Midnight Cowboy is a 1969 American drama film based on the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. The script was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars Jon Voight in the title role alongside Dustin Hoffman. The film won three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. To date, it is the only X-rated film ever to win Best Picture. It has since been labeled as one of the greatest American movies of all time.
The plot of the film deals with Joe Buck (Jon Voight), a young Texan who works as a dishwasher. As the film opens, Joe dresses in new cowboy clothing, packs a suitcase, and quits his job. He heads to New York City hoping to succeed as a male prostitute. Joe's naïveté is quickly evident. Initially unsuccessful, he succeeds in bedding a well-to-do middle-aged New Yorker (Sylvia Miles), but Joe ends up giving her money. Joe then meets Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman), a crippled, street con man who takes $20 from Joe by offering to introduce him to a known pimp, who turns out to be a Bible thumper (John McGiver). Joe flees the encounter in pursuit of Rizzo.
Joe spends his days wandering the city and sitting in his hotel room. Soon broke, he is locked out of his hotel room and most of his belongings are confiscated. He tries to make money by agreeing to receive oral sex from a young man (Bob Balaban) in a movie theater. When Joe learns that he has no money, Joe threatens him. The following day, Joe spots Rizzo and angrily shakes him down. Rizzo offers to share his apartment in a condemned building. Joe accepts reluctantly, and they begin a "business relationship", hustling. The two loners develop a true bond. Rizzo's health, which has never been good, steadily worsens.
Joe's story is told through flashbacks. His grandmother raises him after his mother abandons him, though his grandmother frequently neglects him as well. He and his girlfriend, Crazy Annie are raped, after drawing the ire of local townspeople. She is institutionalized, and Joe joins the army. Rizzo's back story comes through stories he tells Joe. His father was an illiterate Italian immigrant shoe-shiner who worked down in a subway station, developed a bad back, and "coughed his lungs out from breathin' in that wax all day". Rizzo learned shining from his father but wont stoop to it. He dreams of moving one day to Miami.
An unusual couple approach Joe and Ratso in a diner and hand Joe a flyer, inviting him to a party. They enter a Warhol-esque party scene (with Warhol superstars in cameos). Naive Joe smokes a joint, thinking it's a cigarette, and, after taking a pill someone offered, begins to hallucinate. He leaves the party with a socialite (Brenda Vaccaro), who agrees to pay $20 for spending the night with her, but Joe cannot perform. They play Scribbage together, and Joe shows his limited academic prowess. She teasingly suggests that Joe may be gay, and he is suddenly able to perform. The two enjoy lively, aggressive sex. In the morning, the socialite sets up her friend as Joe's next customer, and it appears that his career is on its way.
When Joe returns home, Rizzo is bedridden and feverish. Rizzo refuses medical help and begs Joe to put him on a bus to Florida. Desperate, Joe picks up a man in a gay bar (Barnard Hughes), and when things go wrong, robs the man when he tries to pay with a religious medallion, instead of cash. With the cash, Joe buys bus tickets. On the journey, Rizzo's frail physical condition further deteriorates. At a rest stop, Joe buys new clothing for Rizzo and himself, discarding his cowboy outfit. As they near Miami, Joe talks of getting a regular job, only to realize Rizzo has died. The driver tells Joe there is nothing else to do but continue on to Miami. The film closes with Joe seated with his arm around his dead friend.
The chemistry between Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman is why this film works. Jon Voight plays his role to perfection. His dreams of making it big are foiled at every step of his adventure. In the end he gives up and is back to where he began. The loss of his good friend Rizzo will weigh very heavily on his soul. This film was rated X, but there is nothing here than than the occasional bare butt and breasts shown. In fact today's film show more trashy scenes than this film. For persons seeking to make a career as a male escort, this is a film you should see before you embark on your adventure.
The plot of the film deals with Joe Buck (Jon Voight), a young Texan who works as a dishwasher. As the film opens, Joe dresses in new cowboy clothing, packs a suitcase, and quits his job. He heads to New York City hoping to succeed as a male prostitute. Joe's naïveté is quickly evident. Initially unsuccessful, he succeeds in bedding a well-to-do middle-aged New Yorker (Sylvia Miles), but Joe ends up giving her money. Joe then meets Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman), a crippled, street con man who takes $20 from Joe by offering to introduce him to a known pimp, who turns out to be a Bible thumper (John McGiver). Joe flees the encounter in pursuit of Rizzo.
Joe spends his days wandering the city and sitting in his hotel room. Soon broke, he is locked out of his hotel room and most of his belongings are confiscated. He tries to make money by agreeing to receive oral sex from a young man (Bob Balaban) in a movie theater. When Joe learns that he has no money, Joe threatens him. The following day, Joe spots Rizzo and angrily shakes him down. Rizzo offers to share his apartment in a condemned building. Joe accepts reluctantly, and they begin a "business relationship", hustling. The two loners develop a true bond. Rizzo's health, which has never been good, steadily worsens.
Joe's story is told through flashbacks. His grandmother raises him after his mother abandons him, though his grandmother frequently neglects him as well. He and his girlfriend, Crazy Annie are raped, after drawing the ire of local townspeople. She is institutionalized, and Joe joins the army. Rizzo's back story comes through stories he tells Joe. His father was an illiterate Italian immigrant shoe-shiner who worked down in a subway station, developed a bad back, and "coughed his lungs out from breathin' in that wax all day". Rizzo learned shining from his father but wont stoop to it. He dreams of moving one day to Miami.
An unusual couple approach Joe and Ratso in a diner and hand Joe a flyer, inviting him to a party. They enter a Warhol-esque party scene (with Warhol superstars in cameos). Naive Joe smokes a joint, thinking it's a cigarette, and, after taking a pill someone offered, begins to hallucinate. He leaves the party with a socialite (Brenda Vaccaro), who agrees to pay $20 for spending the night with her, but Joe cannot perform. They play Scribbage together, and Joe shows his limited academic prowess. She teasingly suggests that Joe may be gay, and he is suddenly able to perform. The two enjoy lively, aggressive sex. In the morning, the socialite sets up her friend as Joe's next customer, and it appears that his career is on its way.
When Joe returns home, Rizzo is bedridden and feverish. Rizzo refuses medical help and begs Joe to put him on a bus to Florida. Desperate, Joe picks up a man in a gay bar (Barnard Hughes), and when things go wrong, robs the man when he tries to pay with a religious medallion, instead of cash. With the cash, Joe buys bus tickets. On the journey, Rizzo's frail physical condition further deteriorates. At a rest stop, Joe buys new clothing for Rizzo and himself, discarding his cowboy outfit. As they near Miami, Joe talks of getting a regular job, only to realize Rizzo has died. The driver tells Joe there is nothing else to do but continue on to Miami. The film closes with Joe seated with his arm around his dead friend.
The chemistry between Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman is why this film works. Jon Voight plays his role to perfection. His dreams of making it big are foiled at every step of his adventure. In the end he gives up and is back to where he began. The loss of his good friend Rizzo will weigh very heavily on his soul. This film was rated X, but there is nothing here than than the occasional bare butt and breasts shown. In fact today's film show more trashy scenes than this film. For persons seeking to make a career as a male escort, this is a film you should see before you embark on your adventure.