The Dogs of War (1980)

Director:

John Irvin

Writers:

Frederick Forsyth (novel)
Gary DeVore (writer) ...

Release Date:

13 February 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | War | Action

Tagline:

Cry 'Havoc!' And Let Slip The Dogs Of War

Plot:

Jamie Shannon is a soldier of fortune, a mercenary who will stage a coup or a revolution for the right price...

Plot Keywords:

Mercenary | Revolution | Soldier | Africa | Beret

Cast

Christopher Walken	...	Jamie Shannon
Tom Berenger	...	Drew
Colin Blakely	...	North
Hugh Millais	...	Endean
Paul Freeman	...	Derek
Jean-François Stévenin	...	Michel
JoBeth Williams	...	Jessie
Robert Urquhart	...	Capt. Lockhart
Winston Ntshona	...	Dr. Okoye
Pedro Armendáriz Jr.	...	The Captain
Harlan Cary Poe	...	Richard
Ed O'Neill	...	Terry
Ernest Graves	...	Warner
Kelvin Thomas	...	The Black Boy
Shane Rimmer	...	Dr. Oaks

Runtime:

UK:118 min | USA:102 min | USA:104 min (TCM print) | Finland:114 min (cut) (1988) (video release) | Finland:105 min (cut) (1981) (cinema release)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 (heavily cut) (1981) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1988) | Finland:K-16 (heavily cut) (1980) | Brazil:16 | Sweden:15 | South Korea:18 | Australia:M | France:-12 | Norway:16 (1981) | Singapore:PG | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Belize City, Belize

Company:

Juniper Films

Trivia:

Tom Berengerhas said in interviews that around half of his role was omitted from the final release print.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Shannon meets with Endean and Bobi, in subsequent shots his necktie moves from the left to right side of his shirt.

Quotes:

Michel: [raising his glass in a toast] Vive la mort ! Vive la guerre ! Vive le sacré mercenaire !

Movie Connections:

Edited into Stealth Fighter (1999)

Anybody want to buy a Coup'?

The best of the "hired killers takes out a bassackwards third world African nation in ten minutes or less" genre. Christopher Walken fans will love this one as he occupies the camera for about 98% of the film and does an admirable job playing ringleader to a small band of mercenaries hired by London's Enron branch to take down some dude with a Gucci sword named Kimba, the benevolent ruler of Okka Bokka Boo. The pace is a little slow for my tastes but they threw in my favorite girl next door, JoBeth Williams, as Walkens ex-wife just to keep me occupied while the guns were being shipped in from Switzerland or somewhere. All I can tell you is the climax is worth waiting for. It's outstanding actually. The DVD is a little disappointing. 2ch sound and no widescreen. See if you can spot Ed O'Neill from Married With Children fame. 7 hand grenades/10