MonsterPerfect Good idea lost in the noise

Joanna Mccarty Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

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.

destinylives52 A highly controversial movie by director Sam Peckinpah, "Straw Dogs" stars Dustin Hoffman and Susan George as a married couple living in an English countryside who endure an escalating series of attacks by local goons.Hoffman plays the calm and gentle mathematician who chooses to be ignorant of the menacing nature of the local men he hired to work on finishing his garage; while George plays the young, petulant wife who notices the little threats all around her but cannot persuade her husband to see things as she does. Hoffman judges George to be childish and silly, and George accuses Hoffman of being a coward. Soon both will be tested to their limits, and their true natures will be exposed when the goons lay siege to their farmhouse and demand something that Hoffman cannot comply with.My most memorable, movie moment of "Straw Dogs" is the most controversial segment of the movie, **SPOILER ALERT** the double rape of George. Controversial for three reasons: 1) its raw brutality (this is a 1971 movie, don't forget); 2) George appears to enjoy the final moments of the first rape; and 3) it is insinuated that George is anally raped during the second rape. This part of the movie is something that movie fans will heatedly argue over for many years to come."Straw Dogs" isn't a movie for the faint of heart nor for those looking for a quick thrill. It starts off very slowly, and the suspense builds up gradually until what is left is a devolution of human nature to its basest instincts.Mannysmemorablemoviemoments

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)

Leofwine_draca Sam Peckinpah's British Western is impossible to review without mentioning all the furore surrounding it here in the UK. Only recently released on DVD, it was banned for almost two decades due to the disturbing rape sequence which takes place around the middle of the film. I'm not sure what all the fuss was about. The entire sequence could have been cut and the film still would have worked, and George's later flashback moments would have been all the more shocking.Aside from that controversial moment, this is typical Peckinpah territory, as the director explores themes of violence and what it means to be a man in a new setting: Cornwall, a long way away from his typical Wild West settings. Still, violence doesn't change, and the story of what happens when Dustin Hoffman's mild-mannered American makes enemies of some country-bumpkin thugs is engaging from the very start. Peckinpah's direction is great, and the film has a nice visual feel to it that makes the best out of some isolated settings. The plot is simple in the extreme and things are set up along the way for the last half an hour, which is a siege sequence in a remote farmhouse a la NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. This is a talky film, with plenty of dialogue to further the characters, although some of it was a little weird and didn't work (Hoffman's comment about eight year-olds, for instance; what the heck were they thinking?). Technically, it's great, with fine editing and a good score, and the acting isn't too shabby either – for the most part.The various actors playing the village thugs are suitably menacing, led by two actors giving fine performances: Del Henney as Charlie, the ringleader, and Peter Vaughan as Tom. Vaughan in particular is superb, getting to chew the scenery with relish, and it's a change from the subtle performance he gave in the following year's A WARNING TO THE CURIOUS adaptation. David Warner, uncredited because he wasn't insured during the production, also gives a very fine, understated performance, but then I've liked this actor in everything I've seen him in – even tat like BEASTMASTER 3 and WAXWORK. Dustin Hoffman gives what I think is a career-best performance in the leading role, and his transformation during the film is amazing stuff. I wasn't so impressed with Susan George, whose character, Amy, is never more than vacuous. George seems uncomfortable in the role, unsure of herself, and in many scenes I just don't think she cut it. When she gets hysterical at the end, she's more convincing, but not before.Action fans will love the vengeance-fuelled climax, an expertly staged siege sequence that finally lets out all the tension the film has been building up to then. Instead of using firearms, Hoffman utilises household goods to fend off the attackers – wire, boiling whisky, a huge bear trap that's been hanging above the fireplace for the film's duration – and his ingenuity in defeating multiple opponents is fantastic. Brief, brutal spurts of violence add to the shocking impact and my heart was racing in these last closing moments – a classic finale, close to THE WILD BUNCH, for an above average thriller.