Review of Midnight Cowboy (1969) by Elliott F — 02 Aug 2011

MIDNIGHT COWBOY [1969] mini review: "The only X-rated film to have won the Best Picture Oscar" MIDNIGHT COWBOY is without a doubt one of the most daring films to have won the Best Picture award in the turbulent year of 1969. Combine with its provocative themes of Male Prostitution, and Homosexuality, its depiction of Sex and its unflattering look at poverty in a big U.S city it's no wonder why this film sparked a wave of controversy upon its original realise yet alone winning the Oscar for best picture.

The Plot: A young and naive Texas Cowboy called Joe Buck (Jon Voight) quits his job as a dishwasher in a small Diner and heads for NYC with the idea that becoming a male prostitute will help save many lonely and sexually deprived Women in the Big Apple. As the old saying goes Joe learns that the grass isn't always greener on the other side when he finds that trying to be a prostitute in NYC is not what he thought it would be. Joe's life spirals down into a life of poverty and when he befriends the ill Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman), the pair try to break even in the prostitution business while trying to escape their life of poverty.

With two brilliant performances by Voight and Hoffman, a great script, and its groundbreaking move to show daring and then taboo themes, MIDNIGHT COWBOY is one groundbreaking film worthy of a rating of 80% from me.