Straw Dogs (1971)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Sam Peckinpah

Writers:

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

Release Date:

29 December 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | 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:

American | Violence | Construction | Mathematician | English

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)

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:

Henry Niles' limp was not part of the script. David Warner had broken his leg before production but was able to walk with a cane by the time principal photography started. Because he had broken his foot before shooting (hence the limp), he was considered uninsurable and thus is uncredited.

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.

Quotes:

Tom Hedden: I'll have an answer, or I'll have blood!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "X-Rated" (2004)

Movies shouldn't entertain, they should scar.

I think pretty much all of the people posting comments on this film have totally missed the point of the film. One reviewer sees the movie as sexist against women, others hate that plot points aren't wrapped up or it doesn't make sense that Amy enjoys the rape. A lot of people just don't seem to get this film. This film is not about entertainment. It's not interested in impressing you with artistic flare, and it doesn't care about wrapping sh-t up in a neat little package so you walk away with all the answers. People who complain about that kind of stuff might as well go and watch a Julia Roberts movie. This is Sam Peckinpah working out his demons, this is him breaking into your safe haven, slashing your face open. I personally have never been more disturbed or hurt by a film in my life, and because of this, I don't walk away in denial of its greatness. I'm able to say, "wow! That movie totally tapped in to these dormant emotions and feelings I've always had but either didn't realize or wasn't willing to admit to myself. Examples of Peckinpahs crushing insights are the entire female/male dynamic, the hurt we cause each other intentionally and unintentionally, the sickness of it all. This film hurt me so bad that I couldn't talk to my wife for about a week after. (Incidentally, the same thing happened in reverse when she watched Fight Club, which is really the perfect companion to this film.) This movie forces you to think, to face the ugliness of the world. It presents you with sh-t you don't want to face, feelings that you have buried in your subconscious so you will not have to deal with them. That is why I think so many people don't like this movie, because it has scarred them so badly that they can't even admit it hit a nerve, and thus dismiss it as "stupid, or retarded" I don't think I'll ever be able to watch this movie again, it was just too raw, too powerful, too hurtful. But I learned a lot about myself in the process, and was totally absorbed and thoughtful for a long time afterwards.

" I don't know how much movies should entertain. To me I'm always interested in movies that scar. The thing I love about JAWS is the fact that I've never gone swimming in the ocean again." -David Fincher