Straw Dogs

Straw Dogs is a 1971 film directed by Sam Peckinpah. Dustin Hoffman and Susan George play the lead roles. David Warner, although uncredited, is also featured. The screenplay is based on the novel The Siege of Trencher's Farm by Gordon Williams.

Related Topics:
Film - Sam Peckinpah - Dustin Hoffman - Susan George - David Warner - Screenplay - Novel - Gordon Williams

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The film was released theatrically in the US the same year as A Clockwork Orange and Dirty Harry, sparking a heated controversy over apparently excessive violence in films.

Related Topics:
A Clockwork Orange - Dirty Harry

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The movie gained notoriety in the UK following its being banned in 1984 by the British Board of Film Classification under then newly introduced Video Recordings Act due to a scene of sexual violence wherein Amy Sumner is raped sparked the UK controversy. A portion of the scene had already been cut by the studio, prior to US release in order to obtain an R rating from the MPAA. The film was again refused a licence in 1999, following the distributors refusal to cut the scene cited as problematic. The film was finally certified uncut for video and DVD release on July 1, 2002.

Related Topics:
British Board of Film Classification - Video Recordings Act - Rape - MPAA - DVD - July 1 - 2002

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The story is of an American mathematician, David Sumner and his British wife Amy (played by Hoffman and George) who move to Amy's home town in Cornwall, UK to escape crime and violence in the United States. They face increasing levels of harassment by the local residents. Finally David retaliates with extreme violence.

Related Topics:
American - Cornwall - UK

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It's likely that the title of the movie is drawn from a common translation of the Tao Te Ching, an ancient Chinese philosophical treatise. Verse V reads:

Related Topics:
Tao Te Ching - Philosophical

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"Heaven and Earth are impartial;

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They see the ten thousand things as straw dogs.

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The wise are impartial;

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They see the people as straw dogs."

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Many ceremonies in ancient China, during the time of Lao Tzu, incorporated the use of dogs woven out of grass. These effigies were revered and respected during the ritual, but afterward, discarded and burnt.

Related Topics:
China - Lao Tzu - Effigies - Ritual

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