Review of Midnight Cowboy (1969) by Aaron B — 17 Dec 2010

Well number 2 on my list of never before seen classics is a winner! Throughout my life I had only seen bits and pieces of this film, however the saying is...good things come to those who are patient. I think the word awesome is not enough to define the jobs that both Voight and Hoffman do in this compelling drama of a naive male prositute a.

K.a. drifter Joe Buck (Voight) who hears all the money he can make on the streets of New York cause "All the men are tutti frutti's" As he puts it and "their horny rich wifes will be starving for it" hence the word "naive".

Joe makes his way to New York from Texas and eventually meets up with a sickly dirty homeless drifter named Ratso (Hoffman) and a freindship ensues as Joe makes what he can to support and nurture the sickly and crippled Ratso.

For a movie that was the first they say to be rated x, as to which I can't understand why however those were the times that on film even brief nudity and very mild language were a no-no! I think i'm not being too bold to state that this also paved the way as being one of the very first "gritty" films that pulls no punches showing life on the streets of N.

Y. for an average street hustler. This film also did ok at the '69 oscar awards winning Best Picture of the year as well as winning the best director and writing awards. For a guy who really never enjoyed any classics, I am now looking forward to number 3 on my list.