After being released on parole, a burglar attempts to go straight, get a regular job, and just go by the rules. He soon finds himself back in jail at the hands of a power-hungry parole officer.
Acting
Hoffman's final scene breakdown should be studied in film schools.
Direction
Grosbard's documentary-style patience makes every choice feel inevitable.
Editing
That motel sequence's refusal to cut is genuinely distressing.
Director
Ulu Grosbard
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Hoffman method-broke into a real house for research and got caught by police, who didn't believe his excuse.
Originally titled 'No Beast So Fierce' after Edward Bunker's novel; studio feared it sounded like horror. They weren't wrong.
US
