«A hard, dark and difficult film to accept, perhaps the worst indictment of the city of New York ever captured on film». That’s how the film critic Rex Reedhistoric pen of New York Timescalled this drama film about Prime Video which we recommend you see tonight, and which will really punch you in the stomach.
“A man from the sidewalk” is now considered a classic of the history of New Hollywood cinema, which gives a raw and realistic representation of male prostitution and homosexuality in the United States of the 1960s, but it still has much to teach today.
The original title of the film is Midnight Cowboyjust like the novel by James Leo Herlihy from which it is taken.
He thought about bringing the book to the big screen John Schlesinger, whose direction provided the story with a strong sense of realism and authenticity. The result was a film, now recoverable on Prime Videowhich immediately convinced audiences and critics.
In addition to its immediate box office success (in 1969, the film set a record of $15,226 in its first two days of screening at the Coronet Theatrea Broadway theater in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York.), audiences have continued to appreciate it over time, with The Sidewalker attesting to an 87% rating of positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and 76 points out of 100 on Metacritics.
A man from the sidewalk it is also present in the list of the 100 best American films of all timeAmerican Film Institute (in 43rd place) and has won many awards, including 5 BAFTAs and 3 Oscar Awards (Best Film, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay).
And all this despite the release of this work being decidedly troubled (or, perhaps, precisely because of this!). In fact, the film about Prime Video which we are suggesting you absolutely recover was banned for children under 17 due to its highly explicit sexual and violent content, and a very direct representation of male homosexuality, which was still taboo at the time.
The performances of its protagonists, a pair of very talented actors much loved by the public, also remained unforgettable.
With his portrayal of the hapless gigolo Joe Buck, Jon Voight he won his first nomination for the Oscar for best actor, which he won 10 years later with “Coming Home”.
In the same category, precisely because it will be impossible to recognize a “sidekick” in this film, he will also compete Dustin Hoffman with his interpretation of the scammer Enrico “Rico” Rizzo. For him the coveted statuette will arrive twice, for “Kramer vs. Kramer” in ’79 with “Rain Man – The rain man” in ’88.
The splendid soundtrack also deserves a special mention, which contains the very famous song Everybody’s Talkin’written in 1966 by Fred Neil and performed by Harry Nilsson.
Here are the plot details of this profound and moving film about Prime Video…
Joe Buck is an ambitious young man who decides to move from Texas to New York to seek his fortune as a gigolo.
He is convinced that the Big Apple is full of bored rich women, frustrated by the absence and homosexuality of their husbands, who he can seduce in an instant with his virile appearance and his cowboy disguise.
Unfortunately, Joe instead finds himself faced with a very different reality from the one he had imagined and the only one who, after having defrauded him, will try to help him is Enrico Rizzo, a street delinquent with serious health problems.
The two make ends meet as they can, but Joe tries several times to establish himself on the male prostitution market, with little success. Indeed, he often ends up helping his clients who prove fragile and unlucky.
However, everything comes to a head when Enrico’s health conditions worsen, and the two men risk eviction…
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