Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Average Rating: 8.2/10
Reviews Counted: 52
Fresh: 46 | Rotten: 6
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.
Average Rating: 6.5/10
Critic Reviews: 8
Fresh: 6 | Rotten: 2
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.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.9/5
User Ratings: 37,940
My Rating
Movie Info
Based on a James Leo Herlihy novel, British director John Schlesinger's first American film dramatized the small hopes, dashed dreams, and unlikely friendship of two late '60s lost souls. Dreaming of an easy life as a fantasy cowboy stud, cheerful Texas rube Joe Buck (Jon Voight) heads to New York City to be a gigolo, but he quickly discovers that hustling isn't what he thought it would be after he winds up paying his first trick (Sylvia Miles). He gets swindled by gimpy tubercular grifter Rico
Watch It Now
Cast
-
Dustin Hoffman
Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo -
Jon Voight
Joe Buck -
Sylvia Miles
Cass -
John McGiver
O'Daniel -
Brenda Vaccaro
Shirley -
Barnard Hughes
Towny -
Ruth White
Sally Buck -
Jennifer Salt
Annie -
Gil Rankin
Woodsy Niles -
T. Tom Marlow
Little Joe -
George Epperson
Ralph -
Al Scott
Cafeteria Manager -
Linda Davis
Mother on Bus -
J.T. Masters
Old Cowhand -
Arlene Reeder
Old Lady -
Georgann Johnson
Rich Lady -
Anthony Holland
TV Bishop -
Bob Balaban
The Young Student -
Jan Tice
Freaked-Out Lady -
Paul Benjamin
Bartender -
Peter Scalia
Grocer -
Arthur Anderson
Hotel Clerk -
Tina Scala
Laundromat Lady -
Alma Felix
Laundromat Ladies -
Richard Clarke
Escort Service Man -
Ann Thomas
The Frantic Lady -
Al Stetson
Bus Driver -
Viva
Gretel McAlbertson -
Gastone Rossilli
Hansel McAlbertson -
Paul Jabara
At the Party -
-
-
Taylor Mead
At the Party -
Paul Morrissey
At the Party -
Gary Owens
Young Joe -
Ultra Violet
At the Party -
-
Joan Murphy
Waitress -
Paul Jasmin
Party Guest -
Jonathan Kramer
Jackie
ADVERTISEMENT
All Critics (52) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (50) | Rotten (6) | DVD (15)
I cannot recall a more marvelous pair of acting performances in any one film.
Top CriticMidnight Cowboy's peep-show vision of Manhattan lowlife may no longer be shocking, but what is shocking, in 1994, is to see a major studio film linger this lovingly on characters who have nothing to offer the audience but their own lost souls.
In this film the scenery is lovely and only the human race is vile.
The acting, showy and instinctual, is most of the movie; the visual style is too forced and chicly distended to let the drama acquire much natural life of its own.
Outrageously overrated at the cynical end of the Swinging Sixties.
What has happened to Midnight Cowboy is that we've done our own editing job on it. We've forgotten the excesses and the detours, and remembered the purity of the central characters and the Voight and Hoffman performances.
Strip away everything else and it's the performances that make Midnight Cowboy what it is.
The attempt to wring tender laughter from such a topic strikes me as being itself a kind of commercialized vice.
"Midnight Cowboy" is an exquisite time capsule. The film is filled with dark social and political commentary. Only through his problematic friendship with Ratzo can Buck reclaim his humanity.
Superb performances and a compelling script have made this film a strange mix of Oscar-winner and Cult Classic.
The movie is locked into a sixties stylistic approach that can feel dated, but Hoffman's performance can prevent one from ever tiring of the film.
An impressive and enduring evocation of time and place, this is a moving low-life drama built around Oscar-winning writing and performances.
There are not many features in this DVD (Feb 2006) due to the fact that director Schlesinger and writer Salt had passed away, but some of the actors offer commentary and so does producer Hellman, talking about shooting in the old Times Square area.
Talented Englishman Schlesinger had an unerring eye for capturing the grimy reality of New York, even if his directorial style is more jittery than is really necessary.
Great performances from Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman cap this bravest Academy Awards Best Picture choice in history.
A film you won't soon forget
It only takes a movie like Midnight Cowboy to point out the limitations of a rating system: How can a measly four stars convey the magnificence of this acknowledged classic?
Audience Reviews for Midnight Cowboy
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
-
- Joe Buck: You know what you can do with them dishes. And if you ain't man enough to do it for yourself, I'd be happy to oblige. I really would.
-
- Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo: I'm walking here! I'm walking here!
-
- Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo: The two natural items to sustain life are sunlight and coconut milk. Did you know that?
-
- Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo: You know, in my own place, my name ain't Ratso. I mean, it just so happens that in my own place my name is Enrico Salvatore Rizzo.
- Joe Buck: Well, I can't say all that.
- Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo: Rico, then.
-
- Joe Buck: [wearing glasses] Guess who I am?
- Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo: Who?
- Joe Buck: [takes off glasses and laughs] It's me!
-
- Party Guest: [to Ratso] I'm just gonna lick the sweat off of you.
- Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo: JUST GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME!
- Party Guest: WELL, YOU LOOK HOT!
Discussion Forum
There are no discussion threads for Midnight Cowboy yet.
Latest News on Midnight Cowboy
June 27, 2012:
Five Favorite Films with Bob BalabanDroll, erudite and extremely affable, Bob Balaban is the kind of guy you could spend hours listening...
September 17, 2009:
Five Favourite Films with Nick LoveNick Love isn't known for heart. The film which earned him his "From the director of..." title card,...
June 22, 2007:
AFI Announces Top 100 Movies of All Time ... AgainTen years ago the AFI gave us a list of the Top 100 American Films Ever Made -- and when that was...
What's Hot On RT
Movies Directed by Tyler Perry
Blockbuster news and reviews
Ellen Page in an intriguing new thriller
A gallery of classic books on film
Featured on RT
- Video Interview: Peeples cast Craig Robinson, Kerry Washington, and more 0
- Total Recall: Movies Directed by Tyler Perry 66
- Parental Guidance: The Great Gatsby, Jack Reacher, and Safe Haven 8
- Video Interview: Aftershock Producer Eli Roth 3
- Ray Harryhausen: 1920-2013 33
- Digital Multiplex: Cloud Atlas, Pulp Fiction and more 4
- RT on DVD and Blu-Ray: Jack Reacher, Mama, and Upstream Color 34
Top Headlines
-
Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto Star Trek Into Darkness Interview
0
-
Marvel President Kevin Feige Talks Avengers 2, Doctor Strange, and More
0
-
Disney Announces Animated Marvel Project Big Hero 6
0
-
Jurassic Park 4 on Hold
0
-
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Gets a Synopsis
0
-
Alicia Vikander Joins The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
0
-
Robert Redford Laces Up for A Walk in the Woods
0
Fresh Links
Featured
10 Best Movie Trilogies
Pretty self-explanatory here; HitFix offers up their favorite trilogies of all time.
10 Jilted Movie Grooms
Feeling a little sappy? Here are 10 movie grooms who were left at the altar.
Weirdest Movie Siblings
From Twins to The Royal Tenenbaums, Moviefone explores cinema's oddest siblings.
50 Youth-Gone-Wild Movies
TimeOut lists the best movies about youth and rebellion.
30 Greatest Rock & Roll Movie Moments
Rolling Stone boldly proclaims the rockin'-est moments in cinema.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter!
Spice up your feed with hourly Tomatometer updates!
Foreign Titles
- Asphalt Cowboy (DE)
- Macadam Cowboy (FR)
