Midnight Cowboy (1969)

The first thing that most people will say about Midnight Cowboy is that it is the only film so far to win Best Picture while it had an X-rating. Watching the movie 40+ years later, it is nothing that shocking but apparently in 1969, it was worthy of the label. The rating was changed to R a few years after it was released but when it won the Oscar, it was rated X.

The movie features Dustin Hoffman in his first of three Best Picture appearances. One of the most famous movie quotes is said by Hoffman while crossing the street and almost getting hit by a car. Hoffman's, "I'm walkin' here!" has been copied in other films including Back to the Future Part II and Miss Congeniality.

The other star of the movie is Jon Voight, most famous for being Angelina Jolie's father. It is Voight's character that moves to the city to become a male prostitute but has no idea how the business is handled.

Several good movies were nominated for the 1969 Best Picture Oscar. I personally liked other ones more than Midnight Cowboy but it is occasionally good to see something win that will upset prudes.