Film Night: Midnight Cowboy

John Schlesinger’s longtime partner, the photographer Michael Childers, introduces the 50th Anniversary edition of the Academy Award-winning drama starring Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman. After the film, Peter Bart, editor emeritus Variety Magazine, will moderate a Q&A.

Convinced of his irresistible appeal to women, Texas dishwasher Joe Buck (Jon Voight) quits his job and heads for New York City, thinking he’ll latch on to some rich dowager. New York, however, is not as hospitable as he imagined, and Joe soon finds himself living in an abandoned building with a Dickensian layabout named Enrico “Ratso” Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman). The two form a rough alliance, and together they kick-start Joe’s hustling career just as Ratso’s health begins to deteriorate.

The 1969 film was directed by John Schlesinger and won the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. Run time: 113 minutes.

Included with museum admission. Advance tickets are recommended.