People..please, no more telling me I misunderstood the Football Factory, if one more person even thi...
People..please, no more telling me I misunderstood the Football Factory, if one more person even thinks about saying it..I'm 32, I've got GCSE's in pottery..I understand sh*t British films just fine <flounces off in flurry of petticoats>
Member since:27.07.2000
Reviews:170
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Adapted from Gordon Williams 1969 novel, The Siege of Trenchers Farm, 'Straw Dogs' has a notoriety that it really doesn't deserve. A cynical picture, with violence and rape, but long persecuted through a well meaning edit. Other than a brutal rape, 'Straw Dogs' has little to set it apart from any other 1971 horror, war or crime thriller in terms of classification. Despite a theatrical release in Britain it was never granted a license for home viewing, and so steadily a reputation grew as to the horrors it contained.
In trying to trim down the rape sequence, the US cut of the film actually harmed the scene, and in trying to soften the abuse, actually removed alot of reaction from the victim, and gave the scene a whole new and different context. This US edit was repeatedly submitted to the BBFC for classification and rejected on each viewing, with the board feeling that the scene played wrong with the victim apparently having no struggle or fight and therefore shedding a dangerous light on rape, and promoting a misogynistic view that the victim slowly came to enjoy the ordeal. Rejected.
When distributors came to resubmit the original British cut
30 years later, it was a whole different matter. With plenty of adverse reaction from the victim, the board relented, and were satisfied that nothing about the sequence was at all erotic and only portrayed rape as a brutal and terrifying action.
This is how Straw Dogs finally came to be reclassified and released for home viewing, and with the lengthy saga of 'that' scene out of the way, this 1971 Sam Peckinpah thriller has alot to recommend it. Dustin Hoffman and Susan George head the cast as an American mathematician and his younger wife.
David Sumner (Hoffman) and wife Amy (George) have moved to a remote Cornish village, and Amy's birthplace, to escape the growing violence and anarchy of American life. Initially finding peace and quiet, a deep dark resentment builds against David and his beautiful young wife, who once rejected the charms of local workman Charlie Venner (Del Henney). Employed to work on the dilapidated farmhouse into which the couple have moved, Venner and accomplices from the Hedden family, begin a slow campaign of hate and spite against the Sumners. Starting as playful, but ending in shattering violence, as David realises that he can no longer escape the bullying, and has to stand up to protect himself, his wife and his home.
'Straw Dogs' is certainly no masterpiece, but there is plenty to admire, and it is an extremely competent production. Hoffman and George both give good accounts as the victimised couple, whereas the yokels are far too caricatured and only occasionally suggest real menace. Peter Vaughan is typically unpleasant as the head of the Hedden family, but his quibling siblings are not the potent threat that they could be, at least not until the climax. In amidst all of this is the character of Henry Niles (an uncredited David Warner), a backward adult with a disturbing past whose actions fan the flames of this adrenalin fueled thriller.
To reveal too much of the plot would be to ruin what is a film that is well worth discovering. Nowhere near as violent or offensive as the Chinese whispers made it out to be, it is a taut and effective thriller, with Peckinpah showing brief glimpses of the man who made 'The Wild Bunch' et al.
Whether it was Peckinpah or the shooting script, the film does ask a few too many questions which it fails to answer. Trampling all over Davids motivations as a character, we never explore his fears or understand his revolt at the end. Are we supposed to embrace his heroics, or be disgusted by his descent into violence and mayhem. Do his actions make him better or worse than his attackers, it's quite an uncomfortable ending, and it's difficult to take any relief from the events considering what we've witnessed David is capable of. One would tend to point the finger at Peckinpah and his machismo I suppose, for failing to keep a reign on the action and allow us a glimpse into the initially well crafted characters. However, Peckinpah must be praised for the slow atmospheric start, refusing to budge from his pace as he sets up the climax. As one would expect the climax is well staged and provides a heart pumping assault on the senses.
Beautifully shot in autumnal colours by John Coquillon (Witchfinder General), Cornwall has never looked so foreboding, and the remote locations gently reinforce the claustrophobia and tension. The night sequences shrouded in fog are particularly effective, and 'Straw Dogs' never fails to be good to look at. Good production design makes the cottage a warren dangerous corridors and rooms, a prison as much as a keep. Jerry Fielding provides a wonderful score, preserved as an audio only track on the DVD release.
If you can look beyond the distasteful rape sequence that lurks in the middle of this movie, 'Straw Dogs' is without doubt first class entertainment, containing much that is good. Peckinpah occasionally appears out of sorts with the material, but the locations, lead performances, score and a literate script makes 'Straw Dogs' a very good if not great movie.
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Hummm, it does seem that this film will finally cash in on all the initial outcry about the rape scene - I can kind of understand why, as I am intrigued myself! Nicely done. Kirsty
bespinleia 25.02.2003 14:45
Another film that sounds worth watching, although if I watch all your recommendeds in a row I might start having nightmares. Great writing as usual, K
Dardalius 25.02.2003 14:05
I've heard of this but never seen it, I'll have to look it out now. Ta
According to critic Pauline KaelStraw Dogswas "the first American film that is a fascist ... more
work of art". Sam Peckinpah's only film shot in Britain is adapted from a novel by Gordon M Williams calledThe Siege of Trencher's Farmwhich Peckinpah described as...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
According to critic Pauline KaelStraw Dogswas "the first American film that is a fascist ... more
work of art". Sam Peckinpah's only film shot in Britain is adapted from a novel by Gordon M Williams calledThe Siege of Trencher's Farmwhich Peckinpah described as...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Available for home viewing in the UK for the first time in almost 20 years Sam ... more
Peckinpah's notoriously controversial 1971 classic STRAW DOGS will be released completely uncut on this Special Edition DVD. Based on Gordon M. Williams's novel The Siege ...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
![Straw Dogs [1971] [DVD]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78536003.jpg "Straw Dogs [1971] [DVD]")
![Straw Dogs [1971] [DVD]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78496737.jpg "Straw Dogs [1971] [DVD]")
Feb 23rd, 2003
very helpful by (100%):
