Hoffman is a 1970

1970 in film

The year 1970 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 9 - Larry Fine, the second member of The Three Stooges, suffers a massive stroke, therefore ending his career....

 British film

Cinema of the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...

 directed by Alvin Rakoff

Alvin Rakoff

Alvin Rakoff is a Canadian film and television director who has spent the bulk of his career in England and directed more than 100 high profile television plays, as well as a dozen feature films and numerous stage productions...

 and starring Peter Sellers

Peter Sellers

Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...

, Sinéad Cusack

Sinéad Cusack

Sinéad Moira Cusack is an Irish stage, television and film actress. She has received two Tony Award nominations: once for Best Leading Actress in Much Ado About Nothing , and again for Best Featured Actress in Rock 'n' Roll .-Background:...

, Jennifer Ruth Dunning and Jeremy Bulloch

Jeremy Bulloch

Jeremy Bulloch is an English actor. He is best known for the role inside the costume of the bounty hunter Boba Fett in the original Star Wars trilogy, though he did not voice the character...

.

Hoffman is the tale of an older man, played by Peter Sellers

Peter Sellers

Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...

, who invites a young lady to his flat in England for a sexual liaison. As the film progresses, it is revealed that Sellers' character caught one of his workers dealing in a scam, and decided to blackmail the man's lovely fiancée away for a full week to convince her to fall in love with him. Mostly a drama, the film has an almost terrifying performance by Sellers, involved in intricate mind games with the other protagonists.

Reportedly, Sellers despised Hoffman because the lead character too closely reflected his own personality.

Notable for the haunting music by Ron Grainer

Ron Grainer

Ronald Erle “Ron” Grainer was an Australian-born composer who worked for most of his professional career in the United Kingdom. He is mostly remembered for his film and television music.- Biography :...

, and as one of Sellers' few 'straight' performances.