Customer Reviews

Hoffman

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of my favorite movies, and I agree wholeheartedly with the previous review. I ordered it in PAL format years ago from a British website because I HAD to have it. I wanted to add that Peter Sellers plays it straight here, the film is unpredictable, moving, touching and uplifting, and VERY romantic. I wanted to add my two cents for women in particular- I loved Persuasion and Pride and Prejudice and I love this too, somehow it seems cut from the same cloth (it's the wit and the marvelous dialogue). Sort of an English Murphy's Romance with twists and turns and more depth. Lovely young Sinead Cusack (spelling?) played Demi Moore's mother in Passion of Mind and I believe she's been married to Jeremy Irons since the 60's- she is wonderful as Miss Smith. This is about who holds power in relationships, generosity, giving, and longing. Highly, highly recommended!

This has to rank as one of Peter Sellers' greatest performances, albeit in a dramatic vehicle. When the film begins Sellers appears to be a repugnant character and Sinead Cusack appears to be his helpless victim. However, as the story unfolds, these assumptions are turned upside their head in credible fashion. Anybody willing to take a chance on a unique and ultimately charming love story should see this one.

This film is surprisingly tender, and undeniably charming. The tension only works effectively because of the "supposed" repulsion and repugnancy that Cusack feels toward Sellers.
The two play remarkably well together, sharing
almost all the scenes together. There is a light,
warm hearted chemistry here, which can only be
found in films from this period.
The ending is where the greatness of what came before is heightened. This film actually has some deep commentary and metaphorical significance concerning the roles of men and women, in relationships today.
I can only say, that, what Hoffman says is true, in his first dramatic monologue in the film.
"These men, with their thoughts,
full of breasts and bottoms and thighs.
Their revolution is almost upon you:
just you wait, just you wait. Hope never dies in a man with a good dirty mind."

You have to love Peter Sellers.

I must begin by confessing I am a very big fan of Sellers, and through many reviews here and at IMDB decided to purchase this DVD even though I have never seen this film. Let me say that it is truly worth a look as well as repeated viewings. Sellers eyes appear as the saddest ever in cinema. That is how we are introduced to his character as he opens his door we see the saddest and loniest expression captured in his eyes. Wonderful dark comedy and character study but also has some romantic touches. Little seen gem that I recommned to all not just the Sellers fan.Ranks with Being There and The Optimists as his greatest dramatic roles.Remember: "Reality betrays us all."

A lonely man, terribly disappointed since his last amorous failure, decides to make a long and complicated journey to win the favor of a young lady who could be his own daughter. She will blackmail her and the pact is to spent a week with him.

The smart script is enriched with bitter and caustic dialogues; scented with that discrete charm where you immediately tie up with Vladimir Nabokov ` s Lolita. If you notice carefully the amazing resembling between Sinead Cussack and Sue Lyon you will coincide with me. It's an intimate chamber work that depicts three fundamental characters: the man in question, our candide girl and her naive boyfriend. A clever and modern fable that shows us nobody is absolutely out of game in what love concerns. When you have talent, imagination and good taste the door is open.

A mature film that will let you thinking for a long, long time.

It's a shame that one of the greatest actors ever to grace the screen is best remembered for such complete and utter buffoonery as the Clouseau character; one which Sellers himself loathed. Anyone unfamiliar with Peter's dramatic performances has no idea of the depths of this man's talents, and Hoffman is one of his best.

Terrifying, creepy, but ultimately touching, this film is deliciously reminiscent of not only Anthony Hopkins' brilliant interpretation of Hannibal Lecter, but also of his Stevens the Butler in The Remains of the Day. So much so, in fact, that one must wonder if Hopkins had not gained some inspiration for his performances from Sellers' "Hoffman." In the same vein, it makes one wonder what Peter would have done with the Lecter and Stevens characters, had he the opportunity to sink his teeth into them. Perhaps no one else, living or dead, could improve upon the existing status quo, much to Hopkins' credit.

Hoffman is purely a character study, of no interest whatever to those who gravitate towards explosions and car crashes in their movie fare.

Comparable to a freshly dug onion-dirty on the surface, then strong and offensive as the skin is removed, there seems to be no likable aspect to Benjamin Hoffman at all. He presents himself a predator, an emotional vampire, an antagonistic misogynist with the filthiest of minds, unapologetically intent on utterly humiliating his prey (brilliantly portrayed by Sinead Cusack)...

