Midnight Cowboy (1969)

[Akijama]

Midnight Cowboy (1969)

One of the British New Wave’s most versatile directors, John Schlesinger came to New York in the late-1960s to make Midnight Cowboy, a picaresque story of friendship that captured a city in crisis and sparked a new era of Hollywood movies. Jon Voight delivers a career-making performance as Joe Buck, a wide-eyed hustler from Texas hoping to score big with wealthy city women; he finds a companion in Enrico “Ratso” Rizzo, an ailing swindler with a bum leg and a quixotic fantasy of escaping to Florida, played by Dustin Hoffman in a radical departure from his breakthrough in The Graduate. A critical and commercial success despite controversy over what the MPAA termed its “homosexual frame of reference,” Midnight Cowboy became the first X-rated film to receive the best picture Oscar, and decades on, its influence still reverberates through cinema.

Disc Features

• New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• Alternate 5.1 surround soundtrack, presented in DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray
• Audio commentary from 1991 featuring director John Schlesinger and producer Jerome Hellman
• New selected-scene commentary by cinematographer Adam Holender
• The Crowd Around the Cowboy, a 1969 short film made on location for Midnight Cowboy
• Waldo Salt: A Screenwriter’s Journey, an Academy Award–nominated documentary from 1990 by Eugene Corr and Robert Hillmann
• Two short 2004 documentaries on the making and release of Midnight Cowboy
• Interview with actor Jon Voight on The David Frost Show from 1970
• Interview from 2000 with Schlesinger for BAFTA Los Angeles
• Excerpts from the 2002 BAFTA LA Tribute to Schlesinger, featuring Voight and actor Dustin Hoffman
• Trailer
• PLUS: An essay by critic Mark Harris

[Filmmaker]

Bless us one and all!

[Akijama]

It has been rumoured for years, and it's finally happening.

[mikesncc1701]

This will be a blind buy during the B&N sale.

[MeMynonsense]

The 90 min Waldo Salt doc is reason enough to pick this one up. Hopefully another step towards a Blast of Silence upgrade.

[malakaheso]

One of CC's worst covers, surely.

[Dailyan]

[JoeBuck]

Originally Posted by malakaheso

One of CC's worst covers, surely.

Wrong.

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by malakaheso

One of CC's worst covers, surely.

Still better than "Tiny Furniture".

[Dailyan]

I almost bit the bullet on the MGM release many times but I'm glad I held out.

[Mandalorian]

Another MGM BD to replace

[Stationary Explorer]

So long I've waited.....sniffle....thank you, God..... yeeeeeeeeehoooooooo!

[billy pilgrim]

Man, I saw the announcement for Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, then posted in that thread that news just doesn't come any better for me in life.

Now a 4K restoration of Midnight Cowboy by Criterion?

All I can say, is color me wrong.

Thank you so much, Criterion. Wow.

[dallywhitty]

Holy sheeeeeeeeeeeeeit.

Midnight Cowboy is one of my top ten faves, so this'll be mine for certain.

[welcometothepartypal]

Originally Posted by Dailyan

I almost bit the bullet on the MGM release many times but I'm glad I held out.

Me too. This is exactly what I've been waiting for, one of my favorites!

[burningfool]

Most excellent news.

[Scottie]

Amazon pre-order

[Hoke Moseley]

Amazing announcement. I love the artwork.

[jackinbox]

I hate the artwork. I wish Criterion had reversible art with the original poster on their releases, but I doubt that's ever going to happen.

I'm still getting this.....one of my favorite films.

Was the Schlesinger commentary on the MGM BD?

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by jackinbox

Was the Schlesinger commentary on the MGM BD?

It was not. These are the only features.

Commentary with Producer Jerome Hellman: Recording his commentary for the 35th anniversary of the film, Hellman begins by regretfully acknowledging that he is the only surviving member of the principal creative trio behind the camera. (Salt died in 1987, Schlesinger in 2003.) Despite the passage of years, Hellman has detailed recall about the origin of various sequences and various experiences on location, including locations that no longer exist. He is also one of the sources for the contrary version of the famous "I'm walking here!" scene, which, according to Hoffman, was an improv. Hellman maintains that the scene was scripted, planned and carefully rehearsed.

Pauses occur occasionally, as Hellman becomes absorbed in the film. It's clear that he's still moved by it, even after countless viewings over three and a half decades.


After Midnight: Reflecting on a Classic 35 Years Later (SD; 1.78:1, enhanced; 29:59): This is an informative and engaging documentary on the making of the film. Although their memories are obviously colored by the subsequent success of the project, the interviewees have vivid recollections and intense feelings. Participants include Voight, Hoffman, Miles, Jennifer Salt, Hellman, Holender, Barry, Bob Balaban (it was his first film) and photographer Michael Childers, who was Schlesinger's partner during the production and until his death.


Controversy and Acclaim (SD; 1.78:1, enhanced; 10:09): Many of the same interviewees discuss the MPAA's decision to slap an X rating on the film, which was the predecessor to the current NC-17. Hellman describes with obvious satisfaction how, after the film won best picture, the ratings board offered to change the rating to an R, if Hellman and Schlesinger would simply remove one frame, so that they could say it had been "recut". The producer and director refused, and the board caved.


Celebrating Schlesinger (SD; 1.78:1, enhanced; 9:36): Numerous commentators share their thoughts about the director. Interviewees include Voight, Hoffman, Salt, Childers, Holender, Balaban, Barry, Hellman, Leonard Maltin, William Devane, Kiefer Sutherland, Robert Evans, Francis Ford Coppola and Richard Gere.