Midnight Cowboy

Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight in 1969 for ‘Midnight Cowboy’ set in the broken dreams of late 1960s New York City with survival of a harsh winter in salvation of an abandoned building and undying skills only a street education can teach.

The film marked a transition and shift in American cinema after a long period of the stagnant rules of the Hollywood code. With an emphasis on realism and emotional unveiling of an obvious edge that cinema had been missing since the pre-code era of the 1930s.

The inspiration of the costume design embodies that change with a innovation of allowing Ann Roth’s creations of to be an essential voice in the narrative of the story. A voice so distinct it gives dialect to characters with accented nuance that is emotionally connecting. It gives a unspoken backstory that is often limited to the constraints of time and script.

The film’s most iconic costume of the character Joe Buck’s fringe suede leather jacket was painstakingly handmade for authenticity; ‘I wanted it to look real and unhip’ recalls Roth.

With the flashy hand embroidered pearl snap button western shirts Joe Buck comes off a novelty act for exploitation in the grime of Times Square but remaining in character to his complete naïveté to what he has yet to learn from his small hometown of Texas.

• Starring: Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight

• Directed By: John Schlesinger

•Costume Design by: Ann Roth

• Released May 25, 1969

• the film received three Academy Awards; for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay

• the only film with an ‘X’ rating to win an Academy Award for Best Picture

• the film is considered to be quite tame compared to modern day depictions of sexual content and violence that is commonly on prime time American television. The rating has since been adjusted back to ‘R’ rating when shown for contemporary audiences and viewings.