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Small thief and parolee Max Dembo is pinned in a parole system that all but guarantees he’ll go back to robbing banks and jewelry stores. Dustin Hoffman has one of his best and most unusual roles, taken from the story of a real bank robber. Directed by Ulu Grosbard, the docu-drama look at the seedy side of Los Angeles is graced with a perfect cast: Theresa Russell, Gary Busey, Harry Dean Stanton, M. Emmet Walsh, and Kathy Bates. Sure, the rotten parole officer drives Dembo back to crime, but pulling jobs is in his blood. It’s one of the best portraits of a criminal ever.

Straight Time

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1978 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 114 min. / Available at Amazon.com / Street Date September 29, 2021 / 21.99

Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Theresa Russell, Gary Busey, Harry Dean Stanton, M. Emmet Walsh, Rita Taggart, Kathy Bates, Sandy Baron, Jake Busey.

Cinematography: Owen Roizman

Art Director: Dick Lawrence

Film Editors: Sam O’Steen,...

“Blood Brothers” floats on perceptive interviews, rich archival photos and pointed newsreel footage. It stings, too, with its exploration of two iconic, uncompromising figures who were friends for (the film persuasively argues) too short a spell. Director Marcus A. Clarke used Randy Roberts and Johnny Smith’s “Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X” as a touchstone for this documentary — available on Netflix — but also brought his own insights as a Black man in America to the work. The result is thought-provoking, resonant, often touching.

The duo envisioned by “One Night in Miami” were nearing the end of their deep bond when they celebrated Cassius Clay’s victory over Sonny Liston in the 1964 heavyweight title bout. Although Malcolm X was 16 years older, there were similarities. Each embodied curiosity. Each met white racism with gloves off. Both were verbal stylists. Ali waxed poetic. Malcolm X lit fires...

When Blood Brothers director Marcus A. Clarke was presented with the opportunity to make a film about the relationship and subsequent fallout between Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali, he wasn’t aware the two developed a friendship from 1962 to 1965. Now with Netflix’s Blood Brothers: Malcolm X & Muhammad Ali, which is produced by Kenya Barris, Clarke explores the connection between the two iconic civil rights activists and why it ended before Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965.

Inspired by Randy Roberts and Johnny Smith’s book of the same name, Clarke’s documentary, set to release on Netflix on Sept. 9, includes never-before-seen footage and interviews ...

When Blood Brothers director Marcus A. Clarke was presented with the opportunity to make a film about the relationship and subsequent fallout between Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali, he wasn’t aware the two developed a friendship from 1962 to 1965. Now with Netflix’s Blood Brothers: Malcolm X & Muhammad Ali, which is produced by Kenya Barris, Clarke explores the connection between the two iconic civil rights activists and why it ended before Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965.

Inspired by Randy Roberts and Johnny Smith’s book of the same name, Clarke’s documentary, set to release on Netflix on Sept. 9, includes never-before-seen footage and interviews ...

Titans of influence from their individual trenches, Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali were instrumental in carving a prideful and revolutionary vision for the future of Black people stateside and abroad over the course of some of their most media-hectic years. That the two of them were connected not solely by being contemporaries, but through an intimate, if short-lived, friendship, resonates as a sonic boom of fateful proportions.

But as the documentary “Blood Brothers” from director Marcus A. Clarke examines, the schism that ended their fraternal bond was just as thunderous. Using the same-title book by researches Randy Roberts and Johnny Smith, both talking heads in the film, as a guide, Clarke first maps out in broad strokes their separate ascents to prominence: one as a radical speaker for Black liberation and the other displaying his towering prowess in sport.

briefly traces Malcolm X’s affinity for the ideals of activist Marcus Garvey,...

A+E Studios is developing a limited series about the friendship between Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali, with NBA star Carmelo Anthony on board as an executive producer.

The eight-episode limited series, “Blood Brothers” (working title), is based on the 2016 book of the same name by Johnny Smith and Randy Roberts. The book tells the story of the real-life friendship between the two civil rights icons, and its eventual demise.

Anthony will executive produce via his Creative 7 banner with Asani Swann. Charles Murray will write the series and executive produce via Raising Kane Films. Narrative Film Group’s Shelby Stone and Derek Dudley will also executive produce.

“Blood Brothers” is an examination of the friendship between two of the most prominent Black figures: Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X. Beginning with Ali’s (then known as Cassius Clay) initial meeting and eventual bond with Malcolm X, the series will explore their personal lives and instantaneous friendship,...

Exclusive: A+E Studios has put in development Blood Brothers (working title), an eight-episode limited series based on the praised 2016 non-fiction book Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X by historians Johnny Smith and Randy Roberts. The project hails from writer-producer Charles Murray, NBA star Carmelo Anthony and Narrative Film Group.

Written by Murray, Blood Brothers is described as a unique examination of the friendship between two of our generation’s most prominent Black figures: Muhammad Ali, the future heavyweight champion of the world, and Malcolm X, the controversial public voice of the Nation of Islam. Beginning with Ali’s (then known as Cassius Clay) initial meeting and eventual bond with Malcolm X, the series will explore their personal lives and instantaneous friendship, as well as the relationship’s eventual demise due to America’s socio-political tensions and...