It's been over five decades since Dustin Hoffman andJon Voightstarred in Midnight Cowboy. The film still holds its ranking as one of the best rock movies ever made, and cemented itself with Oscar wins and a Grammy-winning soundtrack.
UltimateClassicRock compiled a list of the best rock films of all time, with Midnight Cowboy tagged as the best release of 1969. The movie itself has a long list of accolades and achievements that make its title even more fitting. Directed by John Schlesinger, the film is based on James Leo Herlihy's 1965 novel of the same name.
Voight played the leading role of Joe Buck, a young Texan who quits his job as a dishwasher to move to New York to become a male prostitute. While initially unsuccessful, he soon meets an ailing con man named Rico "Ratso" Rizzo (Hoffman). The two lonely and lost men soon spark an unlikely friendship. Midnight Cowboy was a success, considering its budget was $3.2 million, and it made $44. 8 million at the box office upon its release.
Critics tagged the film "a slick, brutal" rendition of the original novel, with Voight and Hoffman called a "marvelous pair" with their performances. Many fans may recall one of the film's most iconic and unplanned lines when Hoffman is almost hit by a real yellow taxi and shouts, "I'm walkin' here!"
Midnight Cowboy received an X-rating due to its use of sexual themes and even assault. When it won Best Picture at the 42nd Academy Awards, it became the first and only X-rated film to win in the category. The movie also won Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, with Voight winning Most Promising Newcomer - Male at the Golden Globes.
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Besides the film itself, Midnight Cowboy also gained recognition for its soundtrack. Its main title theme was Fred Neil's track "Everybody's Talking," which was sung by Harry Nilsson. Neil first recorded the track in 1966 for his second album, and it wasn't released until two years later. The track didn't gain much traction on the charts until Nilsson's version that same year.
Nilsson was looking for his next big hit when he was introduced to "Everybody's Talking" and released it on his Aerial Ballet album. When approached for Midnight Cowboy, Nilsson wrote the track "I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City," but the director preferred the 1968 track.
His version of "Everybody's Talking" landed at No.6 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and No. 2 on the Adult Contemporary charts. It led to Nilsson winning a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Vocal Performance, Male. John Barry, who composed the score, won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Theme.
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