92 in the Shade (1975)

Midnight Cowboy (1969) is the only feature film to receive both an X-rating and an Academy Award for Best Picture. Those familiar with the film know that it ends with "Joe" helping a dying "Enrico" realize his dream of quitting New York City for Florida, a dream Enrico only barely realizes, as he passes away shortly after the bus they are travelling on crosses the state line.

Had the two made it further, to the southern end of the state, they might have brushed shoulders with the three writers who appear in yesterday's fishing video -- Richard Brautigan, Jim Harrison and Thomas McGuane -- all of whom lived for a time in Key West.

McGuane's novel 92 in the Shade (1973) is set in Key West and in 1975 was made into a film by its author. For the launch of American Whiskey Bar (1997), I screened a very scratchy print of McGuane's film (preceded by Haskell Wexler's 1969 Medium Cool) at the Pacific Cinémathèque, an experience that has led me to curate other screenings at this great and storied venue.