Hustler heritage

After seeing "Idaho," I'm eager to revist the hustler movie to end all hustler movies, one that is at least visually referenced in "Idaho" and "Brokeback Mountain." Has anyone else seen "Midnight Cowboy" from 1969 (the only X-rated movie to ever win an Oscar)? I saw it a couple of times in college, but not since. If you've seen it recently, how do you think it's holding up?

Only for money

Did you buy Scott's claim that he had sex with guys only for the money? Or did that strike you as a form of self-repression as in "Brokeback Mountain"? (In "Brokeback," the guys are clearly in love, but for one of them there still is a sense that two men can't truly be together — they can meet in secret and have sex, but they can't have a meaningful life together, only "vacations.")

Before "Brokeback"

One thing that really intrigues me about this film is when it was released: 1991 — almost 15 years before "Brokeback Mountain," which we all tend to think of as the breakthrough "gay" movie using popular straight actors as the male leads. "Idaho" was notable because it took two teen idols — River and Keanu — and cast them in queer roles. (Apparently, Keanu accepted the role immediately, but River had to be talked into it). "Idaho" is talked of as a "gay classic," and its director is obviously highly esteemed — so the film has prestige through that connection, but the artsier "Idaho" was not a mainstream sensation like "Brokeback," despite the wildly popular actors in it. Do you have any thoughts on that (apart from the "artsy" factor)?

And do you think of it as a "gay" movie?

(My own experience, on second viewing, is that the gay theme is almost incidental in "Idaho" and is crucial in "Brokeback.")

Incidentally, the campfire scene in "Idaho" — two "cowboys" in the wilderness — made me think of "Brokeback."