Straw Dogs (1971)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Sam Peckinpah

Writers:

David Zelag Goodman (screenplay) and
Sam Peckinpah (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

29 December 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller

Tagline:

The knock at the door meant the birth of one man and the death of seven others!

Plot:

A young American and his English wife come to rural England and face increasingly vicious local harassment.

Plot Keywords:

Violence | Rural | House | Mathematician | Fight

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win

Cast

Dustin Hoffman	...	David Sumner
Susan George	...	Amy Sumner
Peter Vaughan	...	Tom Hedden
T.P. McKenna	...	Major John Scott
Del Henney	...	Charlie Venner
Jim Norton	...	Chris Cawsey
Donald Webster	...	Riddaway
Ken Hutchison	...	Norman Scutt
Len Jones	...	Bobby Hedden
Sally Thomsett	...	Janice Hedden
Robert Keegan	...	Harry Ware
Peter Arne	...	John Niles
Cherina Schaer	...	Louise Hood
Colin Welland	...	Reverend Barney Hood
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
June Brown	...	Mrs. Hedden (scenes deleted)
Chloe Franks	...	Emma Hedden (scenes deleted)
Michael Mundell	...	Bertie Hedden (scenes deleted)
David Warner	...	Henry Niles (uncredited)

Directed by
Sam Peckinpah

Writing credits
David Zelag Goodman		(screenplay) and
Sam Peckinpah		(screenplay)
Gordon Williams		(novel "The Siege of Trencher's Farm") (as Gordon M. Williams)

Produced by
Daniel Melnick	....	producer
James Swann	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Jerry Fielding

Cinematography by
John Coquillon		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Paul Davies
Tony Lawson
Roger Spottiswoode

Casting by
Miriam Brickman

Production Design by
Ray Simm

Art Direction by
Ken Bridgeman

Makeup Department
Harry Frampton	....	makeup artist
Bobbie Smith	....	hairdresser
Peter Frampton	....	makeup assistant (uncredited)

Production Management
Derek Kavanagh	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Terry Marcel	....	assistant director
Nick Farnes	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Michael Murray	....	third assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Peter James	....	set dresser
Julia Trevelyan Oman	....	production design consultant

Sound Department
John Bramall	....	sound recordist
Garth Craven	....	sound editor
Michael Ellis	....	sound dialogue editor (uncredited)
Norman Savage	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
John Richardson	....	special effects
Peter Hutchinson	....	special effects assistant (uncredited)

Stunts
Bill Cornelius	....	stunt coordinator
Peter Brayham	....	stunts (uncredited)
Joe Dunne	....	stunts (uncredited)
Sue Longhurst	....	stunt double: Susan George (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Herbert Smith	....	camera operator
John Jay	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Tiny Nicholls	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Robert L. Wolfe	....	editorial consultant (as Robert Wolfe)

Music Department
Jerry Fielding	....	conductor (uncredited)
Lennie Niehaus	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Pamela Davies	....	continuity
Anthony Goldschmidt	....	title designer
Katherine Haber	....	dialogue director (as Katy Haber)
George Davis	....	production accountant (uncredited)
Brian Doyle	....	unit publicist (uncredited)
Susan Shaw	....	body double: Susan George (uncredited)

Production Companies

• ABC Pictures (presents) (as ABC Pictures Corp.)
• Talent Associates (as Talent Associates Films, Ltd.)
• Amerbroco (as Amerbroco Films, Ltd.)

