A Boy And His Dog

Rating:
Summary: Man's best (only?) friend
Review: It's the future once again and the world has obliterated itself through nuclear destruction (once again.) Don't despair! This film is really a "buddy" picture about two characters, Vic and Blood, surviving in a post nuclear world. The only thing is, Blood is a telepathic dog and the "brains" of the operation. Vic provides the brawn and the two roam the desert wasteland, a veritable land of opportunity for those with enough greed and power (some things never change), in search of food and for the less evolved, women. It is this all-too-human weakness for sex that ends up tearing Vic away from the only thing in this world a boy can trust . . . his dog! Vic is lured to an underground world of smiling faces, bright colors, and pretty girls but "the good life" is a fraud. Jason Robards delivers an excellent performance as the leader of this underworld. This film inspired countless copies (Mad Max) over the years and the last line of the film has become deservedly famous in cult movie lore.

Rating:
Summary: cult classic? why not wider interest...
Review: I've loved this film from my first watching many moons of Jupiter ago...watching it again has me appreciating it even more, the true hallmark of a classic film! [one of my] fav quotes of any film ever just has to be: "you're starting to sound like a g-dd-mn poodle!" and the entire dialog subsequent in that same scene bears comparison to the finest Woody Allen...see it and weep! w/laughter...Alex 'just another bleary-eyed vidwatcher'

Rating:
Summary: I can see why this is a cult classic!
Review: Imagine you never ever heard of this movie. If someone were to ask "Have you ever seen A Boy And His Dog?", what image would come to your mind? You imagine a little boy playing with his faithful dog, right?

Well, whether you would or not, that was definitely me. All I heard about this movie was that it was set during a time when the Earth was ravaged and that the movie was about a hungry/horny boy with his faithful dog who complains about his libido all the time.

What came to my mind was an image of a 13-14 year old boy and a dog wandering around the desert looking for something to do. Of course, if I had known this movie got an "R" rating, a more accurate image would have come to my head.

I was very surprised by this movie. Aside from the fact that the movie shows pornography and rape, it also portrayed the main character as some kind of a sex addict. Since I had originally thought the movie had a "PG" rating, I didn't even think it had any of these.

I found myself stumbling upon a very strange movie, indeed. You could clearly see that this is from a non-PC time because aside from the fact that it shows women as sex objects, it also shows the main character choosing his dog over a woman that claims "she loves him". Now, aside from that, he does something that women today would consider VERY sexist. I thought it was cool as hell, but hey, that's me.

Anyway, a number of things got me confused about this movie. Now, of course there would be very little people, but why are there so much less women? Did the men have some sort of gene that allowed them to survive nuclear war better? Aside from that, why did they kill women so frivolously if women were in short supply? None of it seems to make any sense to me. The thing that really hit me, though, was the lack of commitment in EVERYONE. Considering the human race seemed to be on the verge of extinction if something wasn't done fast, why were so little committed to having children? Food didn't seem to be a factor since one scene showed them giving away food in order to see a pornography movie. Was wondering the desert with your pals digging up old cans of food so much fun that you didn't want to bother having children to make sure your species don't go extinct?

Of course, that is just the gist of it. There seems to be A LOT of unexplained or unplausible stuff in this movie, but then again, you're probably not watching this movie for the plausibility.

Despite the strangeness, I actually like this movie. It was fun seeing the teen kid argue with his dog about women. It certainly was touching to see how loyal they are to each other. How many guys today would give up a woman for their dog? Even if the woman was a conniving wench and the dog was loyal beyoung belief? Not many, I bet.

Overall, I consider this movie to be excellent! Pick it up if you can. It's very good.

Rating:
Summary: Nothing Is More Important to a Boy than His Dog
Review: It's the year 2024, and most of the Earth's nations have been demolished by yet another world war (the latest being WWIV). In this postapocalyptic world, slow-witted survivor Vic (Don Johnson) forages through the ruins for food and women with the help of his faithful dog, Blood (voiced by Tim McIntire), with whom he is able to communicate telepathically. Blood, more intelligent and more cultured than his young "master," often gets impatient with Vic's immature behavior and lack of interest in his attempts to educate the boy, but he nonetheless loves Vic and sticks with him to help him survive. And after several minor adventures and one huge misadventure, Vic does learn one incontestable actuality: Nothing is more important to a boy than his dog.

Based on an award-winning novella by the curmudgeonly SF writer Harlan Ellison, A BOY AND HIS DOG was adapted and directed by character actor L.Q. Jones and co-produced by Jones and Alvy Moore (the latter probably best known for his portrayal of scatterbrained Hank Kimball on TV's GREEN ACRES). While Ellison has said many times publicly that the film is the most faithful adaptation of any of his works, he has nonetheless complained vehemently about some of Jones' "adjustments"--most notably the minor addition of some gross or vulgar dialogue--and tried unsuccessfully to get them changed. Whether or not Ellison's complaints have merit, A BOY AND HIS DOG has come to be regarded as a science-fiction classic, its popularity undoubtedly due to its likeable characters who, despite their constant bickering and individual quirks, are redeemed by their committed friendship and their sarcastically humorous approach to survival.

The performances in A BOY AND HIS DOG are top-notch. Johnson convincingly portrays Vic as a filthy scavenger who, in spite of his dire situation, still manages to remain a decent human being at the core. Tim McIntire's vocal characterization of Blood embodies Ellison's original concept of a mutant pooch with a caustic ego that is balanced with just the right amount of off-beat humanity, and this portrayal is enhanced further by the outstanding on-screen performance of Tiger, the canine thespian that portrayed the family pet on TV's THE BRADY BUNCH. In his supporting role as the governor of a subterranean dystopia, Jason Robards is delightfully smarmy. And when beautiful Susanne Benton bares her ample "talents" on the screen, that's a lot of fun watch, too.

With A BOY AND HIS DOG, Jones' intention is not to make deep socio-political innuendos or to meet the average action-fan's prosaic expectations, and sentimentality is obviously far from his mind. Instead of serving up a dull postapocalyptic survival-of-the-fittest thriller or a cliché love-among-the-ruins drama, Jones gives us a wry black comedy that doesn't take itself too seriously. His direction is tight, his staging often inventive, and the dialogue--while MOSTLY lifted directly from Ellison's story--is often sharply sardonic and frequently witty. With this AND the outstanding performances he elicits from his cast, Jones creates a realistic world of future desolation, but he peoples it with central characters that learn to deal with the nightmare while still maintaining their humanity...and a sense of humor.

Several DVD editions of A BOY AND HIS DOG have been available over the past few years, and all have delivered good letterbox widescreen digital transfers. The current offering from First Run Features is an anamorphic widescreen version, and it also contains an interesting feature commentary and theatrical trailers.

All in all, A BOY AND HIS DOG is a wonderful interpretation of a classic SF novella, and this DVD will make a great entry in the film collections of SF fans who love quirky non-mainstream films.