There’s a certain generation of male stars who emerged in the 1960s and 1970s who signify that golden age of American cinema, starring in some of the most acclaimed films of that era while also maintaining long careers as box office draws that continue to this day. Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Robert Redford, Warren Beatty — a line-up of actors that, for the most part, puts today’s A-listers to shame. And the unlikeliest of them all is Dustin Hoffman.
In no way a traditional-looking leading man, Hoffman broke out with “The Graduate” in 1967, and went on to star in a string of classics and fondly remembered films like “Midnight Cowboy,” “Little Big Man,” “Lenny,” “Straw Dogs,” “All The President’s Men,” “Marathon Man,” “Kramer Vs. Kramer,” “Tootsie” and “Rain Man” among others. There were a few disappointments along the way, and like some of his contemporaries, Hoffman’s edge has come off a little in more recent years — although arguably less so than someone like De Niro or Pacino. But still, it’s hard to think of a better sort of career to have.
Hoffman turned 75 years old yesterday, an impressive milestone for a man about to make his full directorial debut on “Quartet.” Everyone has their own favorite Hoffman performance — Ratso Rizzo, Lenny Bruce, Carl Bernstein, Tootsie, Raymond Babbitt. But to honor his birthday, we wanted to pick out a few turns that are perhaps less widely celebrated, but are just as impressive as the achievements on his more lauded work (as we did for Jack Nicholson when he reached the same milestone a few months back) Read on for our five picks.
“Papillon” (1973)
For the most part, Dustin Hoffman has had a career that’s been atypically free of ego, in terms of the choices he’s made. Ok, he’s had his star-driven moments (the legendarily contentious production of “Ishtar” among them), but Hoffman’s always shown a willingness to play second fiddle, from following up his star-making performance in “The Graduate” with the second lead in “Midnight Cowboy” to being just one cog in an expansive ensemble like “Luck“). And one of the more undervalued examples of that is his turn in Franklin J. Schaffner‘s “Papillon.” The title character in this case goes to Steve McQueen, in one of his best performances, as a French criminal wrongly convicted of murder, and sent to the notorious prison colony Devil’s Island. There, he becomes the friend and protector of forger Louis Dega (Hoffman), and the two plan their escape together. It’s admittedly old fashioned stuff (“Patton” and “Planet Of The Apes” director Schaffner was one of Hollywood’s last classicists), and decidedly overlong at nearly 150 minutes, but McQueen is terrific, and Hoffman, as the tragic, bottle-glassed Dega, even better, simultaneously generously enabling his co-star, and quietly half-inching scenes away from him.