大象传媒

An X鈥搑ated picture winning the Oscar for Best Picture?

From squeaky clean, well-shaved 'Graduate', to sleazy pimp - Dustin Hoffman shows his acting prowess in John Schlesinger's well-deserved but shocking Oscar Best Picture from 1969.

Paul Gambaccini recalls how it was not a surprise when 'Midnight Cowboy' won the Oscar for Best Picture of 1969 - not to mention gongs for the director, John Schlesinger, and screen writer, Waldo Salt.

But take a fresh look at this film, 45 years later, and it's obvious why it blasted its way passed the opposition at the Academy Awards.

The film was rife with acting talent; a young Dustin Hoffman, messing up his clean cut reputation by taking on the role of a down at heel New York bum; Jon Voight as a na茂ve but optimistic hustler; Brenda Vaccaro as a lush, fur-coated party girl and Sylvia Miles hilarious in a short but lauded sex scene.

It also brought one of the most extraordinary scriptwriters, Waldo Salt, and one of the first 'out' directors, John Schlesinger, together with one of the least experienced, but adventurous cinematographers, Adam Holender - a moment of production chemistry.

Featuring fresh interviews with:

Adam Holender
Sylvia Miles
Producer Jerome Hellman
Brenda Vaccaro
Waldo Salt's daughter Jennifer
John Schlesinger's long-term partner, Michael Childers

Producer: Sara Jane Hall

First broadcast on 大象传媒 Radio 4 in February 2015.

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