The Plague Dogs [DVD]

This is just a brief review to let buyers know that this edition contains the first UK DVD release of the FULL uncut version, which runs 99 minutes and contains 17 minutes of material which was removed for the film's US release in the early 80's. It also contains the 82-minute US cut which has been released on DVD before.

As with the Australian DVD release from a couple of years ago, the original full-length version of the film is in very poor shape; the sound and picture quality are, at best, on a par with my old VHS copy from 1983. This is apparently because only one print of the original version remains, and demand for the film is not high enough to justify a costly restoration job. If you want to see the whole film as it originally appeared in UK cinemas, this is probably as good as you'll ever get. The included 82-minute version is in markedly better condition.

Absurdly, the film still carries a PG certificate, despite being rated as a PG-13 (for the edited version) in the US and MA-15 in Australia. Any parents thinking of buying this for their children should be warned: this is a dark, disturbing tale that contains some highly upsetting scenes and is better suited for a teenage or adult audience.

Anyone who has seen Richard Adams/Martin Rosen's adaptation of Watership Down will know what to expect from The Plague Dogs. You've got superb animation - even more polished and fluid in this case - great voice acting, and at the same time, an unrelenting and at times brutal story, which in The Plague Dogs focuses on the cruelty of mankind, as opposed to nature in Watership Down. This is not to say that it's sentimental: like Watership Down, The Plague Dogs presents its story objectively and lets the viewer make up their own mind.

Before I explain the story, I'll make one thing absolutely clear - this film is not for the faint-hearted. Children, animal-lovers and dog-owners alike will probably feel uncomfortable watching this film, for several reasons. And those who have read the book will find the story a couple of shades darker.
However, this is an excellent film and worth watching if you don't flinch from the storyline too much.

The Plague Dogs begins in an animal testing centre in the Lake District. The two protagonists, Rowf, a labrador-cross, and Snitter, a jack russell (voiced by John Hurt), are subjected to experiments out of human curiosity: Rowf is submerged in a tank for as long as he can remain conscious, in order to test canine lung capacity, and Snitter has had brain surgery to determine where the subjective and objective perception of the canine brain begins and ends.
One night, they both escape into the mountains.

This is purely about the animals - we follow Rowf and Snitter on their journey, where they take to attacking sheep to find food, and find friendship in "The Tod", a wily fox, all the while trying to escape from the "whitecoats".
While Snitter is desperate to find them a "master" to look after them, as he used to have, Rowf is bitter towards humans, but at the same time considers that the "whitecoats" are their only masters and perhaps they were right to be tested on in the first place.

The human characters are barely glimpsed, instead portrayed in back-and-forth voice-overs between the scientists and the locals as they try to track the animals down. The fact that Rowf and Snitter are falsely suspected of carrying the plague - a disease secretly being researched at the centre - gives the film its name.

There are several unpleasant sequences in The Plague Dogs, although not always "active" - there is of course the animal testing centre, and a couple of incidences when dogs and humans cross paths.

However, the animation is superb. Like the animated version of Lord of the Rings, no character is ever static on screen, even when they are not the subject of the shot, and there are some wonderful views over the Lake District.

If you are looking for an animated film with a difference I would highly recommend this. But I don't think this is suitable for young children; I would suggest adults watch first before placing their youngsters in front of it, especially since this is the uncut version.
A cult film with an interesting story and intriguing characters, The Plague Dogs in definitely a classic, but it's by no means a children's film.

Plague Dogs is an animated film. But not every animated film is intended for children. This film pushes its PG rating to the max, and has actually had a scene cut due to it being too horrifying, such as a man shown to be eaten by the dogs. The full film is only available on DVD in Australia I believe.

From the same creators of Watership Down, this is a dark, thought-provoking story of two dogs named Rowf (a labrador) and Snitter (a fox terrier) who are being used in invasive and inhumane animal testing research. The two dogs escape the laboratory, but their problems have only begun. They try to survive in the wild with a help of the "tod" (fox), but find themselves being hunted down by man after killing a sheep for food. The dogs are also said to be carrying to be carrying the plague.

The film could be found to be too preachy and biased about the animal testing debate as it only shows horrific and appalling abuse of the animals, but the original book goes into far more detail about the evils of it, as the film was intended to be more of an adventure story.

Overall, this is not a film for the kids. The PG rating appears harmless, but there is some truly shocking content here that's enough to upset even the hardest of adults. It is a very good film, not as great as Watership Down I found, but still good. Just don't pop it into your child's video player before bedtime.