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Straw Dogs - Criterion Collection [DVD] [1971] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]
 
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Straw Dogs - Criterion Collection [DVD] [1971] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

DVD ~ Dustin Hoffman
4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)

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Region 1 encoding (requires a North American or multi-region DVD player and NTSC compatible TV. More about DVD formats.)

Note: you may purchase only one copy of this product. New Region 1 DVDs are dispatched from the USA or Canada and you may be required to pay import duties and taxes on them (click here for details). Please expect a delivery time of 5-7 days.


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Straw Dogs - Criterion Collection [DVD] [1971] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]
84% buy the item featured on this page:
Straw Dogs - Criterion Collection [DVD] [1971] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] 4.3 out of 5 stars (19)
Straw Dogs [1971] [DVD]
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Straw Dogs [1971] [DVD] 4.2 out of 5 stars (11)
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Product details

  • Actors: Dustin Hoffman, Susan George, Peter Vaughan, T.P. McKenna, Del Henney
  • Directors: Paul Joyce, Sam Peckinpah
  • Producers: Chris Rodley, Daniel Melnick, James Swann
  • Format: Closed-captioned, Colour, DVD-Video, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
  • Language English
  • Subtitles: English
  • Region: Region 1 (US and Canada DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
  • Number of discs: 2
  • Classification: R (Restricted) (US MPAA rating. See details.)
  • Studio: Criterion
  • DVD Release Date: 25 Mar 2003
  • Run Time: 117 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000087EYE
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 89,437 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
According to critic Pauline Kael Straw Dogs was "the first American film that is a fascist work of art". Sam Peckinpah's only film shot in Britain is adapted from a novel by Gordon M Williams called The Siege of Trencher's Farm which Peckinpah described as a "lousy book with one good action-adventure sequence". The setting is Cornwall, where mild-mannered US academic David Sumner (Dustin Hoffman) has bought a house with his young English wife Amy (Susan George) in the village where she grew up. David is mocked by the locals (one of whom is Amy's ex-boyfriend) and treated with growing contempt by his frustrated wife, but when his house comes under violent siege he finds unexpected reserves of resourcefulness and aggression.

The movie, Peckinpah noted, was much influenced by Robert Ardrey's macho-anthropological tract, The Territorial Imperative. Its take on Cornish village life is fairly bizarre--this is a Western in all but name--and many critics balked at the transposition of Peckinpah's trademark blood-and-guts to the supposed peace of the British countryside. A scene where Amy is raped caused particular outrage, not least since it's hinted she consents to it. Not for the first time in Peckinpah's movies there are disquieting elements of misogyny, and it doesn't help that the chemistry between Hoffman and George is non-existent. (Impossible to believe these two would ever have clicked, let alone married.) But taken as a vision of irrational violence irrupting into a civilised way of life Straw Dogs is powerful and unsettling, and the action sequences are executed with all Peckinpah's unfailing flair and venom. Oh, and that title? A quote from Chinese sage Lao-Tze, it seems, "The wise man is ruthless and treats the people as straw dogs." The film was long withheld from home viewing in Britain by nervous censors, but this release presents it complete and uncut. --Philip Kemp

On the DVD: Straw Dogs is as jam-packed a disc as is possible for a film made before the days of obligatory "making of" features. Both the sound and visuals have transferred well, and, like the script, have aged well. There's a bumbling original interview in the style of Harry Enfield's Mr. Cholmondley-Warner, along with stills and original trailers. The new material includes a feature on the history of the film's censorship and commentaries by Peckinpah's biographers musing over interesting fan-facts (though none of the speakers have any first-hand experience of the making of the film). However, Katy Haber's commentary, and interviews with Susan George and Dan Melnick, offer a much more in-depth and intimate portrayal of the man and the making of the film. --Nikki Disney

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Customer Reviews

19 Reviews
5 star:
 (9)
4 star:
 (7)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (19 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
24 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars PECKINPAH'S MASTERPIECE, 10 Oct 2002
This review is from: Straw Dogs [1971] [DVD] (DVD)
Straw Dogs is a complexely layered thematic film involving issues such as the true nature of violence, masculinity, territoriality and above all, the price we have to pay for displaying these naked emotions. But it's also an unbearably tense, gripping thriller. David Sumner retreats to rural Cornwall, to get away from street violence in America, only to find out that it exists in every place in the world, only in a different guise. The 'locals' (inhabited, imbred 'scum') pick on David for two simple reasons- he is a foreigner (well, American) and that they fancy his wife (understandable- it's Susan George).

What makes the climax so inevitably true to life is how the locals attitude towards David starts off as mild hostility and gradually degenerates into full blown violence, who look for any excuse to terrorise David, his wife and his home. Much has been said about the rape scene, which, in this complete version is actually far less offensive. But what people don't often realise is that the two characters involved (Amy, David's wife and a scumbag local, Charlie) is that they already have a history together. Of course, rape is still rape and it is very shocking, even by todays standards, but considering that the two characters involved are far from being every day civilised human beings and are pretty screwed up- for them it may just be extremeley violent seduction, as when the second person rapes her-it appears that Amy does not enjoy this at all (this part was originally omitted from the cut version, which makes it's morals more ambigous).

