Midnight Cowboy

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Midnight Cowboy

R

Released May 25, 1969

1h 53m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

89%

Tomatometer

115 Reviews

88%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Convinced of his irresistible appeal to women, Texas dishwasher Joe Buck (Jon Voight) quits his job and heads for New York City, thinking he'll latch on to some rich dowager. New York, however, is not as hospitable as he imagined, and Joe soon finds himself living in an abandoned building with a Dickensian layabout named Enrico Ratso Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman). The two form a rough alliance, and together they kick-start Joe's hustling career just as Ratso's health begins to deteriorate.

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Critics Consensus

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.

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Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

[John Schlesinger's] spray of venom is just about overpowering, yet the two actors and the simple Of Mice and Men kind of relationship at the heart of the story save the picture.

Jul 29, 2022

Full Review

Sophie Monks Kaufman

Time Out

Director John Schlesinger and screenwriter Waldo Salt pump so much emotion into it that it becomes a moving epitaph both to its two striving characters and the American dream itself.

Rated: 5/5

Mar 14, 2022

Full Review

Marjory Adams

Boston Globe

Midnight Cowboy is America's challenge to any film from foreign shores... From now on, it is going to be difficult for the cinema snob to declare tritely that films in this country are made for immature audiences.

Mar 14, 2022

Full Review

Mark Johnson

Awards Daily

Gritty, grimy, and groundbreaking for its time, few films have been more avant-garde in approach, nor more perpetually relevant than Midnight Cowboy.

Jun 8, 2023

Full Review

Michael Talbot-Haynes

Film Threat

The characters’ dreams and memories intermingle with their daily actions, sometimes combining in surreal ways. The camerawork is amazing, capturing vistas of glory and grime from the dawn of 1970s New York.

Rated: 10/10

Mar 25, 2022

Full Review

Janet Graves

Photoplay

The movie is brilliantly acted by newcomer Jon Voight, in the lead, and Dustin Hoffman as Ratso Rizzo, his pathetic companion. Not only a study of loneliness, the movie probes the depths of love.

Mar 11, 2022

Full Review

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Jerrod G

Great Movie, the difficulties of trying to accomplish your dream in the big city especially when your best friend is sick. Very emotional/dramatic film that should definitely be on your notch.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/17/25

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Ronald H

Midnight Cowboy was gratuitous sleaze 55 years ago, and what's even more depressing is that it was a harbinger of the sleaze to come in the ensuing decades.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/11/25

Full Review

Yash B

"Midnight Cowboy" doesn't fall into my favorite Best Picture winners, but this is a good movie that really does leave a profound impact. It can be difficult to watch but it is full of really unique editing choices as well as featuring two memorable performances. I found myself a bit unsure of where it was going at first, but by the end, I really felt the emotional weight of the story. I also think this is a movie that embodies the time it came out and it really feels like a time capsule in that way. It is a bold film for its time and its impact is still felt today. Overall, it is a unique and well-made film that is maybe one of the bleakest and unglamorous depictions of New York City that kept me engaged and often exhausted, similar to the characters it portrays, and I think it is a film I admire from a filmmaking perspective.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/05/25

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nick s

Not incredibly strong storytelling. The movie follows a naiive traveller and his newfound mate trying to get ahead in the big apple. The ending was quite predictable. But the characters were wonderfully compelling and I just wanted to keep watching them - the doe eyed tough guy and his hustler sidekick. I could see where a certain muppet character got his cues from.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/05/25

Full Review

Shobhit B

I watched this movie after knowing it won 3 oscars and ranked 36 in WGA 100 greatest screenplays. However i liked the acting of Dustin Hoffman but , found this movie bit overated and dull . I didn't get emotionally connected with lead characters and found them unlikeable as it normalise their unlawful acts . Furthermore both of them do not seem to really care about each other till the end .Overall it is one time watch movie.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/19/24

Full Review

Ian S

One of my favourite films of all time. Brilliantly acted characters draw you in. Full of emotion and empathy, bit of humour, shows the harder side of the 60s love in. Soundtrack and editing are brilliant, and think Jon Voight is incredible. Perfect film if feeling sorry for myself.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/31/24

Full Review

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John Schlesinger

Director

Dustin Hoffman

Enrico Salvatore "Ratso" Rizzo

Jon Voight

Joe Buck

Sylvia Miles

Cass

John McGiver

Mr. O'Daniel

Brenda Vaccaro

Shirley

Midnight Cowboy: Official Clip - Come on Now Don't Hit Me

1:56

Midnight Cowboy: Official Clip - That's a Funny Thing You Mentioning Money

2:03

Midnight Cowboy: Official Clip - I'm Walkin' Here

2:05

Midnight Cowboy: Official Clip - Miami Dreaming

2:11

Midnight Cowboy: Official Clip - Ratso Gets Joe a Real Job

2:03

Midnight Cowboy: Official Clip - Ratso's Dying Wish

2:14

Midnight Cowboy: Official Clip - Ratso and Joe Trade Insults

2:09

Midnight Cowboy: Official Clip - Ratso and Joe Lose Their Home

1:55

Midnight Cowboy: Official Clip - Ratso Dies on the Bus to Miami

2:09

Midnight Cowboy: Official Clip - I'm Fallin' Apart Here

1:30

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Synopsis

Convinced of his irresistible appeal to women, Texas dishwasher Joe Buck (Jon Voight) quits his job and heads for New York City, thinking he'll latch on to some rich dowager. New York, however, is not as hospitable as he imagined, and Joe soon finds himself living in an abandoned building with a Dickensian layabout named Enrico Ratso Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman). The two form a rough alliance, and together they kick-start Joe's hustling career just as Ratso's health begins to deteriorate.

Director: John Schlesinger
Producer: Jerome Hellman
Screenwriter: James Leo Herlihy, Waldo Salt
Distributor: Criterion Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: Florin Productions, Jerome Hellman Productions
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 25, 1969, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $201.0K
Runtime: 1h 53m
Sound Mix: Stereo

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