Discover
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John Schlesinger
Director -
Ann Roth
Costume Design -
Waldo Salt
Screenplay -
John Barry
Original Music Composer -
Kenneth Utt
Associate Producer -
Richard C. Kratina
Camera Operator -
Toots Thielemans
Music -
Burtt Harris
Assistant Director
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Potential Kermode 6/23/2021 3:57:55 PM
**"I'm walking here! I'm walking here!" Shuffling, perhaps.** One can always count on Hoffman and his ability to absorb the character he is portraying with such ease. He has a knack at portraying that deep, bronchial coughing schtick. When watching, I had to wear a surgical mask - just in case. Voight, as usual, is magnificent as the innocent amongst the scum. Watching this wide eyed lone ranger slowly losing the tassels from his jacket is a deeply moving experience. A word of warning, you may want to use antibacterial wipes on your tv screen after watching Hoffman here. One cannot be too careful. - Potential Kermode
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CinemaSerf 6/3/2023 3:48:22 PM
This is certainly my favourite role from Dustin Hoffman as he turns in an outstanding performance as "Ratso". He hooks up with the dapper, but out of his depth cowboy "Buck" who arrives in New York all set to be a hustler, but ends up paying his first client for the sex she's supposed to pay him for! Initially, "Ratso" fleeces this gullible guy too, but gradually the two start to depend on one and other - which is as well for "Ratso" who is clearly not long for this world. His persistent cough is being worsened by the squalid conditions in which he, and latterly, "Buck" have to live and by their poverty row existence. This is a great story and John Schlesinger tells it with some panache. The relationship between the two men is honest and decent, even though that attribute could hardly be said to apply to either of them when it comes to anyone else: "Ratso" would probably have hustled his own grandmother given the chance. Their bond feels real, plausible - unsentimental and convincing; and the Waldo Salt screenplay ensures that the dialogue - though frequently quite sparing - is both poignant and humorous.
Jon Voight
Joe BuckM. Emmet Walsh
Bus Passenger (uncredited)Dustin Hoffman
Enrico "Ratso" RizzoBob Balaban
The Young StudentJohn McGiver
Mr. O'DanielBrenda Vaccaro
ShirleyBill Walters
St. Bernard Owner (uncredited)Sandy Duncan
Woman in TV Montage (uncredited)