Distributors

• British Film Institute (BFI) (1995) (UK) (theatrical)
• Centfox (1972) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Cinerama Releasing UK (1971) (UK) (theatrical)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Buena Vista Pictures (1995) (worldwide) (all media)
• Cinerama Releasing Corporation (USA)
• Criterion Collection, The (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Editora Europa (200?) (Brazil) (DVD)
• EuroVideo (1982) (West Germany) (VHS)
• Guild Home Video (UK) (video)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• MRA Entertainment Group (2004) (Australia) (DVD)
• Pearson Television International (2002) (UK) (DVD)
• Thorn-Emi Video (????) (West Germany) (VHS)
• Transvídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Video Collection International (1999) (UK) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Lee Lighting  grip and lighting equipment (uncredited)

Also Known As:

Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs (UK) (complete title)

Runtime:

118 min | USA:113 min (R-rated version)

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) (uncredited)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 (cut) (1971) | Finland:K-18 (uncut) (1981) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Iceland:16 | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2007) | West Germany:18 (original rating) | USA:R (cut) | USA:Unrated (uncut) | Brazil:18 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:18 | Australia:MA (DVD re-rating) (2004) | Australia:R (original rating) | France:-16 | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Italy:VM14 (re-rating) | Italy:VM18 (original rating) | Japan:R-15 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:(Banned) (video rating) (1999) | UK:18 (video re-rating) (2002) (uncut) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Lamorna Cove, Lamorna, Cornwall, England, UK

Company:

ABC Pictures

Trivia:

In the scene where Dustin Hoffman's character first enters the local pub, Sam Peckinpah was unhappy with the other actors reaction to this stranger entering their world. Eventually, he decided to do one take where Hoffman entered the scene without his trousers on. He got his reaction, and these are the shots shown in the final film.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Amy fires the shotgun at the last attacker both the hammers are in the 'uncocked' position. She would need to pull the hammer of the relevant barrel backwards to cock the gun.

Quotes:

David Sumner: Jesus. I got 'em all!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Empire of the Censors (1995) (TV)

Could they show this in 1971?

So you think movies are violent today, huh? Think again. Sam Peckinpah's highly charged, extremely intense, brutally violent 1971 pic is an underrated masterpiece, in my opinion, that redefined cinema violence forever (as if "The Wild Bunch" wasn't enough). It is one of the best directed, most fluidly edited pictures that I've seen in recent years. Today's films don't even come close.

Allegedly banned in the U.K. to this very day, "Straw Dogs" came to me out of nowhere. I had heard good things about it, but never really caught onto it, until one day when I was at a video store browsing around for no apparent reason. I had absolutely no money and wasn't planning to buy anything when all of the sudden, I saw it . . .

WIDESCREEN - UNCENSORED,RESTORED - COLLECTOR'S EDITION

I had never even seen the movie and I wanted to buy it! I mean, hey, it WAS the last one left.

So I took a huge risk, got a loan from my mother, used all the two-dollar bills I had been saving to pay her back, and bought it right out. And then, I viewed it later on that night, praying I hadn't wasted my time. AND: I was floored. The film literally knocked me out, kept me peeled to the screen at every instant, left me disturbed for days to come. I mean, let me tell you, go out and rent this, buy this, anything, just see it! Although it is moderately paced, the film remains intense the whole way, and takes an unexpected turn into extreme violence towards the legendary ending, a showdown worthy of multiple viewings (watch "Fear" to see an amateur retread).

So it goes like this: Hoffman plays a wimpy mathematician who flees with his wife George to the peaceful countryside (to get away from violence!), only to be ravaged by the locals who just wanna start trouble. It is the ultimate test of manhood, showing us (in a somewhat biased manner) that it takes aggression to get what you want and keep what you have. You'll be amazed at Hoffman's "transformation" (we all know deep down that EVERYONE'S got it in them somewhere), but it makes you think, especially when Hoffman has to defend his home from several large armed men WITHOUT USING ANY WEAPONS, only his brains and some household appliances.

I'm surprised that this is such a forgotten film. There aren't enough people who can actually claim to have seen this picture or even know what it's about. I find that hard to ingest, being that it was one of the most controversial films of its day. But it IS very brutal, especially the once trimmed rape scene, restored on my copy, a scene that I find to be the most intense. However, today's moviegoers may not agree.

So see "Straw Dogs," the movie that single-handedly turned me into a Peckinpah fan. The editing is Oscar-worthy, the acting is magnificent, the situations are well thought out, and the characters are fleshed to the bone (sometimes literally). I promise you won't leave disappointed.

#5 on my Top 200 List, **** outta **** on my personal scale.