The Dogs of War bite back
Before establishing himself making better known pictures like Raw Deal, Hamburger Hill and the criminally underrated City of Industry, director John Irvin made his feature debut on this, The Dogs of War. A simmering and character driven action thriller with an excellent cast, it's a film which never seemed to earn its proper fanfare, making it an important re-release on the Eureka classics label.
Adapted from a novel by Frederick Forsyth, the one and only Christopher Walken (The Funeral, King of New York, The Deer Hunter) plays mercenary Jamie Shannon, an ice cool soldier-for-hire. After a covert mission goes bad and he’s lucky to leave a corrupt African dictatorship in one piece, he takes on the most challenging assignment of his career: to invade and shift control to the "puppet" of a powerful British corporation. To prepare, Shannon trains and equips a squad of deadly mercenaries, comprised of his old war buddies and young guerilla fighters, armed with the latest and most destructive tactics and military hardware. But as their explosive assault begins, Shannon finds himself embroiled in an internal conflict of his own.
Irvin's terse, economical filmmaking style would become even more defined in later years, but all the hallmarks are present for a very tough, character-driven story, with unspoken emotion bubbling just below the surface. This is the kind of balance achieved by having a dramatically articulate filmmaker handling a “tough guy” film, rather than a pure action filmmaker feeling the need to add quieter moments between scenes of carnage. Having cut his teeth shooting countless TV episodes and documentary shorts during the 1960's and 70's, this was a great step up into the next chapter of his film work.
Walken is excellent as always and plays his merc with a steely coldness, and just a hint of the warmth and emotion he keeps at bay. His backstory in the USA suggests previous attempts at a “normal” life, which never quite panned out, but his deep rooted humanity remains. The supporting cast includes Tom Berenger (Sniper, Platoon), Colin Blakely (Murder on the Orient Express, Galileo), Paul Freeman (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Who Dares Wins) and JoBeth Williams (Poltergeist, Stir Crazy), who are all strong.
Praised on release for an unusually politically-charged plot, sharp dialogue and big action finale, this is quite a gem of the military/mercenary sub-genre, rather than being an all-out war film, and it deserves to be seen. It arrives here on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK.
This new release includes:
Two versions of the film, the International Cut (118 mins) and the American Cut (104 mins) both presented in 1080p
Uncompressed LPCM audio and optional English SDH subtitles
Original Theatrical Trailer
Limited Edition Collector’s booklet featuring a reprint of critic Pauline Kael’s original review of the film
It’s worth noting I was more familiar with the American cut from an earlier DVD release, which I still prefer, but it’s nice to see the international version added as an alternative. The longer international cut features a few dramatic scenes which were trimmed, essentially fleshing out the backstory of the key characters a little more. They’re interesting additions, but don’t necessarily add anything significant, and the brisk 104 mins run time lends itself well to this genre and keeps the pace up.
For action cinema buffs or even more discerning fans of quality thrillers, The Dogs of War is a very solid and suitably manly mercenary adventure. It re-packages the classic man-on-a-mission story, hinting at emotion and vulnerability through its strong cast and script, while still keeping the action hard and heavy.
“Remember; you have to make it home to get paid.”
The Dogs of War is out now on Blu-ray from Eureka Entertainment