Stars: Jon Voight, Dustin Hoffman, Sylvia Miles, Brenda Vaccaro, John McGiver, Ruth White, Barnard Hughes, Bob Balaban, Paul Morrissey, Viva

Director: John Schlesinger

Summary: John Schlesinger's Oscar-winning film, which features brilliant performances by Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman, brought an unusually gritty realism to the screen and offered a then-rare portrait of New York's street scene. Joe Buck (Voight), a male prostitute from Texas, heads to Manhattan where he hopes to find plenty of wealthy women willing to pay for the services of a handsome man. When he arrives, the naive country boy befriends Ratso Rizzo (Hoffman), a tubercular, homeless con artist who dreams of moving to Florida. As they go about trying to get the money Ratso needs, the two men see and confront all the seediness, corruption, and cruelty that flourish in the big city.

John Schlesinger's Oscar-winning film, which features brilliant performances by Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman, brought an unusually gritty realism to the screen and offered a then-rare portrait of New York's street scene. Joe Buck (Jon Voight - DELIVERANCE, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE), a male prostitute from Texas, heads to Manhattan where he hopes to find plenty of wealthy women willing to pay for the services of a handsome man. When he arrives, the naive country boy befriends Ratso Rizzo (Hoffman – THE GRADUATE, KRAMER VS. KRAMER), a tubercular, homeless con artist who dreams of moving to Florida. As they go about trying to get the money Ratso needs, the two men see and confront all the seediness, corruption, and cruelty that flourish in the big city.

MIDNIGHT COWBOY is a gritty portrayal of low level hustlers, one that pushed the boundaries of what was permissible during the late 60s and would become the first 'X' rated film to win Best Picture at the Oscars. The British Schlesinger (BILLY LIAR, MARATHON MAN) was also award the Oscar for Best Director. The film has aged extremely well and its themes are as poignant today as they were when it was first released.

WIN DVDs by rating this DVD

Average User Rating:

WIN DVDS by being amongst the first to review this DVD. Reviewing DVDs earns you bonus entries and lets you WIN DVDs!Please login before reviewing this DVD. If you're a new user, register for free and enter to WIN FREE DVDs!

The first, and only, X-rated film to win a best picture Academy Award, John Schlesinger's Midnight Cowboyseems 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

Aspect Ratio:	1.85 Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	8 Page Making Of Booklet, Chapter Search, Original Theatrical Trailer
Subtitles:	Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish
Year:	1969
Release Date:	February 1, 2000
Runtime:	108 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	15858 D V D
Keywords:	Midnight, General, Cowboy, Wide, Screen, Drama, Booklet
Genre:	Drama