Straw Dogs

1971

1h 56m

IMDb RATING

7.1/10

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81 Images

Thriller

Drama

Crime

David Sumner, a mild-mannered academic from the United States, marries Amy, an Englishwoman. In order to escape a hectic stateside lifestyle, David and his wife relocate to the small town in rural Cornwall where Amy was raised. There, David is ostracized by the brutish men of the village, including Amy's old flame, Charlie. Eventually the taunts escalate.

Directors

Sam Peckinpah

Writers

David Zelag Goodman(screenplay by)

Sam Peckinpah(screenplay by)

Gordon Williams(novel by)

Stars

Dustin Hoffman

Susan George

Peter Vaughan

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Videos4

Photos81

Top cast

David Sumner

Amy

Tom Hedden

Maj. John Scott

Charlie Venner

Chris Cawsey

Riddaway

Norman Scutt

Bobby Hedden

Janice Hedden

Harry Ware

John Niles

Louise Hood

Rev. Barney Hood

Mrs. Hebden (uncredited)

Jimmy Charters

Man in Pub (uncredited)

Chloe Franks

Emma Hebden (uncredited)

Michael Mundell

Bertie Hedden (uncredited)

Directors

Sam Peckinpah

Writers

David Zelag Goodman(screenplay by)

Sam Peckinpah(screenplay by)

Gordon Williams(novel by)

All cast & crew

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Review

Featured review

7/10

**_How far can a civilized man be pushed?_** A well-to-do couple from America (Dustin Hoffman and Susan George) move back to the wife's hometown near Land’s End in western Cornwall, England, and settle into the vacant homestead. They enlist some roofers whom she knows from her school days, one of them being a former boyfriend (Del Henney). Rivalry is in the air as the laborers try to emasculate Amy’s brainy husband and she questions his manhood. Havoc ensues. Based on Gordon M. Williams’s novel and helmed by Peckinpah, "Straw Dogs" (1971) is a psychological thriller and so there's a lot of drama and subtle suspense build-up; things don't blow-up until the final act, so to speak. Consequently, anyone looking for mindless action should stay away. There are bits reminiscent of "Of Mice and Men," like the mentally challenged guy (David Warner) who doesn't know his own strength. The conflict here is basically brawn vs. brain or Lynyrd Skynyrd vs. Bach. David (Hoffman) is a meek, civilized man of below average stature (almost 5’6”) with an intellectual occupation who is forced to shed all his cultured conditioning and revert back to the barbarism of his ancestors. The story spurs some questions: Why does a rape-victim keep silent? Why is the local teen hottie interested in the mentally-challenged hunk? But a little reflection will answer these and other questions. I like it when films don't spell everything out and make you think. Certain added bits are interesting, like the subtle rivalry between gang members Charlie (Henney) and Norman (Ken Hutchison). The flick is sophisticated and sneers at binary good/bad characterizations, rubbing the viewer’s face in humanity’s animalistic (or fallen) nature, which lies just beneath the veneer of civilized proprieties. There’s an effective 2011 remake, which switches the setting to the modern day of the Deep South, America. Anyone who appreciates Rural Gothic or Southern Gothic will likely appreciate either. I should add that there's an unpleasant rape sequence à la “The Wild Angels” and “Last Summer,” not to mention the mayhem of the climax, but it's mostly an intelligent drama that slowly builds tension, obviously influenced by “The Shuttered Room” from four years prior. It runs 1 hour, 58 minutes, and was shot in southwest England at St Buryan, near Penzance, with studio stuff done at Twickenham Studios in London. GRADE: B

Wuchak28 Oct, 2024