Amy's feelings for Charlie (who for me isn't the definition of masculinity- more like an image of false macho, bouyish energy) have been so well hidden that the scene of violent seduction almost plays out as cartharsis, for both of them, which brings them rather oddly together (but as stated previousley, both are odd characters) and David is the only truelly human person out of the lot (and more masculine than Charlie- he stands his ground when it needs to be stood- rather than resorting in false macho posturing).

The fact that David is refered to as a coward by his wife says everything (does she have stronger feelings for Charlie because he projects himself to be more of a man? Typical!)- but he'll only fight back when its completely necassary, and when he does- well, see it for yourself. If any of this sounds like Fight Club, well, it must've been the equal, if not the surpassed version, released in 1971. Like most controversial films who are willing to make a bold statement, it all rings horribly true, which is probably what garners the respect of every artist, like Sam Peckinpah, to gain their status as a vital artist in their own medium.

The DVD itself is of very good value, and just so you know, Susan George, who plays Amy and appears to be very intelligent and open minded in person, believes the film to be a misunderstood masterpiece itself. A definite purchase for any film fan who likes their films to be bold rather than woossy, compromised tosh. Just don't show it to thick liberals, they'll never get it.

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20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A banned classic!, 8 Oct 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Straw Dogs [1971] [DVD] (DVD)
This for me is one of the best Sam Peckinpah film's I've seen and 30 years on it still hasn't lost any of it's original impact. The cast is superb with Dustin Hoffman giving a really understated yet multi-faceted performance as a timid man who takes a stand. Susan George is also terrific as Dustin's sexually spiteful wife. The Cornish coast setting really gives a creepy sense of remoteness to the film and the locals come across as chillingly thuggish especially Del Henney as Venner. The infamous rape does prove somewhat hard to watch but it's a deftly handled scene and the film's last half hour stand is of course where the action really takes place and it's a riveting watch throughout. All in all this is one of the best DVD releases round just now of a once banned classic movie.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars I've waited a long time, 12 Nov 2003
This review is from: Straw Dogs [1971] [DVD] (DVD)
I first saw this film in the early eighties, before it was banned. It left such an effect that I had to see it again almost twenty years later. It is without doubt one of the best films ever made. Maybe I am biased because I find Susan George extremely attractive and have seen all her films. However the film actually stands out because of the slow, and sometimes sinister way the viewer gradually gets drawn into the plot. The film really strikes a chord with many people, simply because the majority of people don't like confrontation, and when faced with it many will try and explain it away and get on with living their lives. Unfortunately all humans can only take so much before their breaking point is reached, and this is essentially what the film is about. A mild mannered man who doesn't want any trouble eventually is driven too far and has to react, and he reacts in a violent way that many people with the same nature can relate to. It is a disturbing film without doubt, the finale is brutal and extremely tense, but is a must see. The success of the film is simple, normal guy gets pushed too far and fights back, something many can relate to. This is a must see film, take my word for it, it will evoke many thoughts in you, in most cases the thought would be " could I get away with that "
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 		 Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Very hard hitting!
`Straw Dogs` was filmed in Cornwall roughly an hours drive from where I reside.The story is about an American couple who move to Cornwall,England and fall foul of the brutal... Read more
Published 1 day ago by Mr. A. J. Ralph

5.0 out of 5 stars Straw dogs
A very raw, sexy iconic film, with scenes that live in the memory for years.
Published 1 month ago by cariadx

4.0 out of 5 stars When the going gets tough...
A great example of how a film might not be easy or pleasant to watch - but it can still be a great film. Read more
Published 7 months ago by DangermouseZilla

5.0 out of 5 stars A lot more than just a rape scene
A lot more than just a rape scene

I remember seeing Gordon Williams on the South Bank show discussing his writing method. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Peter Wade

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best British films of the 1970s and one of Peckinpah's best too
Sam Peckinpah made this film, clocking in at a hefty 1 hour 53 minutes, right after "The Wild Bunch" western. Read more
Published 10 months ago by D. J. HORN

5.0 out of 5 stars Gut-wrenching Peckinpah classic.
Absolutely notorious, at the time of its release, for its graphic violence. I had to wait a dreadfully long time before getting the opportunity to see this gut-wrenching film... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Mr. P. B. Koeb

4.0 out of 5 stars Susan George on top form!

Not my favourite Susan George film - not because of her performance, but because this movie has had so much critical acclaim over the years - but for all the wrong reasons;... Read more
Published 18 months ago by FAMOUS NAME

3.0 out of 5 stars Peckinpah was capable of so much better
Straw Dogs represents much of the things that made Peckinpah such a conflicted director. The theme of the movie, for me, had nothing to do with the turning of a worm, but was all... Read more
Published 24 months ago by C. O. DeRiemer

5.0 out of 5 stars peckinpah's lesson in filmaking
Straw Dogs, the only film Peckinpah shot in Britain, stands as one of the best of his (mostly) impecable career. Read more
Published on 4 May 2005 by moscamuerta

3.0 out of 5 stars A bit slow but worth the wait
Having waited a while to view this film after 30 mins I was beginning to wonder why I had anticipated it so much. Read more
Published on 13 Oct 2004 by Mr. T. Armstrong

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