Straw Dogs

R

Released Dec 29, 1971

1h 56m

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

List

82%

45 Reviews

Tomatometer

82%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

David Sumner (Dustin Hoffman), a mild-mannered academic from the United States, marries Amy (Susan George), 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 (Del Henney). Eventually the taunts escalate, and two of the locals rape Amy. This sexual assault awakes a shockingly violent side of David.

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Critics Consensus

A violent, provocative meditation on manhood, Straw Dogs is viscerally impactful -- and decidedly not for the squeamish.

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Alec B

Too downbeat to be "fascist" (sorry Pauline) but it does still effectively make the audience extremely uncomfortable. This is why people feel the need to attack it.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/28/24

Full Review

CaptainMaple

This movie was absolutely awful, don't watch it unless you like watching paint dry for the first half, listen to shattering glass for the second half and occasional and motivation less shock scenes for seemingly no reason. In an Age where Death Wish and Seven Samurai also exist, this movie has no right to be as boring as it is for a "thriller"

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/12/24

Full Review

Wayne K

It might seem tame by today's standards, where violent revenge thrillers are a dime a dozen, but Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs remains just as shocking all these decades later, not because of the violence itself, but of its moral implications. Taking a meek, mild-mannered man and not an action hero or a raging brute and turning him into an instrument of brutality and vengeance lays bare the notion that all of us are capable of such horror, of such blood-thirsty retribution. There's a fairly slow and mundane build, but it makes the escalation of violence, which is significant, feel even more potent. The infamous rape scene is where the films moral quandaries really kick into overdrive, and help to prevent the film from feeling like a simple black and white, good verses evil tale. Peckinpah knew how to present violence in a way that made the audience uncomfortable, and he also realised that editing could enhance this effect. There's a lot of quick cuts, sometimes to close ups and sometimes to clips that are in slow motion. Its makes for a disorientating experience, and when it occurs during a violent episode, it makes it feel all the more disturbing. The end leaves you feeling not elated, but shaken and confused, unable to reconcile what you've just witnessed with what you expected the outcome to be. This is why the film works as well as it does. It's not a traditional narrative of good triumphing over evil, it's a morality tale about how that same evil is present in all of us and, whether we like it or not, we're all capable of the most heinous acts when we're pushed to our limits.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/09/23

Full Review

Steve D

I get that what it is trying to be but the film is just so unpleasant its characters so unsympathetic that only the last 20 min or so do anything other than disgust.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/20/23

Full Review

william d

I found the excessive close ups and jump cut edits to be pretty distracting. However, the now infamous ending makes it worth watching (although it's fairly tame by today's standards).

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Leaburn

This film was average 🤏

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

Full Review

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Sam Peckinpah

Director

Dustin Hoffman

David Sumner

Susan George

Amy Sumner

T.P. McKenna

Major John Scott

Peter Vaughan

Tom Hedden

Del Henney

Charlie Venner

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Tom Milne

Sight & Sound

I can think of no other film which screws violence up into so tight a knot of terror that one begins to feel that civilisation is crumbling before one's eyes.

Feb 12, 2020

Full Review

Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

[T]hough doubtlessly reactionary, Straw Dogs has the heat of personal commitment and the authority of deep (if bitter) contemplation.

Jan 9, 2019

Full Review

Chuck Bowen

Slant Magazine

One of the most ambiguous, neurotic, and disturbing of all American films receives a revelatory new restoration, with supplements that ably grapple with its chaos.

Jul 10, 2017

Full Review

Justine Smith

Vague Visages

In spite of accusations to the contrary, Peckinpah does not celebrate violence but suggests that it is a part of humanity’s moral fabric.

Nov 21, 2023

Full Review

Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

“Straw Dogs” is ugly, disturbing, and hard to take in, just like a story of this nature should be. It’s also hard to turn away from thanks to Peckinpah’s direction, John Coquillon’s fiercely hypnotic cinematography, and great performances.

Rated: 4/5

May 17, 2023

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

While I understand this film and welcome its message, it’s a film that I wouldn’t want to revisit.

Rated: 2.5/4

Mar 8, 2023

Full Review

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Synopsis

David Sumner (Dustin Hoffman), a mild-mannered academic from the United States, marries Amy (Susan George), 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 (Del Henney). Eventually the taunts escalate, and two of the locals rape Amy. This sexual assault awakes a shockingly violent side of David.

Director: Sam Peckinpah
Screenwriter: David Zelag Goodman, Sam Peckinpah
Production Co: Talent Associates Ltd.
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 29, 1971, Wide
Release Date (DVD): Oct 19, 2004
Runtime: 1h 56m
Sound Mix: Mono