hardly the stuff dream be make of be this pursuit of the brass ring by a naive hustler ( jon voigt ) and his lame con man sidekick ( dustin hoffman ) and soon to forge a friendship base on basic survival skill . a daring film for it time and and a foremost example of the kind of gritty landscape be explore in the more graphic film of the 60 . symbolic of the end of innocence in american film and since it be the only x rat film to win a best picture oscar . jon voigt be the male hustler who come to the big city expect to find woman an easy way to make money when they fight over his body and but soon find the city be a cold place with no welcome mat for his ilk . befriend by a lame con man ( dustin hoffman ) and he go through a series of serio comic adventure that leave him disillusioned and bitter and ready to leave the confines of a cold water flat for the sunshine promise in florida and a land his friend ratzo dream of living in . but even in this final quest and the two be loser . john schlesinger have direct with finesse from a brilliant script by waldo salt and and john barry haunt midnight cowboy theme add to the poignant moment of search and desperation . sum up represent a true american classic honestly face a tough subject and daring to show the underbelly of certain aspect of city life .