Which Is The Only X-Rated Film To Win The Best Picture Oscar?

'Midnight Cowboy' is the only X-rated film to win the Best Picture Oscar

The Academy Award is a glittering showcase of the year’s best films. These films inspire, move, make us aware of our presence in the world, and sometimes become a religious experience altogether. But sometimes, movies make us sweat because of their uncomfortable subject matter. One such film is ‘Midnight Cowboy‘ by director John Schlesinger.

John Schlesinger made a movie about a would-be gigolo and a fresh-faced cowboy’s partnership which turns into friendship (played by Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight). It was rated X due to the constant vulgar reference to male sexuality. And to date, it’s the only movie with an X-rating to win the Best Picture Oscar.

‘Midnight Cowboy’ Won The Best Picture Oscar In 1970

English filmmaker John Schlesinger started as an actor. But in the 1960s, he was focusing on directing feature films. After directing ‘Darling ‘ and ‘Far from the Madding Crowd,’ he wanted to direct ‘Midnight Cowboy‘ based on James Leo Herlihy’s novel of the same name. Directed by Schlesinger and written by Waldo Salt, ‘Midnight Cowboy‘ stars Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight as the ailing con man Enrico Rizzo and naïve sex worker Joe Buck.

Despite their different background, they develop an unlikely friendship (with potentially homoerotic undertones) in the face of poverty and despair. The film went on to win three Oscars during the 42nd Academy Awards, including Best Picture. To date, it is the only movie with an X-rating that has the honor of winning the Best Actor Oscar.

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The Legacy Of ‘Midnight Cowboy’

(From left to right) Michael Childers and John Schlesinger

At the time of its release, ‘Midnight Cowboy‘ was credited with making and saving the careers of the cast and crew involved. The director took a while to come around to having Dustin Hoffman in the movie. Initially, Michael Sarrazin was cast to play Joe Buck. But when he was fired, Voight swooped in, agreeing to work for scale.

Waldo Saldo, the movie’s screenwriter, finally got to work after years of being embargoed by Hollywood. John Schlesinger, who won the Best Director for ‘Midnight Cowboy,’ eventually came out. Considered a taboo those days, the director had fallen in love with his assistant Michael Childers.

‘Midnight Cowboy’ is the only X-rated film ever to win Best Picture and remains timeless. Since its release, it has been 36th on the American Film Institute’s list of the 100 greatest American films ever. In 1994, ‘Midnight Cowboy‘ was deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

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