Dustin Hoffman is generally considered one of the best actors to come out of the 1960s/70s. The Graduate. All The President's Men. Midnight Cowboy. Papillon. Marathon Man. Kramer vs. Kramer. Those are some iconic films with unforgettable Dustin Hoffman performances and a CV that anyone would be proud of. What has been forgotten is Straight Time, a crime drama based on career criminal Edward Bunker's novel No Beast So Fierce. It's a standard tale (ex-con tries to go straight but fails and gets drawn back into the life), elevated by Hoffman's performance. The film was a pet project of the diminutive star, and he was originally going to direct, but dropped out after a few days and Ulu Grosbard took over. That's no tragedy, since Grosbard was an accomplished director and meant that Hoffman could focus most of his efforts on his acting. One of the best, most earnest depictions of a criminal you will see on film.
