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DAY 135: January 15th, 2009.
STRAW DOGS
Maybe it's because I was born in 87 and grew up in the 90's, and have been bombarded with so much violence that a film like Straw Dogs seems tame to me. I guess coming out in the same year as A Clockwork Orange didn't help, since that film goes into the extremes of violence and rape, both which are apparent in Straw Dogs as well.
This being the one and only Peckinpah film, I can't really decide if I'm a fan. Sure it was well made and acted, but the film left me empty inside. I hated the characters of the village, of course, but didn't really root for anyone in the end.
Dustin Hoffman is at times good in this role as the mild mannered American who is clearly pushed over the edge, but at times I just couldn't really take him seriously. The rest of the cast did a very good job though and brought that sense of realism to the film.
I want to give this film a second viewing to see if I missed what's so great about it, cause where I stand the film is pretty basic and isn't necessarily in your face with many issues that it has. They are there, but not upfront about any of them.
The violence and the rape scene seem tame to me, this could be because of the lack in the sound design. There wasn't there to put me in the scene. Here's hoping the film is better with a second viewing, or that Peckinpah's other films get more out of me.
STRAW DOGS
Maybe it's because I was born in 87 and grew up in the 90's, and have been bombarded with so much violence that a film like Straw Dogs seems tame to me. I guess coming out in the same year as A Clockwork Orange didn't help, since that film goes into the extremes of violence and rape, both which are apparent in Straw Dogs as well.
This being the one and only Peckinpah film, I can't really decide if I'm a fan. Sure it was well made and acted, but the film left me empty inside. I hated the characters of the village, of course, but didn't really root for anyone in the end.
Dustin Hoffman is at times good in this role as the mild mannered American who is clearly pushed over the edge, but at times I just couldn't really take him seriously. The rest of the cast did a very good job though and brought that sense of realism to the film.
I want to give this film a second viewing to see if I missed what's so great about it, cause where I stand the film is pretty basic and isn't necessarily in your face with many issues that it has. They are there, but not upfront about any of them.
The violence and the rape scene seem tame to me, this could be because of the lack in the sound design. There wasn't there to put me in the scene. Here's hoping the film is better with a second viewing, or that Peckinpah's other films get more out of me.