Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.0

Midnight Cowboy Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 30, 2011

Winner of three Oscar Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, John Schlesinger's "Midnight Cowboy" (1969) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox/MGM. The supplemental features on the disc include an audio commentary with producer Jerome Hellman; video interviews with cast and crew members; and more. In English, with optional English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, Catalan, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Traditional Chinese, Norwegian, Romanian, and Swedish subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The hustler

oe Buck (Jon Voight, Deliverance, Heat), a naive, handsome Texas cowboy heads to New York to try his luck. He wants to be a hustler because someone told him that "there are plenty of rich women back East begging for it, paying for it, too". While traveling, Joe spends most of his time chewing gum and listening to his tiny radio which helps him figure out what part of the country he is passing through.

Once in New York, Joe immediately goes to work. He approaches various women asking where the Statue of Liberty is, hoping that they would somehow figure out that he is available for hire. However, Cass (Sylvia Miles, Farewell, My Lovely, Wall Street), the only one that uses his services, asks that he pays her.

Eventually, Joe meets Ratso (Dustin Hoffman, The Graduate), a crippled con man who agrees to introduce him to a prominent escort manager -- for a proper fee. But when Joe pays Ratso, he takes him to a religious freak somewhere in Brooklyn and then runs away. Disillusioned and angered, Joe begins wandering aimlessly, until he accidentally meets Ratso again in a small coffee shop.

Though not as gritty and certainly not as violent as some of Martin Scorsese’s early urban dramas, John Schlesinger’s Midnight Cowboy is just as bleak. The film also oozes pessimism, though Joe’s awkward comments occasionally brighten up things a bit.

The film has the rawness and energy that nowadays only select independent films have -- it is as honest as it could possibly be, never even attempting to be politically correct. For example, when Joe is thrown out of his hotel he realizes that the quickest way to earn a couple of bucks is to visit a corner of the city where the cheapest male prostitutes work. It is a terrible decision but for a desperate man like him the only logical one. The goal of the film, however, is not to explore the city’s seediest corners; Joe’s experiences there are simply part of his street education.

After Joe and Ratso reunite for a short period of time the film becomes warmer. The two encourage and help each other, make a couple of good moves, and for a while it looks like they might get a break. But then they come to realize that the city is not for amateurs like them and the tone of the film again changes dramatically. The final third of the film, where the realization occurs, is incredibly moving.

The acting is exceptional. The Graduate might have transformed Hoffman into a star but Midnight Cowboy convinced everyone that he was destined to be a legend. And rightfully so, as his character, Ratso, is amongst the greatest in American cinema. For Voight, who is absolutely mesmerizing as the naive Texas longhorn, Midnight Cowboy was the film that made him a star.

Adam Holender’s (The Panic in Needle Park) lensing is original and very effective. The colorful dream sequences, for instance, were imitated in a number of different films that were made after Midnight Cowboy. Oscar-winner John Barry’s (Dances with Wolves) soundtrack is also outstanding.

*Midnight Cowboy was the first and last X-rated film to ever win an Oscar Award for Best Picture, in addition to Oscar Awards for Best Director (John Schlesinger) and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (Waldo Salt). In 1971, two years after its theatrical release, the film was re-rated to R.

Midnight Cowboy Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, John Schlesinger's Midnight Cowboy arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox/MGM.

I have mixed feelings about this Blu-ray release. The high-definition transfer it uses has been struck from a dated source - and it clearly shows. For example, the opening credits are very shaky and marred by various rather big scratches and debris. The color scheme is also weak - the variety of yellows, reds, blues, and greens are never as stable and well saturated as they should be. This said, the annoying color pulsations from the R1 DVD release of the film are largely eliminated, but the high-definition transfer definitely does not have the healthy appearance modern restoration/remasters ensure. Furthermore, a lot of darker scenes convey light blocking patterns, the majority of which appear during the final third of the film. Occasionally, light noise also creeps in (see screencapture #12), further destabilizing the film's already quite weak color scheme. Thankfully, harsh edge-enhancement does not affect the integrity of the image. The best news, however, is that the high-definition transfer has not been destroyed by DNR alterations. Naturally, I would argue that this is the one and only reason why one could tolerate the presentation - the film looks dated but not irreversibly damaged. Still, I find it rather disappointing that one of the greatest American films ever made did not get a better treatment. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

Midnight Cowboy Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are seven audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0, French DTS 5.1, Italian DTS 5.1, German DTS 5.1, Catalan DTS 5.1, and Hungarian Dolby Digital 2.0. For the record, 20th Century Fox have provided optional English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, Catalan, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Romanian, and Swedish subtitles for the main feature.

I am not overly impressed with the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. If it had to be a DTS-HD Master Audio track, I would have preferred to see a DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 or DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. As it is, I feel that the balance is not always convincing when the music makes way for the dialog, while the range of nuanced dynamics is average at best. This being said, the dialog is stable, mostly clean, and easy to follow. Some light hiss is occasionally present, but there are no problematic audio dropouts.

Midnight Cowboy Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - an audio commentary with producer Jerome Hellman. This is the same audio commentary that was included on the Collector's Edition DVD release of Midnight Cowboy.

• After Midnight: Reflecting On The Classic 35 Years Later - Dustin Hoffman, Sylvia Miles, producer Jerome Hellman, Jennifer Salt, and cinematographer Adam Holender, amongst others, discuss the film's production history, how James Leo Herlihy's famous novel was adapted, director John Schlesinger and his legacy, etc. In English, with optional English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Dutch subtitles. (30 min, 480/60i).

• Controversy and Acclaim - a collection of video interviews focusing on the controversy that surrounded Midnight Cowboy before and after it was released. In English, with optional English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Dutch subtitles. (11 min, 480/60i).

• Celebrating Schlesinger - a look at director John Schlesinger's life and legacy. In English, with optional English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Dutch subtitles.(10 min, 480/60i).

Midnight Cowboy Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I am not overly impressed with the Blu-ray release of Midnight Cowboy. 20th Century Fox/MGM could have and should have treated this classic film with a lot more respect and care. The only good news here is that the high-definition transfer has not been destroyed by DNR corrections. My advice to you is to try and get this Blu-ray release when it goes on sale.