Straw Dogs (Widescreen): Amazon.ca: Dustin Hoffman, Susan George, Peter Vaughan, T.P. McKenna, Del Henney, Jim Norton, Donald Webster, Ken Hutchison, Len Jones, Sally Thomsett, Robert Keegan, Peter Arne, John Coquillon, Sam Peckinpah, Paul Davies, Daniel Melnick, James Swann, David Zelag Goodman, Gordon Williams: DVD

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Amazon.com Essential Video

One of Sam Peckinpah's most controversial efforts, this film came out at a critical moment in the early 1970s, released in the same month as both Dirty Harry and A Clockwork Orange, causing a furor over film violence. Based on a little-known British novel, the film casts Dustin Hoffman as a bookish American mathematician on sabbatical in rural England, in the town where his young bride (Susan George) grew up. He finds himself forced to defend his home against an assault by local toughs, and discovers a frighteningly feral and vicious side to himself. Though Straw Dogs has a reputation for graphic violence, it actually looks tame by contemporary standards. Instead, the violence is psychological, and the suspense and shocks are induced by the editing--you're more terrified by what you think you see than by what you are actually shown. --Marshall Fine

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Customer Reviews

52 Reviews

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

Average Customer Review

3.8 out of 5 stars (52 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars A nerve-shredding, palm-sweating thriller.......and drama, Oct 26 2007

By

Jenny J.J.I. "A New Yorker" (That Lives in Carolinas) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Straw Dogs (Unrated Version) (DVD)

This film is one of the best works of Sam Peckinpah this movie deals with the true humanitarian phenomena, human nature for sexual orientation and needs and the most human seduction and temptation. This movie thrills you from the start to the end and the most magnificent aspect of the movie is its ambiguity and confusing nature of climax. "Straw Dogs" is an intense thriller that shows what can happen when you push even the mildest mannered man too far. In here, Dustin Hoffman plays a mathematician who temporarily moves to a house in a rural village in England with his wife, a former resident of the town, played by Susan George. The two withstand incessant needling from several of the townsfolk until George is raped and assaulted and Hoffman is pushed over the edge.

Incidentally, right after watching this film I found a documentary on cable about filmmakers from the late '60s to late '70s and one of the directors profiled was Sam Peckinpah. I had always considered his films to be violent and vaguely shocking, which never surprised me, knowing that he was a hard-living maverick who did things his way - an element that is resplendent in most of his films. A brief mention of Straw Dogs was included in this documentary, where they described it as a "sexist film". There are obvious scenes in the film that could support this criticism, but I think that is overanalyzing the film with a political correctness that is out of place. While the two female characters are both victimized, Susan George also has her moments of empowerment. I may be a female, but I don't consider Peckinpah's tendency to make testosterone-driven films any more sexist than anything that Tarantino puts out, and I'm a big fan of his work as well. It's a dangerous line to draw when one labels a film due to what is *not* included in a film.

What this film does contain is much more stellar - Hoffman is beyond incredible in this film. His character development is amazing to experience. One criticism of the film that I heard from a friend who saw it before me was that it "dragged." I couldn't disagree more. The development of the story until the extremely violent climax is a perfect pace because it made me feel like I was sitting in a dentist chair, knowing that this low boil could explode at any time. After the dust settles, the viewer is left to decide whether Hoffman's character made the right decision, and left to speculate on the ramifications of the choices made. This is by far one of the best films I've seen in recent months and from this director.

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1.0 out of 5 stars Straw Dogs, Nov 21 2011

By

Geoff - See all my reviews

This review is from: Straw Dogs (Unrated Version) (DVD)

The DVD stops about 3/4 of the way through and then goes to the main menu. If you then choose "scenes" to return to where you were it continues to do the same thing. Worst video I have purchased from Amazon.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Ken Hutchison, Feb 11 2004

By

Meadow Sage (Norman, OK United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Straw Dogs (Widescreen) (DVD)

I liked this movie but only saw it because I try to see as many of the movies Ken Hutchison appears in as possible. He plays Norman Scutt and is great as usual. He always elevates the material of whatever movie or show he is in. Where is he now??? Really dark humor - cracks me up when David whines "They're breaking all my windows!" and when Norman just says "Bottle" before going off to wreak havoc. Poor little kitty cat. Very impressed by Susan George. She really pulls off a tricky role. Good for you, Susan! But Hutchison is the reason to watch it again....and again.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Peckinpah's psychological character study
I remember hearing Charlton Heston once remark about Sam Peckinpah that the man had a great career and vision but then sadly "started blowing off heads. Read more

Published on Dec 12 2003 by Jeffrey Leach

5.0 out of 5 stars who wants to live in England anyway
Visceral...that is this film in a nutshell. The main question is how in the world Hoffman and George's characters EVER got married. Read more

Published on Dec 30 2002 by Elwood Conway