"I want to eat you. I want to consume you. I want to lick your knees."

And...

"You must never become a person, Miss Smith. That would be unendurable."

As the layers peel away, however, we are presented with a diamond mine of emotional cat-and-mouse, longing and repression. Eventually, subtle cracks begin to appear in the facade; slowly giving way to a final, last-ditch, desperate tearing down of the defenses Benjamin Hoffman has meticulously constructed to insulate himself from the risks and horrors of true intimacy. What emerges is a touching and heartwarming love story from a very different time, with one of the sweetest ending scenes ever.

A brilliant, unforgettable film.

Barely released, "Hoffman" (1970) contains one of Peter Sellers' finest dramatic portrayals in a refreshingly offbeat two-character study. Sinéad Cusack delivers an equally impressive performance in her first starring role. The British production is overlong due to director Alvin Rakoff's leisurely pacing, but the actors hold your interest. Another hidden gem from Sellers' so-called "lost decade."

I first saw Hoffman when I was about 20 years old. It made enough of an impression on me even then, that I made a mental note of it and filed it away in my mind for future reference. Now I'm in my fifties and the things I learned from Hoffman over 30 years ago still ring true. Despite what might be considered a "corny" plot, the film deals with how middle-aged men are perceived by society and how they perceive themselves when they find themselves to be losers in the game of love. Hoffman decides to change the rules of the game. Any man who has ever felt that his chance at love in life had passed him by needs to see Hoffman. While I wouldn't advocate using Hoffman's precise strategy, I would say Hoffman proves that the game isn't over as long as there is breath in our bodies and we can still come out as 'winners.' As Hoffman (Peter Sellers) tells the young love interest, Miss Smith, regarding "middle aged men with hound dog faces," - "It's our time!"

Along with Being There, Dr. Strangelove, a rarity called The Optimists and Lolita, this ranks among Peter Sellers' finest dramatic performances. As the story unfolds, fans who know Sellers only as Inspector Clouseau from the Pink Panther films may wonder, even recoil, at his choice of this role. For, although Benjamin Hoffman is an ostensibly respected, successful businessman, at an emotional and personal level he is a desperate, devious and downright nasty guy who is blackmailing his secretary to spend a week in his bed. He hopes, anyway--and expects, for the purpose of a consummated union. As if the currency of his physical demands could satisfy his emotional bills.

Why, indeed, did Peter Sellers want us to care about this apparently despicable fellow? Why, as always, does he use humor to humanize and expose the vulnerability and sensitivity of this otherwise unlikable chap? Why does he want us to look deeper, to understand that beneath Hoffman's embittered surface lie hopes, dreams, a heart that was betrayed?

For years, Sellers claimed publicly that his own identity eluded him; that, if asked to play himself, he would not have the first idea how to do so. His choice of the role of Benjamin Hoffman is a resounding testament as close to an admission of self-perception as you're likely to find. I believe that he did recognize his own shortcomings, but he could only admit them to himself from the safe distance of a role.

In any case, this is a really beautiful performance from Sellers. How bold it must have been, by late 1960s standards, to portray with such depth the loneliness, desperation, borderline neurosis of a man facing middle age alone. The chemistry between Sellers and Sinead Cusack as the young and reluctant secretary is terrific. And as always, Sellers brings to bear his amazing insight into human frailty to make us laugh, to redeem this tortured soul, Hoffman.

If you're looking for a movie with something deeper than the technology-laden plots and superficially written characters we see all too often these days, have a look at this. The ending, albeit dreamily optimistic, is heartwarming and hopeful, and I think you'll find you do care about Hoffman.

This is a masterpiece, there is no denying it! Sellers never showed us this side outside of a few glimpes in "Being There". This is his most honest and touching work. I was terribly moved by the performances. The music and title song are perfect in every way. The piano work in select scenes is superb.

Many of sellers comments are so true. "Reality betray's us all" so true so true my friends! The opening with Matt Monroe singing in the background the Sinead driving to Sellers flat in the taxi....oh my goodness this is great stuff. I wish we could just go back to this time period...I truly do. A time when you could almost take for granted films like this one, there was so much amazing going in 1970. Now today it's a rare treasure in the midst of a sea of hollywood refuse.


GET THIS FILM!