Here we are yet again with a new episode of Highbrow! Lowbrow? and we've finally reached double digits. For those unfamiliar with the format, we review the top box office earner and the Best Picture Academy Award Winner of the same year, and see which one better stands the test of time. For this episode, the year was 1969, featuring the films Midnight Cowboy (Best Picture) and Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid (top box office). One features the charismatic duo of Robert Redford and Paul Newman, while the other shows off the debut of Jon Voigt and the always excellent Dustin Hoffman.
Directed by John Schlesinger, Midnight Cowboy tells the story of Joe Buck, played by Jon Voight, a self-styled cowboy who has dreams of being a hustler in the big city. But when he finds the city unreceptive to his chosen profession, he enlists the help of an unlikely ally in Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo, played by Dustin Hoffman. Rizzo is a hustler of a different sort struggling to make ends meet. This mismatched duo make their way through the city with big ideas but little else. Though we found this film artistic and interesting, due to the heavy subject matter and somewhat bizarre visual sequences, it can be a very gloomy film. Watching these two fall down further and further into desperation and squalor takes quite a hefty toll on any film viewer. The visual style it's shot in definitely adds to the sentiment of the film with trippy visuals giving the film a drug haze emblematic of the era. But this exuberant and exhaustive high that leaves you feeling empty. Jon Voight delivers a strong debut performance as Joe Buck, the endlessly optimistic fellow who serves as the heart of the film. Dustin Hoffman is strong as well, imbuing the character Ratso with a real sense of grime, grease and sleaze, yet still delivering a vulnerability that connects. There is definitely a sense throughout the film that in its time it was tackling issues prevalent to that culture, but a lot of its message still feels relevant today. That said, this film can leave viewers with a sense of uncomfortable despair, a feeling of grimy loneliness underlining its artistic integrity.
Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid features the titular duo on heist after heist, evading the authorities with a wink and a smile every time. The heists occasionally involve Etta, Sundance's girl (although she has place in her heart for Butch as well). Paul Newman and Robert Redford light up the screen with their unmistakable charisma, and the film plays to that strength, creating a world where these characters can live up their bandit ways. It may not be historically accurate, but you can tell throughout the film that the cast and crew had fun with a lot of the scenes. There are hints of a deeper story played at, like during the still shot sequence where the trio of Butch, Sundance and Etta are living in New York. There you can glimpse hints of loneliness as Butch watches Sundance and Etta together. But even in their darkest moments, there is an almost cartoonish audacity to the situations they get themselves into. Honestly though, Redford and Newman usually pull it off. Because they are such a joy to watch, these two cool dudes eat up the scenery with a classic and trademark wit that seems second nature. It's a fairly fun romp that you can enjoy, but maybe not intellectually stimulating enough to be an all-time classic.
What's the pick? Is it the gloomy but artistic Midnight Cowboy showing the seedy side of New York with all its crushed dreams and the dark truths it reveals about ourselves? Or is it Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid with its blockbuster veneer of charismatic characters and outlandish situations? Check out the latest Highbrow! Lowbrow? to find out!
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