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Straw Dogs
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Straw Dogs (1971) More at IMDbPro »

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Straw Dogs (1971) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.6/10   16,686 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 5% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
David Zelag Goodman (screenplay) and
Sam Peckinpah (screenplay) ...
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for Straw Dogs on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
29 December 1971 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
The knock at the door meant the birth of one man and the death of seven others! more
Plot:
A young American and his English wife come to rural England and face increasingly vicious local harassment. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win more
NewsDesk:
(97 articles)
Who do you read? Good Roger, or Bad Roger?
 (From Roger Ebert's Blog. 9 December 2009, 10:45 PM, PST)

Review: Law Abiding Citizen - Stupid and nasty
 (From t5m.com. 3 December 2009, 3:08 AM, PST)

User Comments:
Could they show this in 1971? more (211 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

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)
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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)
 
Crew verified as complete


Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs (UK) (complete title)
more
Runtime:
118 min | USA:113 min (R-rated version)
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Eastmancolor) (uncredited)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Finland:K-18 (uncut) (1981) | Finland:K-18 (cut) (1971) | 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
Company:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The future of the film was put in jeopardy when director Sam Peckinpah caught pneumonia after an all-night drinking session with Ken Hutchison in the sea at Land's End. Having recuperated at a clinic in London, Peckinpah was only reinstated after promising that he would remain sober. more
Goofs:
Continuity: In the scene where David is going to confront the villages about the cat, he lets in 4 men but when they gather in the living room, there is only three villagers. more
Quotes:
[singing in a bar]
Tom Hedden, Charlie Venner: Now some men goes for women, and some men goes for boys. But My love's warm and beautiful, and makes a baah-ing noise.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue (2008) (TV) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
71 out of 97 people found the following comment useful.
Could they show this in 1971?, 14 July 1999
10/10
Author: Magnum-9 from North Carolina, USA

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.

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Most Disturbing Scene Ever... bruins2111
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Criterion vs. MGM govman101
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