Hoffman
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Movie Reviews of Hoffman
Movie Review: Little Known Sellers gem well worth viewing
Summary: 5 Stars
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."Movie Review: a fine late 60s film
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of my favourite films. It is a beautiful colour masterpiece from 1969 and one of the best British films of the 60s. It is not a Sellers comedy but a witty and charming domestic drama and satirical love story. It takes a middle-aged reactionary view of the sexual liberation of the 60s. It is technically outstanding in every way with a fine score by Ron Grainer. I find it haunting and magical. For me it is one of his best.Movie Review: lighten up
Summary: 5 Stars
I really loved this film when I rented it in New Hampshire about 10 years ago. At first I was somewhat taken aback by the plot. Then the light went on and I realized, it's a 60's retelling of "Beauty and the Beast"! - and rather well done, too.
It wasn't possible to purchase a copy back when I first viewed the film, but thank you Amazon - I can now!
Movie Review: Hoffman
Summary: 5 Stars
The service was brilliant.
I have not reviewed the DVD as I am a collector and it will stay cellophaned.
Movie Review: "Miss Smith? Please make yourself look as though you want to be fertilized."
Summary: 4 Stars
Certainly one of Sellers' weirdest roles, Hoffman contains some of the most strangely acerbic lines I've ever heard in such a seemingly low-key film. While both Sellers and Cusack are good, the real star here is the script by Ernest Gebler, based on his play. Every few minutes Sellers utters yet another bizarrely true statement that is almost always oddly hilarious, and also somehow unsettling when delivered by Sellers in his deadpan way.
It's hard not to laugh at Sellers even when he's serious; like Bill Murray, his face is just funny, even in repose. Or maybe it's just one's memory of all the laughs that face has produced. Either way, what are supposed to be somewhat serious lines here take on odd overtones, and the entire film is truly strange, even creepy, until the rather cheesy end.
The fact is, Sellers has blackmailed this secretary at his job into living with him for a week. Uh, that's a major felony, right? But here it's all played as a lark, and Cusack barely protests at the quasi-rape aspect. Imagine if this film was made today! But it all passes as innocuous, and as she predictably begins to fall for his semi-sophistication, the whole monstrous nature of the affair seems to recede. I had trouble getting past that; sexual blackmail morphing into a light romantic comedy?
In any case, Sellers makes the most of his many startling lines here and delivers a performance unique in his canon, both serious and ironic, and one senses that he identifies strongly with this character. Which is pretty odd, seeing as how weird Hoffman is. It gets rather slow about an hour in and is 15 minutes too long for my taste, and I'm a huge Sellers fan. It's certainly worth watching for Sellers devotees, and is more of a very black comedy than any sort of romance, which makes the denouement all the dimmer.
A much weirder yet eventually more boring film than most reviews here suggest, Hoffman is good. But it's no masterpiece by a long shot, and I'd rate it well down the list of Sellers' best, beneath Heavens Above, the PP movies, Being There, and a number of others.