MovieChat Forums > Straight Time (1978) Discussion > This is a great movie from the greatest ...

This is a great movie from the greatest decade for movies

posted 8 years ago by Jakealope
7 replies | jump to latest

it was realistic, easily followed, had great acting and good characters. Too bad today they just make mostly schlock action nonsense films where the criminals are like ninjas or indies with emo music.
The only part I found false was that scene where he commandeered the parole officer's car and went careening through free-way traffic

What are they doing? Why do they come here?
Some kind of instinct, memory, what they used to do.

[–] partydjz (424) 7 years ago

You're absolutely correct, this is over looked classic, Hoffman in his prime. Today's Hollywood is all pure garbage for the unthinking masses of sheep.

[–] lukejbarnett (1869) 5 years ago

a lot of people on here say this, that nowadays movies are brainless and forgettable. so one of two things is happening either we are a certain age so we like our movies from the '70s and '80s and hate nowadays movies or the young people have it bad, they get the worst movies in their generation. it's the former. while there is a preference to movies of our childhood or around when we were born to like more than nowadays movies. it has nothing to do with how bad nowadays movies are. so, these bad movies coming out are stronger than our preferences to our movies.

[–] yatzo376 (7717) 7 years ago

I agree wholeheartedly!
The 70s made the best films, especially crime dramas like Straight Time.

[–] Culburn (3638) 7 years ago

Yes. Hoffman & the Russell girl sustain it. Busey & M. Emmet Walsh make it throb.

Busey is so freaking good here!

[–] ccr1633 (1523) 5 years ago

Don't forget about Harry Dean Stanton. Every single scene he's in is pure gold. "What do we got? 20's? 30's? 50's?" Dembo: "Yeah, there's 20's. There's no 30's, man."

[–] lukejbarnett (1869) 5 years ago

my friend said Busey doesn't give a convincing performance. i didn't have a problem with Busey. i thought he gave a good performance.

[–] lukejbarnett (1869) 5 years ago

every knowledgeable film person always says the '70s is the best decade for movies and i have to agree with them. everything before the '50s was boring. the '50s and '60s movies, about half of them are boring. but something changed in the '70s and it was the freedom to show hardcore sex and violence and nudity and adult situations at least in American movies. gone were the days of inferring things and things happening off camera.

people like Tarantino love '70s movies so much. i bet Tarantino's favorite decade for movies is the '70s. he said one time his favorite director is Brian De Palma. a '70s director.

you forgot to say this is a masterpiece and a classic film. out of all the films i've watched in my life it's up there. it has to be in the top 20 at the lowest. amazing mostly because of and anchored by one of the best performances in film history by Dustin Hoffman, this is one of the most lasting and memorable films ever made.

lol! that's the part my friend had a major problem with. he said that was so unrealistic how he punched him while he was in the car with him on a freeway.

nowadays if they make a heist movie they make it generic. nothing stands out about current heist or action movies. they don't create real characters who you care about in action movies or really any movies today which is really sad. and it's been this way since about '00.