Midnight Cowboy, the movie (1 Viewer)

[Raider Nation]

Saw this for the first time the other night. I see that it won Best Picture in 1969. It either wasn't my cup of tea or it simply hasn't aged well. Mildly entertaining, but I wouldn't watch it again. Hoffman was fantastic as always, though.

One question, and I'll put it in tags because it's been all over HBO recently. Maybe someone else is catching it for the first time.

Spoiler

What exactly killed Ratso?

 

[lakerstan]

The prevailing theory is TB.

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

It hasn't aged well. Its big appeal was the shock value of the subject, and without that, the movie feels a little flat.

Jon Voight's "secret" got the movie an X rating. That same secret was used as a punchline for the rapper in the movie "Tropic Thunder".

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

I thought Ratso was just a sickly little dude who suffered from a multitude of ailments.

The question I had--very icky question--is did something literal happen with his grandmother, or was it just a general creepiness?

 

[NCCommish]

You have to remember this was an X rated film. It was a huge deal that it was given wide release and to go on to win the Academy Award was huge. Different times means it's impact was quite different than seeing it today. Kind of like Citizen Kane. The only thing to get out of it today is all the camera technique Wells used. Groundbreaking in that sense. But the story doesn't have any real impact because we aren't living in that time.

 

[zamboni]

I thought it was great, and like many of the no-frills films of that era, was all about the acting amid a somewhat simple plot.

But I can see how it might not resonate with some - even among us geezers, many of the off-beat films of that era either clicked with you or they didn't.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

bubonic plague?

 

[Psychopav]

I really liked when Debra Winger rode that mechanical bull. It made things tingle down there, if you know what I mean.

Seems pretty tame to be given an X rating. Maybe it was because of all the drinking.

 

[zamboni]

I really liked when Debra Winger rode that mechanical bull. It made things tingle down there, if you know what I mean.

Seems pretty tame to be given an X rating. Maybe it was because of all the drinking.

Ratso Rizzo, Danny Zuko - same difference.

 

[dozer]

I really liked when Debra Winger rode that mechanical bull. It made things tingle down there, if you know what I mean.

Seems pretty tame to be given an X rating. Maybe it was because of all the drinking.

Yeah, and when Dustin Hoffman kicked that rodeo convict guys ### when he was trying to rob Gilly's was cool too.

 

[Raider Nation]

I really liked when Debra Winger rode that mechanical bull. It made things tingle down there, if you know what I mean.

Pretty sure you're thinking of Midnight Express.

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

Bob Babalon has spent his entire career playing nerdy college professor types. Quite a departure from his first role.

 

[drummer]

Bob Babalon has spent his entire career playing nerdy college professor types. Quite a departure from his first role.

You mean Bob Balaban.

 

[drummer]

"My name is Joe Buck. I may not be a real cowboy, but I'm a big stud!"