowboy, the other has honed himself into a survivalist. Together the pair makes an odd duo. Both embrace the American ideal of rugged individualism but neither has been able to find much comfort in their independence. Joe Buck (Jon Voight) leaves his small Texas hometown for New York with the dubious hope of making it as a professional "stud." He gets off to a rough start as the women he encounters either reject him or completely misunderstand his motives. Buck soon strikes up a friendship with Rico "Ratzo" Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman), a handicapped con-man who takes the naïve youngster into his confidence. They travel out into the night searching for adventure but never quite find fulfillment in anything they do. Deciding that greener pastures await them elsewhere, the two men board a bus for Miami. However, their journey ends on a sad note. "Midnight Cowboy" was a notable film at the time of its release. It portrayed an America that had few happy endings for its citizens and one that acknowledged the existence of sexual abuse within its borders. It cynically dissected the cherished myth that a strong commitment to one's individualism would bring happiness and fulfillment. It also was a mainstream film that dared to have two unappealing characters as its main leads. Yet, despite the strong impressions left behind by Voight and Hoffman, "Midnight Cowboy" no longer plays well. The sparks it generated in the past have long been extinguished. Time has moved on and unfortunately "Midnight Cowboy" has not been able to keep pace.
Rating:
Summary: Sappy & sentimental.
Review: This contrived piece of sentimental Hollywood indulgence must really have titillated them back 35 or so years ago, same people who thought Hair was a racy musical. Jon Voight does a fine Elvis impression but Dustin sounds like he's doing a puppet act from an old radio show. I lived in NYC for umpteen years from the 50s on & never ever saw anyone who talked or walked like Hoffman does in this, except maybe outside Actors Studio on 45th street. Great if too quick shots of Hubert's Museum & Flea Circus & other 42nd street nostalgia, though, makes it worth a couple stars anyway.
Rating:
Summary: A stark portrayal of loneliness and poverty...
Review: This film captures the themes of loneliness and poverty better than any film. John Voight (Joe Buck) and Dustin Hoffman (Ratzo) give stellar performances, bringing life to two characters that could have been spoiled if other actors had assumed their roles. Coming off the unforgettable character of college graduate Benjamin Braddock in "The Graduate," Hoffman demonstrates his versatility by offering a convincing portrayal of an ill pick-pocket in this film. Many people write about how the film-making techniques appear dated in this day and age. However, films like "Midnight Cowboy" help to inform later generations of the vision of film-makers from previous generations. This movie violated any sort of mold or pattern that film-makers may have followed, marching to the beat of it's own drum. The most disturbing event in this movie is the ending, sure to surprise anyone who is used to fairy tale endings evident in most American films. This film is not just a great story, but also a great criticism of the state of poverty in the richest country in the world.
Rating:
Summary: Who can ever forget Ratzo?
Review: They look soooo young, Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman. Watching this film for the 2nd or 3rd time, I realize not only how old they are now, but also how old I must be!
Midnight Cowboy was really revolutionary for its time, but by today's standards it's kinda tame. Still, what a great flick. After all, it put Jon Voight on the map, and if it weren't for that signature move, where would we be today without Angelina Jolie, his daughter?
In the movie, Jon Voight plays Joe Buck, a naive dude from Nowheresville, TX, who goes to NYC with aspirations of being a gigolo. He quickly finds it difficult to make a go of it and ends up in a dump with Ratzo Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman), a crippled con man and thief who apparently has TB.
One of my favorite blips in movies of all times if Ratzo smacking the hood of a taxi and yelling, "I'm walkin' here, I'm walkin' here!" - not to mention the madman religious freak who turns his toilet into a psychedelic shrine to Jesus.
Basically, though, at its heart the movie is a pathetic tale of friendship between 2 lost losers. A film classic.
Rating:
Summary: Sappy & sentimental & so manipulative.
Review: This contrived piece of sentimental quasi-gay Hollywood indulgence must really have titillated them back 35 or so years ago, same people who thought Hair was a racy musical. Jon Voight does a fine Elvis impression but Dustin sounds like he's doing a puppet act from an old radio show. I lived in NYC for umpteen years from the 50s on & never ever saw anyone who talked or walked like Hoffman does in this, except maybe outside Actors Studio on 45th street. Great if too quick shots of Hubert's Museum & Flea Circus & other 42nd street nostalgia, though, makes it worth a couple stars anyway.
Rating:
Summary: Funny, mind-opening, ultimately heartbreaking.
Review: I saw Midnight Cowboy for the first time last night, and I'm furious with myself for waiting so long to give it a shot. I reacted to it in a very personal way, and it's been on my mind all day. Hoffman and Voigt's performances are pitch-perfect, Schlesinger's direction is daring, snappy, unique, Waldo Salt's screenplay is full of wit and compassion, and the fabulous music really sets the tone. Unlike many others I don't feel that the movie has dated in any serious way. The much-talked-about acid-trip party sequence does look very 60s, but it isn't embarrassing or anything. Besides, the movie was made and is set in the 60s, so whaddya expect? As a previous reviewer mentioned, the director was hardly gonna make this picture with the 21st Century audience in mind. He made it as a reflection of the time and place. (This is common in Schlesinger's work -- he has a remarkable eye for detail.) Most importantly, modern audiences will still be able to relate to all the movie's main themes, like lonliness, confusion, friendship, sex and disappointment. The only real problem I have with the film is that at times it seems strongly homophobic -- the few gay characters who are developed in the movie are all presented as pathetic, sadomasochistic crazies. But then, the movie takes a harsh attitude to all the characters except the two leads, so perhaps I'm overreacting. So, anyone who considers themselves film buffs simply must watch Midnight Cowboy. Not because it's a well-known much-quoted classic of cultural significance (which it is as well) but because it'll genuinely make you laugh and cry, and later, think. Actually, whoever you are, watch it anyway. Yours truly is certain you won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: The crude crash against the reality
Review: Midnight cowboy is a bitter and satirical story about the dreams and fantasies which turn around a smart boy village (Jon Voight) who thinks, he is the master of the world and so New York is another land to domain, but this will be a wrong choice as you can imagine.
