Off the Chain (2005) (V)

Director:

Bobby J. Brown

Writer:

Bobby J. Brown (writer)

Release Date:

27 August 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | History

Plot:

A history of the pit bull.

Plot Keywords:

Dog | Pit Bull | Dog Fighting | Pitbull

Cast

Karen Ross

...

News Reporter

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Wire: Clarifications (#5.8)" (2008)

Well done film on a very difficult subject

One of the top things on my priority list when a documentary touches on tough subject matter is fairness, were both sides of the story told fairly. I think this documentary does that. Going into this film I thought that people who fought dogs were sick, evil, and twisted. Leaving this film I feel even stronger about this, but at least two of the people engaged in this appalling activity were given the opportunity to explain their mentality, as off-base as I felt it was. There was a most horrifying scene that I can still hear, you'll know it when you see it; there were also some very graphic pictures of these poor animals, but going into this movie you should expect that. It does a good job of describing where this spectacle originated and how it developed to the point that it is today. It also does a fair job defending the pit bull terrier, but I think that they may have done this up a little too much. My 2 primary criticisms are that 1. Most of the information (history, etc.) comes at you in the first 10 minutes where I would prefer it be spread out through the film 2. It's vague as to where in the United States this is occurring most often.

Overall this film was very good. It got some information out there and was very powerful, hopefully the controversy surrounding Michael Vick will encourage more people to educate themselves on this subject matter.