I remember more than 20 years ago STRAW DOGS was avaliable for rental along with video nasty crap like I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE , ABSURD and NIGHT OF THE DEMON . What set SD apart from the other titles was that it was the only video on the shelf with a sticker proclaiming " For over 18s only . Not to be rented to children " . It should also be remembered that everytime Channel 4 has thought about screening it the channel changes its mind at the last minute. In short STRAW DOGS has a reputation as an extreme film even more extreme than say A CLOCKWORK ORANGE so when Channel 4 at long last decided to screen it late last year I decided there was no way I was going to miss it
!!!!! POSSIBLE SPOILERS !!!!!
Despite the hype I failed to see what the fuss was about . Ah yes that "rape" scene . It wasn`t rape with the first man but it was certainly rape with the second . I think . But I`m not sure , mainly down to the directing. I think . That`s the problem with this movie - It`s very difficult to understand the point Sam Peckinpah is trying to make and much of the story takes some swallowing . Uberwimp David Sumner decides he`s going to take a stand and protect a suspected murderer from a lynch mob ? Hmmm . I guess that this ridiculous turn of events had a motive behind it because whatever motive he had seemed to take place off screen
It could be easy to blame the screenwriters for much of the unexplained motives in the story but Peckinpah should take the blame for the film`s flaws . Dustin Hoffman and Susan George as David and Amy Sumner a newly wed couple ? One of the most unlikely onscreen couples in the history of cinema in my opinion . And did anyone laugh out loud as I did at the end when after a violent bloodbath David turns to the blood soaked Amy and asks " You all right ? " . What a bloody stupid question
And when you stop to think about it STRAW DOGS is a bloody stupid film . However I can`t help thinking Peckinpah knew fine well what he was doing when he made it and was aware of how the critics and moral guardians would take it when it was released . In short Sam Peckinpah is having a laugh at the expense of the establishment . It`s not his best film ( Choose between CROSS OF IRON or THE WILD BUNCH ) but it is his most extreme and infamous film and that alone makes it worth watching
!!!!! POSSIBLE SPOILERS !!!!!
Despite the hype I failed to see what the fuss was about . Ah yes that "rape" scene . It wasn`t rape with the first man but it was certainly rape with the second . I think . But I`m not sure , mainly down to the directing. I think . That`s the problem with this movie - It`s very difficult to understand the point Sam Peckinpah is trying to make and much of the story takes some swallowing . Uberwimp David Sumner decides he`s going to take a stand and protect a suspected murderer from a lynch mob ? Hmmm . I guess that this ridiculous turn of events had a motive behind it because whatever motive he had seemed to take place off screen
It could be easy to blame the screenwriters for much of the unexplained motives in the story but Peckinpah should take the blame for the film`s flaws . Dustin Hoffman and Susan George as David and Amy Sumner a newly wed couple ? One of the most unlikely onscreen couples in the history of cinema in my opinion . And did anyone laugh out loud as I did at the end when after a violent bloodbath David turns to the blood soaked Amy and asks " You all right ? " . What a bloody stupid question
And when you stop to think about it STRAW DOGS is a bloody stupid film . However I can`t help thinking Peckinpah knew fine well what he was doing when he made it and was aware of how the critics and moral guardians would take it when it was released . In short Sam Peckinpah is having a laugh at the expense of the establishment . It`s not his best film ( Choose between CROSS OF IRON or THE WILD BUNCH ) but it is his most extreme and infamous film and that alone makes it worth watching