Anybody who has attended university will know about reading lists. For first timers it can seem daunting. Before you start your classes the tutors send a list of recommended reading as an introduction to learning for the upcoming year of tuition. But when attending film school there’s another list attached – recommended viewing. Here are ten must-see movies before heading off to film school.

Dustin Hoffman is one of the most versatile and skilled actors of his generation. Alongside other Hollywood greats who came of age in the 1970s (Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Bruce Dern, Ellen Burstyn, Richard Dreyfuss, Sissy Spacek, Robert Duvall, Gene Hackman, Shelley Duvall, Cybill Shepard, Harrison Ford, et al), Hoffman is part of a revolutionary group of performers who flourished during the American new wave. Actors were pushed further, characters were more diverse, the challenge was heightened. Daniel Stephens looks at the great actor’s top 10 performances.

I saw a common theme in some of my favourite movies: male characters, ranging in age, who had come to a crossroads. In many cases they were successful; they had a wife and kids, money and prosperity, a nice car and a big house. But something was missing.

The Male Adventure in Self-Discovery has to thank the coming-of-age drama for much of its themes, but it also has links with the yuppie-in-peril movie that became very popular during the 1980s.

Ratso’s hang-ups, Sumner’s ordeal, Braddock’s sexual desire: The Life and Characters of Dustin Hoffman
Everyone who interviews Dustin Hoffman leaves with the same thoughts on the man: warm, intelligent, and accommodating. His small physical stature – there’s only 5ft 6in of the man – is dismissed by a presence that fills the room. He is a complete part of the Hollywood furniture: iconic and recognisable in both looks and voice. He is Tinseltown gold and a legend of the film industry.
As a child – although I did not know it …