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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: MGM (Video & DVD)
Salesrank: 24014
Released: January 1, 2000 |
| Our Price: $7.71 |
| Used Price: $3.56 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Daring. Provocative. Shocking. Compelling. Nearly thirty years after its original release, "Midnight Cowboy is still heartbreakingand timeless" (The New York Observer). This Academy AwardÂ(r) winner* for Best Picture, Director and Screenplay also boasts OscarÂ(r)-nominated** performances by Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, neither of whom have "ever been better on screen than they are here" (Chicago Tribune)! When Joe Buck (Voight), a good-looking,naively charming Texas "cowboy" makes his way to the Big Apple to seek his fortune, the only wealthhe finds is in the friendship of Ratso Rizzo (Hoffman), a scrounging, sleazy, small-time con man with big dreams. Living on the tattered fringe of society, these two outcasts develop an unlikely bond one that transcends their broken dreams and get-rich-quick schemes and makes Midnight Cowboy "that rarest of things: [a film] every bit as moving now as it was when it was [first] released" (Premiere). *1969 **1969: Actor
Description of Midnight Cowboy:
The first, and only, X-rated film to win a best picture Academy Award, John Schlesinger's Midnight Cowboy seems 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
Midnight Cowboy Reviews:
"A Masterpiece" 
2009-09-30 - Jon Voight made a name for himself in Hollywood in "Midnight Cowboy" where he stars as a naive Texan who comes to New York City with dreams of making it big being a high-class male prostitute servicing wealthy older women. He eventually encounters a con man, played brilliantly by Dustin Hoffman, who encourages him to join him in his hustling profession by ripping people off. The chemistry between Voight and Hoffman is impeccable and "Midnight Cowboy" has gone on to be a cinematic classic. Although made in 1969 the film has aged remarkably well as the subtext of the film is still predominant today as people strive to better themselves anyway they know how in order to survive. The movie won three Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director for John Schlesinger, and Best Screenplay. "Midnight Cowboy" is the only film in the history of the Oscars to win Best Picture with an X Rating as the film shows many explicit sex scenes that were even more shocking in the late '60's. Both Voight and Hoffman were nominated for Best Actor. This beautiful 2 disc set features the film in breathtaking widescreen format cleaned from its original print. As a bonus there is an informative audio commentary by Jerome Hellman and a great featurette called "After Midnight: Reflecting On The Classic 35 Years Later". Siskel and Ebert give the film "Two Thumbs Up! It stands the test of time!"
THE EXTRA FEATURES ARE INVALUABLE!
2009-09-02 - Given all the praise the film itself has earned from Amazaon reviewers, it is pointless to do anything except punctuate that praise.
A couple of reviewers were upset that "no one" has discussed the second disc's features.
To me, the second disc extras (and the first one also has one major commentary) made the DVD invaluable. Its astute commentary by producers, directors, and the actors themselves not only offers insight into the decisions that created the film and the history of the times but also offers a profound insight into the nature of the characters leading in turn to their behaviors.
Just having the movie itself pleases me, of course, but not having the extra disc, produced in 2004, would sadden me because it was a time when the main actors and others affiliated with the movie were still alive and filled with vivid memories of the making of the film.
ENJOY!
Penny from Plano
Overrated And Pointless 
2009-07-01 - This is a movie that has had a lot of hype in years past. It deserves little of that.
Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman both have strong acting performances, but those are contained in a show with little direction and no discernable plot. Simply put, it is rubbish.
None of the characters have any redeeming qualities. The two main ones move from con to con in a meaningless manner. My recommendation would be to skip this one.
midnight cowboy
2009-02-11 - I think the movie is great. I have viewed it several time over the years. I was living in Big Spring, TX during the time this film was made. I worked at the Ramada Inn coffee shop where the Producer, Director, Jon Voight, and Ruth White, and members of the production crew stayed ,during the filming of the part in Texas. I had never heard of Jon Voight. Little did I know at that time that he would become a great movie actor. As a waitress at the coffee shop, I served Jon Voight, but I didn't even get an autograph,let alone a picture with him. My loss!!!
The concept of "dated"
2009-01-09 - Many of the reviewers that have posted negative comments seem to share the same penchant for the word "dated" and employ it as a tool with which they can easily dismiss Midnight Cowboy among other films. Without question, some films have stood the test of time better than others. Mostly those that were products of conservative filmmakers and more mainstream subject matters. With 1969's Midnight Cowboy, we have neither. The aesthetic of the film is, without question, heavily influenced by the avant garde art world of 1960's New York; a Warholesque vision of decadence mixed with an almost reverent appreciation for all things urban. Schlesinger, in my opinion, tried and succeeded in fusing both worlds and created not only a snapshot of a time and place, but a whole sensibility. But for the record, I'm not at all a fan of the psychedelic camerawork and editing he used throughout the movie. But with a story as powerful as this, all gripes about the visual style of the film can easily be forgiven. Most films, though, in one way or another have through the years lost their ability to really make an impact on the public. We're by far more jaded, cynical, dismissive, but overall sophisticated than audiences were half a century ago and we're certainly not as forgiving. Our collective gullibility and naiveté died with the Edsel. Comedies have probably faired best, because humor is timeless and what was funny 70 years ago will most certainly be funny today. Do we need a better example than "I Love Lucy" still on TV almost 60 years after it was originally aired on CBS?. But let's take a quick look at the horror films of Universal Studios golden age. In a day and age where eye gouging and Achilles tendons are sliced for fun comprise a large part of most contemporary horror movies, does Dracula, Frankenstein or the Wolf Man elicit even a modicum of terror in anyone? However, does that mean that the aforementioned films aren't, indeed, masterpieces of that genre and wholly worthy of being seen, if for no other reason than to appreciate, among other things, the craftsmanship and performances? How about another personal favorite of mine, Film Noir. We're inundated on a daily basis by news and television shows that seemingly revel in the most grotesque aspects of all things criminal, do the villains, femme fatales and other losers that populate Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe's criminal underworld seem remotely threatening to anyone? How about the street lingo of 1940's America, where every dame had more curves than the Monaco Gran Prix? Is that even remotely relevant nowadays? But in a film genre that was equal parts style and substance, the art of it is its eternal appeal. Midnight Cowboy is, simply put, an excellent film, beautifully acted and expertly rendered. If you are able to get past some of the "dated" aspects of the movie, you'll be rewarded with an honest if gritty exploration of the price we pay for our individuality and the true nature of friendship.
