Straw Dogs (1971)
81%RT Audience Score: 82%
Awards & Nominations: 2 nominations
Straw Dogs is a film that leaves one feeling as though they’ve been punched in the gut, but in the best way possible. The tension and terror that builds throughout the movie is a testament to the masterful direction and acting. While some may criticize the film for its violence, it is impossible to deny the power it holds. The themes of civilization, morality, and the human psyche are explored in a way that is both thought-provoking and disturbing. This is a film that will stay with you long after the credits roll, and it is not for the faint of heart.
Straw Dogs is a movie that will make you feel like you’re on a rollercoaster ride of emotions. One minute you’re feeling tense and scared, and the next you’re cheering on the protagonist as he takes revenge. It’s a movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat, and the ending is nothing short of breathtaking. Just make sure you’re ready for the disturbing mood and underlying themes that come with it.
Production Company(ies)
Discovery Channel, Jigsaw Productions, Tall Woods
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Bossier City, Louisiana, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for strong brutal violence including a sexual attack, menace, some sexual content, and pervasive language
Year of Release
2011
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:SDDS Dolby Digital Datasat
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 29, 1971 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 19, 2004
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Dustin Hoffman, Susan George, T.P McKenna, Peter Vaughan, Del Henney, Ken Hutchison, directed by Sam Peckinpah, written by David Zelag Goodman, Sam Peckinpah, drama, R rating, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Tom Milne, Dave Kehr, Chuck Bowen, Roger Ebert, Douglas Pratt, Jas Keimig, Matt Brunson, Mike Massie, Thomas Berger, Dick Lochte, Tony Palmer, produced by Daniel Melnick
Worldwide gross: $11,168,712
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $14,703,586
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,828
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,603,444
US/Canada gross: $10,324,441
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $13,592,105
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,518
US/Canada opening weekend: $5,123,760
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $6,745,419
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,044
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $25,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $32,912,447
Production budget ranking: 1,103
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $17,723,353
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$35,932,214
ROI to date (est.): -71%
ROI ranking: 1,811
Susan George – Amy Sumner
T.P. McKenna – Major John Scott
Peter Vaughan – Tom Hedden
Del Henney – Charlie Venner
Ken Hutchison – Norman Scutt
Director – Sam Peckinpah
Producer – Daniel Melnick
Writers – David Zelag Goodman, Sam Peckinpah
Director(s)
Sam Peckinpah
Writer(s)
David Zelag Goodman, Sam Peckinpah
Producer(s)
Daniel Melnick
Film Festivals
Tribeca
Awards & Nominations
2 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (43) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (35) | Rotten (8)
I can think of no other film which screws violence up into so tight a knot of terror that one begins to feel that civilisation is crumbling before one’s eyes.
February 12, 2020
Tom Milne
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
[T]hough doubtlessly reactionary, Straw Dogs has the heat of personal commitment and the authority of deep (if bitter) contemplation.
January 9, 2019
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
One of the most ambiguous, neurotic, and disturbing of all American films receives a revelatory new restoration, with supplements that ably grapple with its chaos.
July 10, 2017
Chuck Bowen
Slant Magazine
TOP CRITIC
The script… relies on shock and violence to tide it over weakness in development, shallow characterization and lack of motivation.
July 16, 2009
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
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.
October 23, 2004 | Rating: 2/4
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
TOP CRITIC
Upon 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.
August 5, 2003
Douglas Pratt
Hollywood Reporter
TOP CRITIC
Straw Dogs deeply shocked and unnerved me…watch at your own peril.
December 9, 2021
Jas Keimig
The Stranger (Seattle, WA)
Creates a disturbing mood further fueled by the picture’s underlying themes.
November 8, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
The ending is breathtaking as an out-of-control, pulse-pounding revenge fantasy.
August 31, 2020 | Rating: 9/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
[Straw Dogs] seemed to me utterly bogus in its reversal of the invariable truth that an expatriate American intellectual is the hunter and the local population the prey.
February 10, 2020
Thomas Berger
Esquire Magazine
We see it. but we can’t believe it. Nor can Hoffman.
January 8, 2020
Dick Lochte
Los Angeles Free Press
A declining industry has invested over a million dollars In a new form of pornography for which the public are demonstrating they have an Insatiable appetite. That is the problem.
January 10, 2019
Tony Palmer
The Spectator…
Plot
Screenwriter David Sumner and his wife Amy travel in his Jaguar to her hometown, Blackwater, Mississippi. Amy’s father has died and David intends to write his Stalingrad screenplay in the house. He hires contractor Charlie and his team to repair the barn roof. Amy used to be Charlie’s sweetheart and he and his crew show her no respect now. Charlie invites David to hunt deer with him and his crew, but they leave David alone in the woods and rape Amy
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Nothing to add here about Straw Dogs.
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