Our boy goes to NYC and meets an outsider (Dustin Hoffman) who will feed his dreams. But the crude reality will show those men how far and wrong they are about New York as a promised land.
With surrealistic situations , the texan boy will experience slow but progressively, the dissapointment process , and his desired gigolo proyect will become in ashes ; and still yet ...
Well, Dustin is amazing as the uncommitmed street man, the locations in NYC look like a hell's preview; the sense of anguish and claustrophobia are notorius. Hunger, loneliness and hopeless will be his true colleagues in this nightmarish journey.
A well made fable about the dream and reality; the ancient myth of Eros and Psyque ; fantasy against imagination. A methaporical slap for those who still hope that NYC will receive you with open arms without any effort.
An extraordinary film who won the Academy Award and threw the gladiator actoral sand to Jon Voight.
Unforgettable and even recognized soundtrack even now.
Undoubtly the masterpiece of John Schlessinger and one of the most solid gems of the american cinema in any age.
A milestone.
Rating:
Summary: This Film Still Moves Me
Review: Based on the novel by James Leo Herlihy, MIDNIGHT COWBOY, directed by John Schlesinger, seemed so on the cutting edge in 1969. Both Dustin Hoffman (Ratzo Rizzo) and John Voight (Joe Buck) were nominated for an Oscar for best actor-- as I recall, conventional wisdom was that they cancelled each other out-- but the movie received the Best Picture Award and Schlesinger walked away with the Award for Best Director. I remember being blown away by the movie in '69. A great admirer of Schlesinger, I watched the movie again recently for the first time since its initial release. I wanted to see if it still was as powerful as I remembered. This time around parts of it seem stuck in the 60's-- the New York party that Ratzo and Joe attend, for example, and the pathetic homosexual-- nope, we can't call him gay-- who picks up Joe and feels he deserves the beating Joe gives him, after he calls his mother on the telephone. Of course, 1969 was the year that a group of despised dragqueens held police officers at bay for a couple of days in another part of New York at a bar called Stonewall. Although those of us in the provences weren't aware of it yet, the times, they were a-changing. On the other hand, the characters of both Ratzo and Joe endure. Who will ever forgot Joe's hopelessly inept attempt at hustling Sylvia Miles or Ratzo, the real con artist, with his ever present limp. They would make any film critic's list of most memorable characters of the last half of the Twentieth Century. The movie obviously is about finding friendship in unlikely places. Everyone, from the most wealthy to the most down and out, needs love. Finally, Ratzo and Joe's bus ride into the warm and balmy Miami to get away from the cold New York winter moved me as much today as it did when I first saw the movie. The ending made my eyes burn again almost 35 years later. This film will endure.
Rating: 
Summary: Impressive Performances. More Low-Key than Racy.
Review: Joe Buck (Jon Voight) is a cocky but not so bright young man from a small Texas town who thinks he's quite a stud. He heads to New York City where he supposes every wealthy matron in town will want to pay for his company. When he fails to parlay his cowboy persona and youthful good looks into an income that he can live on, he develops a friendship with a low life con artist named Rico "Ratso" Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman) who sets himself up as Joe's "manager". "Midnight Cowboy" is based on the novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy and was adapted for the screen by Waldo Salt. John Schlesinger directed the film to such acclaim that it won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay in 1969 despite its "X" MPAA rating. The film's rating seems to be on account of its situation in the world of bartered sex. "Midnight Cowboy" is not very explicit by today's standards. Contrary to what one might expect, the narrative is really very low-key. The writing is indifferent to sex. The story is found in Joe Buck's emotional arch over the course of the film. The storyline itself is uneventful and, to be honest, the two main characters are completely uninteresting people. The film's performances are its best quality, and both lead actors were nominated for Academy Awards. Jon Voight does a fine job of conveying Joe's cockiness along with his gradual discovery of his own naiveté and perhaps lack of intelligence. Dustin Hoffman is memorable as sickly, pathetic "Ratso". Brenda Vaccaro is interesting in a supporting role as one of Joe's ladies. And Warhol actress "Viva" appears briefly as essentially herself, in a small role as the hostess of a Factory-like party for the art-is-a-man's-name crowd, where you can catch glimpses of some other famous Warhol groupies as well. So I'm recommending "Midnight Cowboy" for its performances. The DVD: Both widescreen and full screen versions are on the same disc, each on a different side. The film starts up as soon as you put the disc in the player and can't be stopped until the movie actually starts. The only bonus feature is a theatrical trailer. Subtitles are available in English, Spanish, and French. Dubbing is available in French.
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