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This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2
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Author
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Topic: Midnight Cowboy
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Monte L Fullmer
Film God
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Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004
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posted 03-02-2005 09:20 PM
...course, we all know that MC was originally rated "X" when it won the best picture award in 1970. (the Duke finally got his award for being Rooster Cogburn in "True Grit" - beating out Dustin Hoffmann as Rico Rizzo in MC. Dustin Hoffmann's portrayal as Rico actually should have won the actor's award, but the Duke well deserved his for his character).
What a shocker to the public: an "X" rated movie getting best picture oscar!
I remember seeing MC for the first time at the drive-in I was working at in that spring of 1970-when the awards were announced. I didn't make heads or tails of this movie as well.
But in 1971 when UA re-released the movie and lowered the rating to an "R" - being that this movie really didn't have scenes that would draw such an "X" rating, thus no scenes were cut on the re-relese, and I had more time to watch to actually had more time in understanding this movie, it was more apparent that this was a good character study between two cultures: one character from a small town in Texas who had a big dream of being successful without having anything to go for him, and a "street rat" character of NYC, who knew how to steal, cheat and about anything to stay ahead of the game and that game was to survive.
More or less, this became a new "buddy movie" - movie resembling Laurel and Hardy, Abbot and Costello, Lemmon and Matthau, and others.
Yes, the movie was a bit tough to watch. Situations that was never presented before, thus making a story and plot very hard to follow. But after a few times of watching this, it all became very apparent on what was going on.
Then after this I realized that MC did deserve the best picture award.
And of course, with Harry Nilsson singing "Everybody's Talking" sticking in our minds all summer long, "Raindrops" from "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" stole the award for best song.
M*A*S*H got best director...
Good flick as always - Monte
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Will Kutler
Phenomenal Film Handler
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Posts: 1506
From: Tucson, AZ, USA
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 03-06-2005 01:19 PM
Growing up in the 1970's,my memories are that most of the highly publicized hippi/drug crap was in California and New York.
I was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1968 and lived there until 1975. We lived in a middle class working neighborhood (Euclid and Greene) area, and I attended Euclid Park Elementary School. My Dad retired from the US Postal Service, and my Mom was a Homemaker.
No one in our neighborhood was involved in the "hippie-coutner coulture"...all were busy taking care of their families and responsibilities.
What still gives me a chuckle is that my Dad was a real "lead-foot" driver. Occasionally we would encounter some hippies in a busted down VW bus on the freeway or street that would be causing a major traffic jam. My Pop would roll down his window and yell every concievable profanity at them...basically telling them to get that pos off the road, get a haircut, shower, cloths and a job! Even at that age, I thought it was ridiculus and would, at my Mom's objections, roll down my backseat window and reiterate my Dad's "Colorful" remarks!
We moved to Tucson in 1975, after my Dad's retirement. The Hippie "Counter-Culture" did not have much of a presence there, either.
Cheers
K.
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Michael Schaffer
"Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?"
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Posts: 4143
From: Boston, MA
Registered: Apr 2002
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posted 03-10-2005 06:30 PM
quote: Will Kutler My opinions are not about social intolorance! On the contrary, the neighborhoods where I grew up were family oriented, and the people were concerned with tending to their responsibilities
quote: Both my parents could have taught these loosers something about social responsibility !
That's nice, but it doesn't have anything to do at all with what I said. What I said is that it is very unfortunate that they also taught you to judge people by their outer appearance and that it is OK to yell at people (and that it is more fun to do so in groups because you feel stronger) because their appearance does not please you and fit your expectations. Because the reality is that you didn't know anything about these people. Nothing at all. Except what you thought they were like based on your prejudices about what "proper" people look like. The truth is that a lot of people grew long hair and beards etc in 70s, including a lot of people who were very well educated and businesswise very successful. Maybe they were good-for-nothings, or maybe they were first generation computer wizards on a 70s-style alternative vacation? It is a very common phenomenon for lower middle classes and below to hide their social anxieties and fears behind hatred for what they think are people who contradict the world order they feel safe in. I know you are interested in history, the 3rd Reich among other epochs. A lot of exactly that dynamic was at work there and was used to control the poeople. Think about it. It seems to me that your extremely emotional reaction to the movie "Midnight Cowboy" was triggered by those same fears. I am not saying BTW, that you have to like that movie. Not at all. I think it is a very interesting movie, even though I don't really like it very much myself. But I find it equally interesting that you apparently don't understand at all what is actually going on in that movie, but that you have this very strong allergic reaction to it.
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