A doc you can give a Joe Buck about.

A movie like “Desperate Souls, Dark City, and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy” shared a certain passion for movies. Two weeks ago, I was able to read “Lynch/Oz,” which was basically about how David Lynch and many other great filmmakers use certain themes from the classic film “The Wizard of Oz” in their movies.

This documentary focuses on the making and inspiration for “Midnight Cowboy,” the film that wouldn’t get trimmed from its original X-rating to the R-rating its given today. We even see what the late great filmmaker John Schlesinger has accomplished, despite the road blocks that have affected the late 60s-70s era. Outside that movie, is a time regarding the gay themes, sex, and the protests of the Vietnam War.

I’ve watched the 1969 classic on YouTube, and even if I did see it in a theater or on TV, you know my saying on my website: “I care less about the format, and more about whether the movie is good or not.” Either way, I was able to see life in the performances from Jon Voight as sex worker Joe Buck and Dustin Hoffman as conman Rico Rizzo. It’s an X-rated movie that isn’t just about the sex, but also about what life throws at these two conmen. And plus, it’s the best movie to feature Harry Nilsson’s take on “Everybody’s Talkin’” on the soundtrack.

“Desperate Souls, Dark City, and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy” should have extended itself, because all the elements it needs to talk about seem crammed in. At times, it’s hard to focus on everything it wants to discuss. But it does open our eyes and minds about how society was, and how movies were influenced by them, and their filmmakers weren’t afraid to take risks. Time periods have ways of transcending to what the audience wants or what makes them comfortable.

I saw this at the Boulder Theater during the Boulder International Film Festival, and seeing all the clips from “Midnight Cowboy” (as well as other movie clips like “Far From the Madding Crowd” and “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” both directed by Schlesinger) makes me feel good seeing parts of a classic film in an old theater. Do not get rid of all the best old theaters. There’s nothing wrong with keeping them.

“Desperate Souls, Dark City, and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy” doesn’t exceed the phenomenal art that is “Midnight Cowboy,” but it does love to talk about it, and we should give a Joe Buck about that classic film and this new doc.

In Select Theaters This Friday