MovieChat Forums > Straight Time (1978) Discussion > Dead Eye Dustin

Dead Eye Dustin

posted 9 years ago by KingVidor
2 replies | jump to latest

I was a teenager in a medium sized city in Northern California in the 1970's, in other words, in the time and roughly the place in which this movie was filmed. A lot of the guys that lived there were blue collar. There were a lot of wannabe Hell's Angels and some genuine Hell's Angels too, a lot of guys who drank too much or took drugs or did other things and got into trouble with the law.

That dead-eyed look that Dustin Hoffman had through most of this movie and even during stressful or emotional moments reminded me exactly of a lot of those guys I knew back in the old home town. I actually started chuckling to myself several times while watching this movie, not necessarily because it was a funny moment but because Hoffman just nailed the look and demeanor of those men I knew back then. The vocal tone and way of speaking too. This is one of Dustin Hoffman's greatest performances.

I just saw this film on Turner Classic Movies. I'd never heard of it before and I wish I'd known about it earlier. After one viewing it's on my list of favorite movies.

[–] noveltylibrary 9 years ago

i noticed that dead eye look too, well said. great movie that i only heard about a few years ago.

[–] ccr1633 9 years ago

I think his best dead eye look was when the PO came to get Dembo after 3 days in jail, giving him his bogus apology for being too tied up to get him earlier (or make a phone call).