Voight was a 6'3″, apple-cheeked 22-year-old with long blond hair and an angelic face that could be mistaken for the blandly handsome youngster on a can of Dutch Boy house paint. “I was a young-looking person,” he recalls. “I wasn't a man yet.”

What was controversial about Midnight Cowboy?

However, after consulting with a psychologist, executives at United Artists were told to accept an "X" rating, due to the "homosexual frame of reference" and its "possible influence on youngsters". The film was released with an X rating.

Who won the best actor for Midnight Cowboy?

What was the point of Midnight Cowboy?

At the heart of "Midnight Cowboy" are two loners who find one another amidst the chaos of urban life. John Schlesinger's bold deconstruction of masculinity and the American dream focuses on Joe Buck (Jon Voight), a male prostitute from Texas who travels to New York City seeking fame and fortune.

What movie did Jon Voight win an Oscar for?

Voight followed a lead role in the conventional thriller The Odessa File (1974) with a moving portrayal of a paralyzed Vietnam War veteran in the drama Coming Home (1978) that earned him Golden Globe and Oscar awards for best actor; the Cannes film festival also named him best actor for the role.

Jon Voight: Burt Reynolds, you were a true artist

How many Oscars did Midnight Cowboy win?

Midnight Cowboy's seamy depiction of sexuality was shocking at the time and drew an X rating, but it received generally favourable reviews and won five BAFTA Awards (including that for best picture) as well as three Academy Awards, and it was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1994.

What movie made Jon Voight famous?

Ever since he made his way into the American consciousness with his Oscar-nominated portrayal of Joe Buck, the naïve Texan-turned-New York City hustler in "Midnight Cowboy" (1969), actor Jon Voight was associated with the angst and unruliness that typified the late-1960s counterculture.

Why was Midnight Cowboy banned?

Back in 1969, another film with gay themes drew the board's most restrictive rating, then known as “X.” It was John Schlesinger's Midnight Cowboy, an adaptation of the 1965 James Leo Herlihy novel about a handsome young Texan (Jon Voight) who hops a bus to New York City to try to make it as a gigolo.

Is Midnight Cowboy an obscene film?

Parents need to know that Midnight Cowboy was the first X-rated film to win the Oscar for Best Picture, though its rating was later changed to an R. Made in 1969, the movie has some strong adult content that can still startle today. The main character wishes to be a male prostitute for women, and there are…

How good was Midnight Cowboy?

Midnight Cowboy Reviews

The camerawork is amazing, capturing vistas of glory and grime from the dawn of 1970s New York. 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.

What happens to Rizzo in Midnight Cowboy?

Ratso's health deteriorates over the course of the long bus ride. He becomes incontinent, and eventually unresponsive. Joe buys new clothing for Ratso and himself at a rest stop, and discards his cowboy outfit. Shortly before arrival, Joe wakes up to discover that Ratso has died.

What was the Best Picture in 1969?

The year 1969 in film involved some significant events, with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid dominating the U.S. box office and becoming one of the highest-grossing films of all time and Midnight Cowboy, a film rated X, winning the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Did Midnight Cowboy win an Oscar for Best Picture?

At the Oscars that night in April, “Midnight Cowboy” would prevail, becoming the first and thus far only X-rated movie ever to be named best picture, while “Hello Dolly!” would have to settle for minor awards honoring its score, art direction and sound design.

Was Dustin Hoffman nominated for an Oscar for Midnight Cowboy?

The movie won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Both Hoffman and Voight were nominated for Best Actor awards and Sylvia Miles was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

Why do people like Midnight Cowboy?

MIDNIGHT COWBOY is an interesting, unique, Oscar-winning drama from 1969 that provides an acting showcase for the two leads. It tends to be much better directed than it is written, and there are still murky, strange aspects that don't make a whole lot of sense, the main character's back story for example.

Who did the theme song for Midnight Cowboy?

A version of the song performed by American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson became a hit in 1969, reaching No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and winning a Grammy Award after it was featured in the film Midnight Cowboy.

When was Midnight Cowboy shot?

(1969) “Everybody's talkin” at cowboy-geared, straight-from-the-sticks stud wannabe Jon Voight, while seedy tenement squatter Dustin Hoffman is “walkin' here” as he storms at a pushy cabdriver; but they form their own alliance within the grubby underside of Times Square.

What movie was banned in America?

Does Dustin Hoffman still act?

As he turns 85 on August 8, Hoffman remains professionally active. His incredibly rich filmography includes over 60 roles. His latest to date is that of a dying patriarch in the family drama "As they Made Us" written, directed, and produced by Mayim Bialik.

Who were the two stars in Midnight Cowboy?

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.

Is Jon Voight related to Angelina Jolie?

Despite originally adopting liberal views, Voight has gained attention in his later years for his outspoken conservative and religious beliefs. He is the father of actress Angelina Jolie and actor James Haven.

Why is Angelina Jolie's last name Jolie?

Per Hola!, Jolie and Haven decided to drop their father's surname Voight to take their mother's surname before they rose to fame in the showbiz industry. The source adds that the Disney's Maleficent actress eventually legally took on her current surname, which used to be her middle name, and means “pretty” in French.

What is Jon Voight doing now?

EXCLUSIVE: Jon Voight has signed with Gersh for represenation. Known for his critically acclaimed performances in Coming Home and Ray Donovan, the Oscar and Emmy winning actor has not slowed down one bit. Next up for Voight is the Francis Ford Coppola's long awaited epic Megalopolis, which is set to bow next year.

What is the most Oscar winning movie in history?

What was the first R rated best picture?

The French Connection won five Oscars, including Best Directing for Friedkin and Best Actor for Hackman, and marked the first time that an R-rated film won Best Picture.