Straw Dogs (1971)
Average Rating: 8.3/10
Reviews Counted: 33
Fresh: 30 | Rotten: 3
A violent, provocative meditation on manhood with some of the most controversial scenes ever shot for a mainstream movie.
Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 4
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 2
A violent, provocative meditation on manhood with some of the most controversial scenes ever shot for a mainstream movie.
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Average Rating: 3.8/5
User Ratings: 21,800
My Rating
Movie Info
Sam Peckinpah examines the instinctual capacity for violence in his controversial 1971 film, loosely based on the novel The Siege of Trencher's Farm. To avoid the Vietnam-era social chaos in the U.S., American mathematician David Sumner (Dustin Hoffman) moves with his British wife, Amy (Susan George), to the isolated Cornish town where she grew up, but their presence provokes antagonism among the village's men. As the hostilities escalate from routine bullying to the gang rape of his wife, David
Dec 29, 1971 Wide
Mar 13, 2001
Sony Pictures/Screen Gems
Cast
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Dustin Hoffman
David -
Susan George
Amy -
Peter Vaughan
Tom Hedden -
T.P. McKenna
Maj. Scott -
David Warner
Henry Niles -
Colin Welland
Rev. hood -
Peter Arne
John Niles -
June Brown
Mrs. Hedden -
Chloe Franks
Emma Hedden -
Del Henney
Venner -
Ken Hutchison
Scutt -
Len Jones
Bobby Hedden -
Robert Keegan
Harry Ware -
Michael Mundell
Bertie Hedden -
Sally Thomsett
Janice -
Donald Webster
Riddaway -
Jim Norton
Cawsey -
Cherina Mann
Mrs. Hood
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Straw Dogs Trailer & Photos
All Critics (38) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (35) | Rotten (4) | DVD (34)
The most offensive thing about the movie is its hypocrisy; it is totally committed to the pornography of violence, but lays on the moral outrage with a shovel.
Top CriticUpon first viewing, it seems like a straightforward film, but the more one watches it, the more tension one sees in the relationship between the couple.
Mr. Peckinpah has made some good films (Ride the High Country) and a couple of great films (The Wild Bunch, The Ballad of Cable Hogue) -- which may be why Straw Dogs is a special disappointment.
Eyes Wide Shut -- and the cooked-up debates surrounding it -- are only about sex in the head. Peckinpah gives you sex as a kick in the groin, a jolt to the brain and a shot to the heart.
A taut drama with great performances and a recipe for action and tension that modern-day thrillers could learn from.
But what if the mask of your neighbor tilts for a second and you catch a glimpse of the riot going on behind his face? What if you accidentally see the monster feasting on his prey? Now what if you're looking in the mirror?
It ends up hackneyed, unnecessary, and clichéd, improved only by the A-list acting talent and slickness of the production values.
Fox gives Sam Peckinpah's ferocious near-masterpiece a killer visual/audio upgrade, but offers nothing in the way of context with a barren supplemental section.
Ugliness that must be taken seriously
Anchored by Dustin Hoffman's seminal performance, Peckinpah's second masterpiece (after The Wild Bunch) is still one of the most provocative, controversial, and ambiguous explorations of actual violence and our reaction to screen violence.
Gory and shocking.
Um assustador estudo sobre o animal interior do Homem que, mesmo moralista, conservador e misógino, impressiona por sua complexidade.
One of Sam Peckinpah's finest films, a relentless study in violence and machismo that is shocking, not only for its explicit gore, but for the degree to which it manipulates 'civilized' audiences.
Peckinpah's treatise on violence and masculinity is disturbing on a fundamental level... and equally difficult to forget.
A meaty uncompromising movie from the masterful Sam Peckinpah.
...Hoffman delivers a stunning, unforgettable performance.
Audience Reviews for Straw Dogs
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- David: Jesus. I got 'em all!
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- David: This is where I live. This is me. I will not allow violence against this house.
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Latest News on Straw Dogs
January 28, 2011:
The 50 Most Controversial Movies EverTime Out New York has put together a list of the most shocking movies known to stir audiences and...
July 1, 2010:
Rod Lurie Discusses His Straw Dogs RemakeHe says the release date is still "hazy," but Rod Lurie has been hard at work on his "Straw Dogs"...
July 16, 2009:
Bosworth and Skarsgard are Straw DogsKate Bosworth and Alexander Skarsgard have signed on for Rod Lurie's remake of Sam Peckinpah's...
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Foreign Titles
- Wer Gewalt sät (DE)
- Straw Dogs (1971) (UK)
