ThiefHott Too much of everything

BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

VividSimon Simply Perfect

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

atomicgirl-34996 Wow, when I was growing up, this movie was such a big deal, pushed as some kind of edgy movie that dared to show the worst in humanity and explore moral ambiguity. So, I was pretty proud of myself when I reached college age and embraced this movie wholeheartedly. I thought I was being "so mature" for appreciating films like this over the ones that ended on a positive note or had a moral story.Fast forward several decades and now I see Straw Dogs for what it is: vacuous garbage that thinks it's deep for being nihilist, based on the fallacy that depicting rape, violence and mayhem is more realistic than showing the best in humanity. Well, I've got news for everyone. Showing the ugly side of life is no more realistic than showing the best side of life. Heroism, compassion, and kindness are just as much a part of reality as the ugly stuff. It's not a fairy tale that there are good people in the world, that terrible events can end on a positive note, that sometimes good people triumph over evil. This is my particular issue with Straw Dogs. Had the movie existed in its own amoral universe, that would've been okay. But this was the film that said that this was the reality of the world, and introduced the nihilism that is so prevalent in today's movies and TV shows now, in which there are no good guys or bad guys, no such thing as right or wrong. Almost everyone in every movie or TV show today will be a snide, unlikable jerk or guilty of some irredeemable act. And, have you noticed how the sweetest, kindest, and most endearing characters are always killed off in the most sickening, heartbreaking way? If you wanted to know why so much of today's entertainment is like this, it's because of this movie.Straw Dogs was also the film that also destroyed the concept of the anti-hero. Previously, anti-heroes were just flawed people who may have committed some so-called "sin" but had redeemable traits that more than made up for it. Thanks to this movie, anti-heroes can be flat out murderers and sadists. Comic book superheroes have been turned into murderous sociopaths, with the excuse that they're "troubled" or that giving them a dark side makes them more realistic. P'shaw. All of this is why I find Straw Dog's nihilism even more troubling than the infamous rape scene, because that scene did very little in the way of influencing public opinion about rape in general. Its nihilism, on the other hand, had a long lasting, toxic influence on American culture, so it merits a 1/10 from me for this alone.

BA_Harrison Mild-mannered mathematician David Sumner (Dustin Hoffman) and his sexy wife Amy (the delectable Susan George) move to the rural English village where Amy grew up. With her nipples proudly on display, Amy soon attracts the attention of the rough and ready locals, especially her old fling Charlie Venner (Del Henney), who is quick to reacquaint himself. Wrapped up in his equations, David repeatedly fails to assert himself as Venner and his loutish pals carry out a campaign of harrassment, much to the frustration and disappointment of Amy, who obviously regards her husband as less than a man.Things go from bad to worse when David, keen to appease the yokels, agrees to go on a shooting trip. While David is left standing on the moors, Venner pays a visit to Amy, forcing himself on her. Amy resists at first, but Venner's bold masculinity-in contrast to David's meek nature-wins her over and she acquiesces. To Amy's horror, a second man turns up and joins in the fun, but she is unable to stop him. When David returns home, Amy pretends that nothing has happened, ashamed by her behaviour yet angry at her husband.In the film's final pivotal act, David and Amy, driving home from a church social, accidentally run down village idiot Henry Niles (David Warner). They take the injured man to their home, unaware that he has inadvertently strangled local strumpet Janice Hedden (Sally Thomsett), and that a drunken vigilante group, led by thug Tom Hedden (Peter Vaughan) and including Charlie and his pals, is out for Niles's blood. After David refuses to allow the gang into his house, the angry locals try to force their way in. Local magistrate Maj. John Scott (T.P. McKenna) tries to reason with the men, but is shot dead by Tom during the altercation. With David and Amy witness to the murder, the scene is set for a brutal showdown, David rising to the occasion to protect his home and his wife.Director Sam Peckinpah's controversial thriller Straw Dogs is a film designed to appeal to the viewer's basic instincts, and it does so brilliantly. As soon as we clock bra-less George brazenly flaunting herself in front of the slack-jawed yokels, we desperately want David to speak up, either to his wife, who clearly has little respect for her husband, or to the drooling menfolk, who do nothing to hide their lustful gaze. When David keeps shtum, the frustration is palpable. Peckinpah slowly but carefully cranks up the tension, with David's repeated inaction making the viewer sympathetic to Amy's plight. When David is finally pushed over the edge and fights back, there is an immense feeling of release, the orgy of violence that follows satisfying at the most primal level. A smile from David in the closing moments reveals that he himself is proud to have finally stood his ground.Hoffman is absolutely brilliant as the pacifist pushed too far, George is effortlessly sexy, and an excellent supporting cast ensures that there are no weak links (my hat is off to Jim Norton as ratcatcher Chris Cawsey, a more irksome villain you'll be hard pushed to find). Peckinpah's direction is perfectly paced, slowburn at first, carefully building to the crescendo of graphic brutality, with bloody shotgun blasts, boiling oil in the face, and a mantrap to the head all guaranteed to please his fans.

opieandy-1 Not many mainstream movies feature an attractive leading lady who doesn't wear a bra. This flick was interesting if not confounding. Takes place in a tight time frame, a matter of days, and generates more questions than it answers. If you like closure and clean story lines, this is not for you. Hoffman was great as usual, even if he reminded me of Benjamin Braddock in some ways. I liked the Irish setting and the acting. The story didn't quite do it for me. About my reviews: I do not offer a synopsis of the film -- you can get that anywhere and that does not constitute a meaningful review -- but rather my thoughts and feelings on the film that hopefully will be informative to you in deciding whether to invest 90-180 minutes of your life on it.My scale: 1-5 decreasing degrees of "terrible", with 5 being "mediocre" 6- OK. Generally held my interest OR had reasonable cast and/or cinematography, might watch it again 7 - Good. My default rating for a movie I liked enough to watch again, but didn't rise to the upper echelons 8- Very Good. Would watch again and recommend to others 9- Outstanding. Would watch over and over; top 10% of my ratings 10 - A Classic. (Less than 2% receive this rating)

chaswe-28402 This disc had been sitting on my shelf for over ten years after its first or second viewing, and I'd been reluctant to re-visit it for some reason, until last night. Now I realise why, because although I hadn't really forgotten it, its deep-reaching and thorough unpleasantness must have seriously turned me off, and warned me away.Somebody likened it to "Irreversible", and I see what they're saying. Peckinpah, although just as over the top, is more realistic and everyday, however. Whatever his themes, you have to admit he regularly gets superbly convincing performances from his actors. In spite of the way he seems to treat them, he also gets very considerable loyalty from many of them. In this case Susan George.He apparently said that it was not about a wimp, but a failed marriage. It's also been said that most of his films are about some kind of treachery or disappointment between buddies. In this case it's the conflict between Hoffman and his totally incompatible wife, with whom he obviously has nothing constructive in common, except sex, which dooms it from the start. This union was clearly a profound mistake, and its disintegration is almost comic. Chess is not going to unite this couple.The only positive outcome of the events depicted is that the odious yokel played by Peter Vaughan never discovered what happened to his pesky little daughter Janice. Impressive work, but not recommended viewing, unless you enjoy torture. The remake is obviously a disaster.