January 5, 2024
FILM: DESPERATE SOULS, DARK CITY AND THE LEGEND OF MIDNIGHT COWBOY
DIRECTED BY: NANCY BUIRSKI
STARRING: JON VOIGT, JENNIFER SALT, BOB BALABAN
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Midnight Cowboy was one of the great films of the late 1960s. It helped to usher in a new era of cinema with its frank depictions of the streets, alternative cultures, and gay life in New York City. It famously became the only X rated film to win the Best Picture Oscar. The documentary Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy aims to trace the background of the film as well as its social context. This isn’t a “making of” documentary, for better or worse, rather it is an examination of how the society of the time helped to create such a significant film.
Those wanting a behind the scenes look at how the film came to be might be a bit disappointed as it veers into many directions that at times are quite profound and at others feel haphazardly edited together. There are, for instance, discussions about Vietnam and the generally tumultuous decade of the 1960s. Some of these come and go and feel removed from the central study of Midnight Cowboy. At other points there are some pretty brilliant comparisons to what New York looked like during the era and how these were fully realized by John Schlesinger, the director of the Oscar-winning film. There are also some great cases made for how European filmmakers had embraced the gritty nature of reality that contributed to Schlesinger’s own look at the city. Similarly, the work of film artists such as Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey opened the world’s eyes to a more explicit view of homosexuality. Without a lot of these influences, the documentary suggests, a film like Midnight Cowboy couldn’t have been made. This was, after all, the era in which Hollywood was making big budget musicals and winning Oscars for them. Such films were a bit out of touch with the social climate of the time though.
There are some great interviews here including with one of the film’s primary stars, Jon Voight. His recollections bring tears to his eyes as he recounts his experiences. Other actors such as Bob Balaban and Brenda Vaccaro offer their own takes on what they experienced during the film’s production. (Dustin Hoffman is curiously only heard on previously recorded, faceless interviews.) A number of great insights about the film and era come from Jennifer Salt who not only appeared in the film as Voight’s old girlfriend but she was also the daughter of the film’s Oscar-winning screenwriter Waldo Salt. Her observations provide an interesting perspective on not only the shooting of the film but in particular what her father was exploring within his script. There are also recordings from interviews with Schlesinger and other members of the creative team that are great to hear as they contribute further insight into the era and film. Some of these interviews again, are edited together somewhat randomly and don’t always flow with the specific themes being explored in various sections of the documentary.
Still there are some interesting discussions about everything from the myth of the macho film cowboy, the western film genre, the X-rating, and Schlesinger’s own previous film work and homosexuality. Perhaps filmmaker Nancy Buirski was attempting too much here but this is still a fascinating study of an era and how it affected the making of and reception of a ground breaking film.
Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy is currently on the Oscar short list for Best Documentary Feature. It is available for rental on YouTube, Prime Video, Vudu, and AppleTV. It is also playing January 7th and 12th at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
FILM: DESPERATE SOULS, DARK CITY AND THE LEGEND OF MIDNIGHT COWBOY
DIRECTED BY: NANCY BUIRSKI
STARRING: JON VOIGT, JENNIFER SALT, BOB BALABAN
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Midnight Cowboy was one of the great films of the late 1960s. It helped to usher in a new era of cinema with its frank depictions of the streets, alternative cultures, and gay life in New York City. It famously became the only X rated film to win the Best Picture Oscar. The documentary Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy aims to trace the background of the film as well as its social context. This isn’t a “making of” documentary, for better or worse, rather it is an examination of how the society of the time helped to create such a significant film.
Those wanting a behind the scenes look at how the film came to be might be a bit disappointed as it veers into many directions that at times are quite profound and at others feel haphazardly edited together. There are, for instance, discussions about Vietnam and the generally tumultuous decade of the 1960s. Some of these come and go and feel removed from the central study of Midnight Cowboy. At other points there are some pretty brilliant comparisons to what New York looked like during the era and how these were fully realized by John Schlesinger, the director of the Oscar-winning film. There are also some great cases made for how European filmmakers had embraced the gritty nature of reality that contributed to Schlesinger’s own look at the city. Similarly, the work of film artists such as Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey opened the world’s eyes to a more explicit view of homosexuality. Without a lot of these influences, the documentary suggests, a film like Midnight Cowboy couldn’t have been made. This was, after all, the era in which Hollywood was making big budget musicals and winning Oscars for them. Such films were a bit out of touch with the social climate of the time though.
There are some great interviews here including with one of the film’s primary stars, Jon Voight. His recollections bring tears to his eyes as he recounts his experiences. Other actors such as Bob Balaban and Brenda Vaccaro offer their own takes on what they experienced during the film’s production. (Dustin Hoffman is curiously only heard on previously recorded, faceless interviews.) A number of great insights about the film and era come from Jennifer Salt who not only appeared in the film as Voight’s old girlfriend but she was also the daughter of the film’s Oscar-winning screenwriter Waldo Salt. Her observations provide an interesting perspective on not only the shooting of the film but in particular what her father was exploring within his script. There are also recordings from interviews with Schlesinger and other members of the creative team that are great to hear as they contribute further insight into the era and film. Some of these interviews again, are edited together somewhat randomly and don’t always flow with the specific themes being explored in various sections of the documentary.
Still there are some interesting discussions about everything from the myth of the macho film cowboy, the western film genre, the X-rating, and Schlesinger’s own previous film work and homosexuality. Perhaps filmmaker Nancy Buirski was attempting too much here but this is still a fascinating study of an era and how it affected the making of and reception of a ground breaking film.
Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy is currently on the Oscar short list for Best Documentary Feature. It is available for rental on YouTube, Prime Video, Vudu, and AppleTV. It is also playing January 7th and 12th at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.