1969 was a watershed year for American cinema, with two films in particular heralding significant changes to the movie-making industry. One was "Midnight Cowboy," the story of a hustler and a junkie on the streets of New York City, starring Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman; this became the first X-rated film to win an Oscar, proving that an X was no barrier to mass acceptance.
The other was Dennis Hopper's hippie road-movie, "Easy Rider." Made for $375,000 and eventually earning in the region of $50 million, "Easy Rider" proved that hip, confrontational films aimed at a counterculture audience could sell, despite a lack of big stars.
Both of these developments would converge a few years down the road, resulting in some unlikely hits. 1971 saw "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song," the seminal blaxploitation flick by Melvin Van Peebles about a hustler who fought the law and won. The following year brought "Deep Throat," a comedic ode to oral sex by Gerard Damiano, which made its star Linda Lovelace a household name.