Midnight Cowboy is a classic film that stands the test of time, it was the first 'X' rated film ever to win an Oscar in the USA. No this isn't a porn movie, that was the rating for films with adult themes in those days. It's also a film that along with Easy Rider made studios take more of a risk on edgy pictures.

Jon Voight plays Joe Buck, a tall young texan cowboy who comes to New York City with the dream of being a male gigolo. It's his firm belief that he is the saviour to many lonely lovelorn women in the big apple. Things don't work out as planned and soon he comes across a sleazy crippled conman Ratso Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman) who at first double crosses him but circumstances lead them to be drawn together in some tragic circumstances and adventures through 60's free love and trying to get some hope in a grimy no hope of a life.

The acting is excellent with Hoffman and Voight giving Oscar nominated performances. It's also the source of the classic line "Hey I'm walking here, I'm walking here!". Along with a great contemporary soundtrack features the classic song 'Everybody's Talkin' and John Barry's sublime score this is something that you should see.

As for the dvd well it was quite an early release but is still not bad on the presentation side considering the film is over 30 years old now.

The dvd is on 1.85:1 widescreen. It's also anamorphic which even some modern film's can't seem bothered with. Due to the film's low budget and age it's not pristine and there is grain and blemish in the print. But it's all quite minor and in no way terrible.

Sound wise the film has a 4.0 surround mix that has some good ambience with the streetlife of New York and the soundtrack well mixed. Naturally the track sounds a bit withdrawn and not as clear as modern day soundtracks but it's to be expected.

As for the extras well there is
only the theatrical trailer on the dvd but it is a good trailer that conveys some good emotion and denotes it as a classic.

There is also an 8-page booklet that lists production info and trivia on the film with some interesting points.

It would be nice to see a retrospective documentary on the film or at least an interview with the cast and director but never say never as quite a few old MGM titles are getting new special edition treatment so who knows.

Normally I wouldn't gove a 5-star rating to a dvd with little extras but there are some film's that command that sort of rating regardless and this is one of them.