Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy

Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy is a 2022 American documentary film, written, directed, and produced by Nancy Buirski. It is loosely based and inspired by Shooting Midnight Cowboy: Art, Sex, Loneliness, Liberation, and the Making of a Dark Classic by Glenn Frankel.

Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Nancy Buirski
Written by	Nancy Buirski
Produced by	Nancy Buirski Simon Kilmurry Susan Margolin
Starring	Bob Balaban Ian Buruma Michael Childers
Cinematography	Rex Miller
Edited by	Anthony Ripoli
Production companies	Augusta Films Foothill Productions Cineflix Productions Artemis Rising Drymen Pictures St. Marks Productions
Distributed by	Zeitgeist Films Kino Lorber
Release dates	September 1, 2022 (2022-09-01) (Venice) June 23, 2023 (2023-06-23)
Running time	101 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$55,124^[1]^[2]

It had its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2022, and was released on June 23, 2023, by Zeitgeist Films and Kino Lorber. It was shortlisted for Best Documentary Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards,^[3] but it was not nominated.^[4]

Plot

The film follows the journey of making and producing Midnight Cowboy (1969), as well as the era the movie was released in.^[5]

Cast

• Bob Balaban
• Ian Buruma
• Michael Childers
• Brian De Palma
• J. Hoberman
• Adam Holender
• Charles Kaiser
• Jennifer Salt
• Lucy Sante (as Luc Sante)
• Brenda Vaccaro
• Jon Voight
• Edmund White

Production

In May 2021, it was announced Nancy Buirski would direct a documentary film revolving around Midnight Cowboy, based upon the book Shooting Midnight Cowboy: Art, Sex, Loneliness, Liberation, and the Making of a Dark Classic by Glenn Frankel.^[6]

Buriski reached out to cast members from Midnight Cowboy, with Sylvia Miles passing away, and Dustin Hoffman being unavailable to interview.^[7][8]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2022.^[9][10] It also screened at the Telluride Film Festival on September 4, 2022.^[11] In March 2023, Zeitgeist Films and Kino Lorber acquired distribution rights to the film.^[12]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 91% of 33 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "As engrossing as it is ambitious, Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy contextualizes a landmark film within the pivotal moment of its creation."^[13] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 66 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.^[14]

References

1. "Desperate Souls, Dark City, and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy". The Numbers. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
2. "Desperate Souls, Dark City, and the Legend of Midngiht Cowboy". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
3. Davis, Clayton (21 December 2023). "Oscar Shortlists Announced for 10 Categories: 'Barbie' Leads the Way". Variety. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
4. "Oscar Nominations 2024: See the Full List Here". Vanity Fair. January 23, 2024. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
5. "Desperate Souls, Dark City, and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy". Augusta Films. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
6. Lang, Brent (May 6, 2021). "'Shooting Midnight Cowboy' Inspires Documentary From 'The Rape of Recy Taylor' Director Nancy Buirski (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
7. Ntim, Zac (August 30, 2022). "Nancy Buirski Explores The Legacy Of 'Midnight Cowboy' In The First Look Clip From Her New Doc 'Desperate Souls, Dark City And The Legend Of Midnight Cowboy'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
8. Bluesky, Brian (January 12, 2023). "Michael Childers and Nancy Buirski talk the legend of 'Midnight Cowboy'". The Desert Sun. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
9. "Desperate Souls, Dark City, and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy". Venice International Film Festival. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
10. Scarpa, Vittoria; De Marco, Camillo (July 26, 2022). "Great masters, confirmations and debuts at the 79th Venice Film Festival". Cineuropa. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
11. Hammond, Pete (September 1, 2022). "Telluride Film Festival Set With World Premieres Of Sam Mendes' 'Empire Of Light', Sarah Polley's 'Women Talking', Cate Blanchett Tribute And More". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
12. Grobar, Matt (March 22, 2023). "Kino Lorber, Zeitgeist Films Acquire 'Midnight Cowboy' Making-Of Documentary 'Desperate Souls, Dark City'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
13. "Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
14. "Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy". Metacritic. Retrieved April 19, 2024.

External links

• Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy at IMDb  
• Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy at AllMovie
• Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy at the TCM Movie Database