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      Midnight Cowboy

      R Released May 25, 1969 1 hr. 53 min. Drama List
      89% 116 Reviews Tomatometer 88% 25,000+ Ratings Audience Score Convinced of his irresistible appeal to women, Texas dishwasher Joe Buck (Jon Voight) quits his job and heads for New York City, thinking he'll latch on to some rich dowager. New York, however, is not as hospitable as he imagined, and Joe soon finds himself living in an abandoned building with a Dickensian layabout named Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman). The two form a rough alliance, and together they kick-start Joe's hustling career just as Ratso's health begins to deteriorate. Read More Read Less Watch on Fandango at Home Premiered May 01 Buy Now

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      Critics Consensus

      John Schlesinger's gritty, unrelentingly bleak look at the seedy underbelly of urban American life is undeniably disturbing, but Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight's performances make it difficult to turn away.

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      Audience Reviews

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      Jeff M This movie will forever be a footnote in history as the first and only X-rated motion picture to win Best Picture. Of course, viewing it in 2020, it comes across as a rough PG-13, maybe a soft R. I had never watched this film, and I wasn't sure exactly what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a moving portrait of one of the most unlikely friendships in cinema history. It's never conveyed for certain whether Rico's friendship with Joe has romantic intentions or not, but it doesn't matter - this is a story of two lonely people who make a connection, and by the end I was on the verge of tears. Voight excels as our main protagonist, but he is frankly blown off the screen by Hoffman in an absolutely spectacular performance. I'm not a Hoffman fan, but he is absolutely brilliant here, and this joins TOOTSIE and KRAMER VS. KRAMER as his crowning achievements. It's a role that could have so easily gone over the top, but he is perfect! The movie has a bit too many flashbacks and psychedelic montages, and there are no supporting characters of much substance, but these are minor quibbles. I am so glad to have finally caught up with this movie on the 50th anniversary of its Oscar win. It's a movie I won't forget anytime soon. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/26/24 Full Review Alejandro E This film from the late 60's came to trace a before and after in the way of film-making and, in the process, demolished the myth of the American dream and the stereotype of the cowboy as we know it. The highlight: a budding Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/24 Full Review jeanieforever This movie should be mandatory for all would-be transplants to New York City. Yes, even now. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/05/23 Full Review jan b A groundbreaking movie that hasn't really stood the test of time. On the plus side: there's some striking camerawork, a strong soundtrack and an interesting insight into 60s New York. On the minus side: Dustin Hoffman is hammy (almost unwatchably so), the film lapses into caricature (the apartment is comically decrepit, and I could've lived without the generic 'drug trip scene') and the melodrama is hard to bear. It's important to watch as a part of cinema and social history, but no longer compelling in the way that movies like Dog Day Afternoon and Taxi Driver still are. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/18/23 Full Review dave d Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight have an amazing chemistry in one of the best movies ever made. Precise and never ceasing it has an ability to captivate and entrance. Ahead of its time. One of the best friendships ever put to film. Final Score: 9.4/10 Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 09/21/23 Full Review Tony M A truly classic movie that I've loved for many years. Midnight Cowboy is a movie that belongs in my DVD collection. I wouldn't be without it. A must see Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/12/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Midnight Cowboy

      Midnight Cowboy: Official Clip - Come on Now Don't Hit Me Midnight Cowboy: Official Clip - Come on Now Don't Hit Me 1:56 Midnight Cowboy: Official Clip - That's a Funny Thing You Mentioning Money Midnight Cowboy: Official Clip - That's a Funny Thing You Mentioning Money 2:03 Midnight Cowboy: Official Clip - I'm Walkin' Here Midnight Cowboy: Official Clip - I'm Walkin' Here 2:05 Midnight Cowboy: Official Clip - Miami Dreaming Midnight Cowboy: Official Clip - Miami Dreaming 2:11 Midnight Cowboy: Official Clip - Ratso Gets Joe a Real Job Midnight Cowboy: Official Clip - Ratso Gets Joe a Real Job 2:03 Midnight Cowboy: Official Clip - Ratso's Dying Wish Midnight Cowboy: Official Clip - Ratso's Dying Wish 2:14 Midnight Cowboy: Official Clip - Ratso and Joe Trade Insults Midnight Cowboy: Official Clip - Ratso and Joe Trade Insults 2:09 Midnight Cowboy: Official Clip - Ratso and Joe Lose Their Home Midnight Cowboy: Official Clip - Ratso and Joe Lose Their Home 1:55 Midnight Cowboy: Official Clip - Ratso Dies on the Bus to Miami Midnight Cowboy: Official Clip - Ratso Dies on the Bus to Miami 2:09 Midnight Cowboy: Official Clip - I'm Fallin' Apart Here Midnight Cowboy: Official Clip - I'm Fallin' Apart Here 1:30 View more videos

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      Midnight Cowboy

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      Critics Reviews

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      Pauline Kael New Yorker [John Schlesinger's] spray of venom is just about overpowering, yet the two actors and the simple Of Mice and Men kind of relationship at the heart of the story save the picture. Jul 29, 2022 Full Review Sophie Monks Kaufman Time Out Director John Schlesinger and screenwriter Waldo Salt pump so much emotion into it that it becomes a moving epitaph both to its two striving characters and the American dream itself. Rated: 5/5 Mar 14, 2022 Full Review Marjory Adams Boston Globe Midnight Cowboy is America's challenge to any film from foreign shores... From now on, it is going to be difficult for the cinema snob to declare tritely that films in this country are made for immature audiences. Mar 14, 2022 Full Review Mark Johnson Awards Daily Gritty, grimy, and groundbreaking for its time, few films have been more avant-garde in approach, nor more perpetually relevant than Midnight Cowboy. Jun 8, 2023 Full Review Michael Talbot-Haynes Film Threat The characters’ dreams and memories intermingle with their daily actions, sometimes combining in surreal ways. The camerawork is amazing, capturing vistas of glory and grime from the dawn of 1970s New York. Rated: 10/10 Mar 25, 2022 Full Review Janet Graves Photoplay The movie is brilliantly acted by newcomer Jon Voight, in the lead, and Dustin Hoffman as Ratso Rizzo, his pathetic companion. Not only a study of loneliness, the movie probes the depths of love. Mar 11, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis Convinced of his irresistible appeal to women, Texas dishwasher Joe Buck (Jon Voight) quits his job and heads for New York City, thinking he'll latch on to some rich dowager. New York, however, is not as hospitable as he imagined, and Joe soon finds himself living in an abandoned building with a Dickensian layabout named Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman). The two form a rough alliance, and together they kick-start Joe's hustling career just as Ratso's health begins to deteriorate.
      Director
      John Schlesinger
      Screenwriter
      James Leo Herlihy, Waldo Salt
      Distributor
      Criterion Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
      Production Co
      Florin Productions, Jerome Hellman Productions
      Rating
      R
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      May 25, 1969, Wide
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Sep 16, 2008
      Box Office (Gross USA)
      $201.0K
      Sound Mix
      Stereo
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