Straw Dogs (1971)

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Directed by Sam Peckinpah.

Starring Susan George, T.P. McKenna, Peter Vaughan, David Warner, Dustin Hoffman, Colin Welland, Cherina Mann.

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 finds his pacifistic self backed into a corner. When the hooligans attack his house, David finally resorts to the gruesome violence that he abhors. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

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Reviews and discussions

RESERVOIR *STRAW* DOGS
by Cammmalot in Filmgaming

is neutral about it.

"As much as I love this movie it's fascinating to ponder what would have happened if the script had fallen into Sam Peckinpah's lap circa '69-'74 Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973) Kris has enough of that fatherly/mentor vibe to have pulled this off. I would love to hear his version of the let's go get a taco speech. The Getaway (1972) Junior Bonner (1972) Now this would have been something to see. I think this would have been a cross between Bullit & Junior Bonner. How would he have done the commode story? Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973) This would have been fantastic. "Are you gonna bark all day little doggie...or are you gonna bite." The Wild Bunch (1969) Of all the Peckinpah ensemble this one's the no brainer. Right out of the wild bunch and into the wearhouse. He just grabbed the diamonds and split!? I'm right about that, that's your story? The Wild Bunch (1969) Okay, this one's a different vibe. Holden would still explore all the angles but in a muc ... " [More]

Kudos To Peckinpah
by JakeStevens in JakeStevens Blog

liked it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"The thing I like most about this film is how far ahead of it's time it was. It really doesn't hold back on the brutality of the violence it displays. Also being a fellow pacifist, I can relate to not resorting to violence until no other option is given. I sometimes wish Dustin Hoffman's David be a little less "nebbish", but that's the only flaw I can find with this film. I've got the Criterion Collection version, and it comes with a welth of information, as opposed to MGM's bare bones version, so if you can find it, pick up the Criterion Collection version (although it is out of print, you might be able to find it on Amazon or Ebay). " [More]

Idealist's Transformation
by radiogerbil in radiogerbil Blog

loved it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"It's easy to say you're a pacifist, but how does one live it when they are truly put to the test? In this film, Dustin Hoffman's character is a mild-mannered mathematician who moves to a small English town with his wife to escape from the rampant violence in America. Ironically, violence and degradation are all that meets him in his new home. Immediately after he moves in, he and his wife are constantly harassed and abused by his neighbors which culminates in a brutal violation of his wife by a couple local men. No wonder it was banned in Great Britain. Though he never discovers the violation, his idealism is put to the ultimate test when a group of drunken locals try to storm his house to kill a man he is caring for. The ensuing violence is so strong that it is still disturbing though the film is over thirty years old. The last half hour of the movie is what "Home Alone" would have been like had Alfred Hitchcock directed it. Tense, graphically violent ... " [More]

Re: Most disturbing, discomfort ...
by Dr_Gor in HORROR MOVIES 101

liked it.

"Rape Scenes! The PERFECT discussion for this GROUP! (I think I am already under "double-secret probation"!) !!! Yes, Froggy, you are correct... those are the most disturbing scenes to me, as well.... although, I would NOT agree with "Pulp Fiction" ! That big (N-word) got what was 'coming' (no pun intended!) to him! That scene was actually QUITE humorous to ME! And then Bruce Willis saves the day with a 'samurai' sword ?!?!?! what kind of s**t is that???? Other than THAT example, yes, rape is quite disturbing to me.... Here some other examples... "Ms. 45" "Lipstick" "Straw Dogs" "Last House On The Left" " ...sleep well, children..." < GOR > " [More]

Re: The meaning of violence
by Risselada in Gorrible

liked it.

"Yeah I've seen Straw Dogs. It was pretty intreguing. I feel like I get to relive a mild version of it every Christmas when when my friends and I have our annual Home Alone party. " [More]

Peckinpah's "Straw Dogs"
by paul in paul on spout.com

hasn't rated it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"The synopsis for this film says that Dustin Hoffman's character, David—a pacfist, "finally resorts to the gruesome violence that he abhors."As if Peckinpah would make something so simple. A pacifist moves to the British countryside where his wife is attacked and when his home is under seige, he resorts to violence. In fact, in Straw Dogs David is not defending his house in the climactic scene when the men who raped his wife earlier in the day try to break in. He's protecting a mentally handicapped man inside they're trying to kill. But it's an ideal David is really protecting. He will use whatever means necessary to prevent violence from entering his house.Straw Dogs is a film riddled in emotional complexity. It has probably the most disturbing and complex rape scene I've ever seen. Where as most directors might focus on the crime itself followed up with simple justice, Peckinpah goes deep into the ambivalence David's wife feels afterward as she lashes out angrily at David for not ... " [More]

Review by All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

liked it.

Upon its release (within a month of Stanley Kubrick's similar meditation on ultra-violence, A Clockwork Orange), Straw Dogs sharply divided critics and audiences over whether it exploited and glorified macho bloodshed or commented on the violence that had become a fact of 1960s American life. Peckinpah proclaimed his own distaste for violence, suggesting that Straw Dogs portrays how society fails to eradicate primitive drives, leading to territorial warfare. What cannot be denied is Peckinpah's ability to elicit a visceral response to the onscreen turmoil, leaving a viewer either to cheer on David's descent toward bloody retribution or be repulsed by the evil that men do. With jittery editing and gloomy cinematography, Peckinpah creates an unsettling atmosphere of foreboding; the town's unexplained animosity adds to the suggestion that what drives them all, including the intellectual David, is beyond the bounds of "civilization." True to the complex nature of these issues, Straw Dogs' ending provides no easy answers or reassurances about what transpires in the Sumner home. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

Tags: violence , paranoia , rape , graphic , small-town
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