Midnight Cowboy
1969 · Movie · NC-17 · 113 min · ★ 7.5 · 84% critics
A hopeful young man heads from Texas to New York City expecting easy money and glamour, but quickly runs into harsh realities. Struggling to get by, he teams up with a streetwise, sickly drifter, and their uneasy partnership slowly turns into a bond as they chase a better life.
Based on Midnight Cowboy
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Details
- Years
- 1969
- Release date
- 1969-05-25
- Language
- English
- Rated
- NC-17
- Runtime
- 113 min
- Max quality
- HD
- Critic score
- 84/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.5/10 (1,601 votes)
- Budget
- $3,200,000
About
If you like gritty, character-driven dramas about outsiders forming an unlikely bond in a harsh city, this is worth your time; Not for you if you want light escapism or a tidy story like Looking.
Pros: powerful lead performances; moving friendship arc; vivid gritty New York | Cons: bleak uncomfortable themes; uneven pacing; repetitive music moments
Themes
- new york city
- friendship
- prostitute
- rape
- based on novel or book
- shower
- texas
- hustler
- homelessness
- rape of a male
- male homosexuality
- male prostitution
- +11 more
Awards & recognition
- Academy Award — Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay · 1970
- Academy Award — Best Director · 1970
- Academy Award — Best Picture · 1970
- National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
- Academy Award — Best Actor · 1970 · nominated
Show all 10 awards →
- Academy Award — Best Picture · 1970 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay · 1970 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Supporting Actress · 1970 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Film Editing · 1970 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Director · 1970 · nominated
Cast & crew
Dustin Hoffman
as Ratso
Jon Voight
as Joe Buck
Sylvia Miles
as Cass
John McGiver
as Mr. O'Daniel
Brenda Vaccaro
as Shirley
Barnard Hughes
as Towny
Ruth White
as Sally Buck
Jennifer Salt
as Annie
Gilman Rankin
as Woodsy Niles
- GO
Gary Owens
as Little Joe
Directed by John Schlesinger