RETRO MOVIE REVIEW: MIDNIGHT COWBOY, 1969

MIDNIGHT COWBOY, 1969. Directed by John Schlesinger (MARATHON MAN, 1976 and THE FALCON AND THE SNOWMAN, 1985). Adapted for the screen by Waldo Salt from the novel written by James Leo Herlihy. Starring Dustin Hoffman and John Voight. Beautifully photographed by Polish cinematographer Adam Holender. Musical score by the legendary John Barry featuring the hit song EVERYBODY“S TALKIN“ written by Fred Neil and performed by Harry Nilsson. Produced by Jerome Hellman.

The above mentioned filmmakers and performers are a winning combination of filmmakers and performers who collaborated to create a true cinematic classic. For its time, you couldn“t wish for a better team.

The story revolves around the hopefully delusional Joe Buck (Voight) who has the aspiration of escaping his humble rural life in Texas in order to seek an existence as a “hustler”“ (male prostitute) in New York City. Although Joe Buck is a true-blooded Texan, he travels and attempts to ply his trade under the guise of a cowboy. He“s not a real cowboy mind you; he just takes on the “rhinestone cowboy fashion”“ of the time. Joe Buck“s silly persona is nothing more than a marketing ploy designed to help him stick out in an environment filled with city slickers.

As it turns out, good-natured Joe Buck is just another dreamer who moves to the big city and is chewed up and spit out by an urban machine that he does not truly understand. All his attempts to succeed as a hustler are thwarted by a mean environment that has no problem with turning his little con game back on himself in humorous and horrid ways. Some of this happens when Enrico Salvatore Rizzo, or “Ratso,”“ brilliantly played by Dustin Hoffman, enters the tall tale. Ratzo is a sickly cripple reduced to the profession of a thief and con man, who is yet another person that takes advantage of Joe Buck.

This time though, Joe Buck catches up to Ratso and confronts him, but he is still too good deep down to drop the well-deserved hammer on the little con man. As a result, an unlikely partnership begins to develop. From the headquarters of Ratso“s squalid apartment in a condemned building, they begin to realize that maybe they can make something happen with Joe Buck“s failing profession. With Ratso acting as Joe Buck“s “manager,”“ they begin formulate a plan to make a little money. And if it all works out, maybe Ratso can achieve his simple dream of moving to Florida where he can really ply his thief and con man trade.

Nah, things don“t work out. Try as they may, the situation goes from bad to worse. But, as things spiral out of control, their partnership turns into a true friendship. They begin to rely on and help each other. As Joe Buck begins to realize that his dream of being a big time hustler in the big city is a futile endeavor, he turns his focus on the sickly and dying Ratso. If Joe Buck can do something right, maybe it could be fulfilling someone else“s dream. Joe Buck turns his back on the hustler profession and attempts to get the dying Ratso to Florida. It“s a simple thing and it“s important to a friend. To me, that“s what the film is about ”“ friendship. How a friendship can develop from an unusual circumstance.

Aside from MIDNIGHT COWBOY being a great film, one of its claims to fame is the fact that the film was rated “X.” Due to the scandalous and controversial subject matter of the time, the old guard of Hollywood did not think the film should be released under any other rating. This was a time when the liberal idealism of young Hollywood collided with the aging conservatism of old Hollywood. All producer Jerome Hellman and director John Schlesinger had to do to make it right was edited one small scene out of the film. As true artists, they would not compromise their art. As a result, MIDNIGHT COWBOY was the first X-rated film to win the Academy award for best picture.

How“s that for sticking with your guns?! True art prevails! Check this classic out!