Sleeping Dogs (1977)

Recluse Smith (Sam Neill) is drawn into a revolutionary struggle between guerillas and right-wingers in New Zealand. Implicated in a murder and framed as a revolutionary conspirator, Smith ... See full summary »

Director:

Roger Donaldson

Writers:

Christian K. Stead (novel), Ian Mune (screenplay),

Stars:

Sam Neill, Nevan Rowe, Ian Mune

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sam Neill	...	Smith
Nevan Rowe	...	Gloria
Ian Mune	...	Bullen
Warren Oates	...	Col. Willoughby
Ian Watkin	...	Dudley
Clyde Scott	...	Jesperson
Donna Akersten	...	Mary
William Johnson	...	Cousins (as Bill Johnson)
Don Selwyn	...	Taupiri
Davina Whitehouse	...	Elsie
Melissa Donaldson	...	Melissa
Dougal Stevenson	...	News Reader
Bernard Kearns	...	Prime Minister
Raf Irving	...	Reporter
Tommy Tinirau	...	Old Maori Man

Storyline

Recluse Smith (Sam Neill) is drawn into a revolutionary struggle between guerillas and right-wingers in New Zealand. Implicated in a murder and framed as a revolutionary conspirator, Smith tries to maintain an attitude of non-violence while caught between warring factions.

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Plot Keywords:

new zealand | control | directorial debut | freedom fighter | resistance | 

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Genres:

Action | Thriller | Drama

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Details

Country:

New Zealand

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 April 1979 (Norway)

Also Known As:

Coup d'État

Filming Locations:

New Zealand

Box Office

Budget:

NZD 450,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Aardvark Films, Broadbank Films, New Zealand Film Commission

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was the first New Zealand produced film to attain general release in the USA.

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Goofs

An authentic assault rifle would be too heavy to "float" on the surface of the motel's swimming pool. (See the 'Trivia' section regarding the film's use of firearm replicas.)

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Quotes

Col. Willoughby: [to Smith] I got my eye on you, boy. I got my eye on you really good.

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Connections

Featured in The Making of 'Sleeping Dogs' (2004)

User Reviews

Solid if not spectacular

Based on the novel Smith's Dream by academic C. K. Stead, Sleeping Dogs is set in a totalitarian New Zealand. Smith moves to the country to escape trouble but is framed by the state as a terrorist.The rest of the film involves his attempts to avoid arrest and his eventual fate.

Released in 1977, the film possessed a poignancy for New Zealanders, who at the time viewed the then Muldoon National Government with some suspicion. A scene involving riot police in an Auckland street was a chilling portent of events during the 1981 Springbok rugby tour to New Zealand, and indeed on its release in the USA, some Americans confused the film's images with media reports of the tour protests.

Notable for Sam Neill's role as Smith, the movie started a late 1970s revival in the New Zealand film industry, including movies such as The Scarecrow, Skin Deep, and Smash Palace.