Product Details

• Actors: Dustin Hoffman, Theresa Russell, Gary Busey, Harry Dean Stanton, M. Emmet Walsh
• Directors: Dustin Hoffman, Ulu Grosbard
• Writers: Alvin Sargent, Edward Bunker, Jeffrey Boam, Michael Mann, Nancy Dowd
• Producers: Dustin Hoffman
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• VHS Release Date: November 10, 1997
• Run Time: 114 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6300269035
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #239,056 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Straight Time is notable for one of Dustin Hoffman's best--and least-seen--performances, as a lifelong criminal who, as a parolee, struggles to go straight. But it's a losing battle right from the jump. In less than a week, he's had a scuffle with his parole officer (M. Emmet Walsh) and is on the dodge, looking for a score. But you know that this guy has only two directions he can go in life--and that's either back to prison or into an early grave. A startling depiction of a surprisingly likable sociopath, this Ulu Grosbard film is a dark meditation on one man's firm--if skewed--values and features Hoffman in a relentless, wiry portrayal. The rest of the cast is equally strong, including the always-reliable Harry Dean Stanton, then-newcomer Gary Busey, and an unknown Kathy Bates. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars '70s seediness at its best, December 15, 2002

By 

DJ Joe Sixpack (...in Middle America) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Straight Time [VHS] (VHS Tape)

A grim, rigidly understated, crime flick, featuring Dustin Hoffman as a tight-lipped, ill-fated career criminal. His onscreen transition from a docile but dignified parolee to a cold, calculating man of action is surprising and effective; the second half of the film is a dry-mouthed slow-drip of adrenaline and dread. Plenty of gritty '70s ambiance, and strong performances by Harry Dean Stanton, Gary Busey and a young Kathy Bates. Theresa Russell is absorbing as the good girl gone wrong who has a puzzling attraction to a very dangerous man. Worth checking out.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great companion piece to Midnight Cowboy, May 26, 2007

By 

LGwriter "SharpWitGuy" (Astoria, N.Y. United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Straight Time (DVD)

This 1978 film, co-written by Eddie Bunker--an actual con known for his realistic stories of criminals and prison life--stars Dustin Hoffman in one of his absolute best roles as Max Dembo, a con who has to contend with an arch-enemy in the form of his ultra-nasty parole officer, played perfectly by none other than M. Emmet Walsh.

Also on hand, as Dembo re-embarks on a life of crime after release from the slammer, are his buds, also former crooks, who are persuaded by Max to once again plunge into the dark side of crime. Gary Busey and Harry Dean Stanton are these guys, and the casting here is right on target. Stanton is always good, but here he's even better as a world-weary guy who's so jaded by his marriage that he's eager to get going with Dembo, rather than having to go through the endlessly boring days of domestic life with his wife (Kathy Bates in an early role, and great as usual).

This is a terrific companion piece to another Dustin Hoffman-starring film, Midnight Cowboy. In both films, we see how the actor gets under the skin of a character who's at rock bottom and teases out of this mess so much humanity that the viewer is glued to the screen. Hoffman in his prime? You bet. Just about no other actor around is this good in this kind of role. He's a malevolent force of nature in Straight Time who has a devastating impact on everyone around him.

One of the most unknown films of the 1970s--because it's so downbeat, the box office gross was really low at the time of its release. But it's a great film, a quintessentially American film whose focus on the underbelly of the great American dream is as strong as a bullwhip.

Get this, see it, and dig it. It's great.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Based on the late, great Eddie Bunker's novel, November 14, 2005

By 

Kirk Alex - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Straight Time [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Simply put: one of the finest crime flicks ever made. Hoffman never better. Eddie Bunker has a cameo in it.
Check it out.
Isn't it about time they put this gem out on DVD?