Midnight Cowboy (1969)

The tone is deceptively playful as novice prostitute Joe Buck arrives in New York with naive dreams. The beauty is the slowly evolving friendship of Buck and Dustin Hoffman’s eccentric Ratso Rizzo; the direction is radical and the lines are to die for.

The critic calls the newly restored film one of the great depictions of the transition to the gritty 1970s and a moving epitaph to its two striving characters and the American dream itself. Strong praise goes to the central performances by Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman.

The critic sees the film as a flawed but effective New Hollywood landmark that blends edgy subject matter with pop sensibilities, praising the strong lead performances by Voight and Hoffman, authentic New York and Texas locations, visual wit, and emotional core of loneliness and yearning.

Fifty years on, Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman’s squabbling amid the squalor of low-rent New York remains a heartbreaking triumph. The film is about two men finding friendship in the desolate common cause of their loneliness, delivered with potency and force.

The review praises the film as a landmark that took risks in the late 1960s, highlighting its outsider perspective on New York and the groundbreaking performances by Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman as its emotional core. It notes the film's Oscar success despite its X rating and calls the mix of Oscar-winner and cult classic a testament to superb performances and a compelling script.

The critic presents the film as a key New Hollywood work marking the transition from Old Hollywood, highlighting the central unlikely friendship between the delusional Joe Buck and Ratso Rizzo, the themes of isolation and human connection amid a commodified world, and Schlesinger’s expressive visual style and use of varying film stocks.

British director John Schlesinger’s first American film remains a startlingly accomplished New York tale. Voight combines rent-boy venality with a dimwitted innocence almost radiant; Hoffman proved his beginner’s virtuosity playing tattered-and-battered Ratso Rizzo.

The film's power endures through its lead performances and adventurous spirit from 1969, even as technical excesses like flashbacks remain flaws; it stands as a reminder of bold adult filmmaking from its era.

The film is a slick but ultimately moving adaptation that excels in its acting, especially Dustin Hoffman's Ratso, and captures the feel of its time and place despite some exploitative elements.

The sordid story of a male hustler should succeed commercially on shock value and the star power of Dustin Hoffman; strong performances from Hoffman and newcomer Jon Voight stand out amid the modern, topical, and sometimes misanthropic tone.

The performances of Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight are outstanding and the Times Square setting feels authentic, but John Schlesinger's direction undermines the material with trendy gimmicks, excessive flashbacks, and fashionable cinematic tricks.

The film stands out for its emotionally honest portrayal of male friendship between two very different men, with no conventional love interest. Schlesinger's direction creates a vivid, intimate portrait of New York City and its outcasts.