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the audience applauded

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

One of my favorite crime films is an engrossing gritty depiction of the life of an ex-con (not that I'm a real expert on the subject, but it seemed realistic to me). The film opens with Dustin Hoffman playing a greasy haired lowlife just released from prison, having to check in with his sleazy parole office, the great M. Emmet Walsh, looking for a job, but having trouble since he has a record, though he does con his way into the life of a pretty girl, the under appreciated Theresa Russell. Hoffman tries to go straight for a bit, but he doesn't try all that that hard before he slips back into a life of crime, pulling jobs with his equally scuzzy friend Harry Dean Stanton. What's most striking and memorable about "Straight Time" is how realistic the film feels. Sure lots of film have presented unglamorous depictions of a life of crime, but "Straight Time" does more than that. The script was based on a novel from real-life career criminal Edward Bunker, who later became a respected Hollywood script doctor and screenwriter. Besides Bunker, the script was also worked on by Jeffrey Boam ("The Dead Zone" "Innerspace" "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade"), Alvin Sargent ("Ordinary People," "Paper Moon," and even the recent Spider-Man films), and uncredited work by Michael Mann ("Miami Vice," "Heat," "Collateral"). The script is filled with wonderful small moments that you rarely see in crime films prior to this, such as Hoffman telling a junkie friend that his shooting up in front of him could put him away, or Hoffman casing a jewelry store with his unwitting girlfriend as cover, or a burglary scene where Hoffman bypasses a pawn shop's alarm by breaking into the store next door and busting a hole in the wall to steal pawn shop guns. The films filled with these sorts of moments that give it an authenticity that's missing from most standard of crime films. Another huge asset of the film is it's cast. Besides the above mentioned Hoffman, Russell, Walsh, and Stanton, you also have strong a strong performance by Gary Busey as Hoffman's junkie friend and most surprising of all is a young Kathy Bates playing Busey's wife, who's trying to raise a family and also trying to keep her husband on the straight and narrow, away from the criminal influence she knows Hoffman brings. Bates only has a few scenes, but leaves a strong impression on the audience as likely the most identifiable "normal" character in the film. Her most memorable scene is when Hoffman visits her and Busey and their family, when at one point she has Hoffman alone in their kitchen and tries to very nicely tell him to not come around anymore. Writer Edward Bunker also shows up in one scene as a sleazy low life character. Directed by Ulu Grosbard, the film has a wonderfully gritty feel for this lurid story of low level street criminals. While most crime films of this era focused on "professional" criminals, films such as "Prime Cut," "Charley Varrick," "The Outfit," or even "The French Connection" (which are all great films), "Straight Time" presented a unique window in the life of real criminals. Watching this film now in 2018, there's also a retro charm to the film, from Hoffman's huge sideburns, to Russell's awesome 70s outfits, to the cars, to the quaint lack of technology, which now all seems super cool, even if it was probably quite the opposite at the time of the film's original release. It's also pretty clear that "Straight Time" was an influence on "Reservoir Dogs," particularly the jewelry store robbery that's never shown in Dogs, but is shown in this film; not to mention Bunker having a small role in "Reservoir Dogs" as Mr. Blue. With music by David Shire and cinematography by Owen Roizman ("Tootsie," "The Exorcist," "The French Connection"), "Straight Time" is an American Film classic of the first order that deserves more recognition than it's been given.

As some have said here, this is a sleeper that should not be missed.Is it true "once a criminal always a criminal"? This cast certainly works hard to answer this question.Hoffman, Busey, Stanton, Russell, and Walsh all give great performances to a tight, well-written script.There is no fluff here, just a straight shooting story.The soundtrack is excellent as well.If you're reading this around the beginning of February, 2018, you can watch it for free on the TCM app on your portable device.

Wow! Where do I begin? This movie had a 7.4 rating on IMDb, and it had Dustin Hoffman, Theresa Russell, Gary Busey, Jake Busey, Harry Dean Stanton, and Kathy Bates. How could I go wrong?Well I found out. I should have know it wasn't going to be good since it was filmed in the 70's. I don't know what it is, but there seems to be something fundamentally wrong with movies shot in that decade.The movie had some really stupid dialogue, and one of the most awkward seduction scenes I've ever seen. I mean they just looked at each other for what seemed like two minutes. I found myself wondering "How do they keep from busting out laughing?" I was about to. The music was loud and terrible (very 70's), and Hoffman's actions just were not believable. He was stupid and greedy, and I just could not buy him as a tough guy. I guess he'll always be Benjamin Braddock to me. And Theresa Russell was very wooden. The only characters worth their salt were Harry Dean Stanton and M Emmet Walsh.And I couldn't fathom what the heck the final line was supposed to mean. This was a very disappointing film to me.

Very realistic crime movie, based on No Beast So Fierce, the first book by Eddie Bunker, whom you probably know as Mr Blue in Reservoir Dogs. Bunker was a career criminal with an impressive track record: he was San Quentin's youngest inmate ever and made it all the way to the FBI's most wanted list in the early seventies. During his last stay in prison he wrote No Beast So Fierce, about an ex-convict named Max Dembo, who has a hard time adjusting on the outside. According to Bunker, No Beast So Fierce is supposed to show that most ex-cons who go back to a life of crime don't choose to do so. They're forced by the system and the circumstances. Well, I haven't read the book, but in Straight Time the reason for Max Dembo's inevitable return to crime lies mostly in his character, not in the system. Sure, his parole officer (a superb M. Emmett Walsh) is a complete asshole. But who hasn't had an asshole for a boss? We take the abuse and move on. But not Max Dembo. He just can't. Too proud, too stubborn, too ill adjusted to civilian life. When Dembo attacks his parole officer and there is no way back for him, we see not only panic in his eyes but also relief. His attitude changes as well: while he was clearly uncomfortable trying to adjust to life outside, he is quite resolute and efficient as soon as he is back doing the things he does best, which is robbing banks. It's a great role for Hoffman who had Bunker and another ex-convict called John Carlen advise him throughout the production. That probably added to the realism of this great crime film. In most movies about bank robbers, the criminals are mostly outsiders by choice, with their own set of principles. Straight Time is no different. But unlike The Getaway or Charley Varrick, this one shows us the very tragic consequences of that life.