Straw Dogs (1971)

In the Face of Every Coward Burns a Straw Dog.

David Sumner, a mild-mannered academic from the United States, marries Amy, an Englishwoman. In order to escape a hectic stateside lifestyle, David and his wife relocate to the small town in rural Cornwall where Amy was raised. There, David is ostracized by the brutish men of the village, including Amy's old flame, Charlie. Eventually the taunts escalate.

Directed by: Sam Peckinpah

Written by: Gordon Williams, David Zelag Goodman, Sam Peckinpah

Music by: Jerry Fielding

Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Susan George, Peter Vaughan, T. P. McKenna, Del Henney, Jim Norton, Donald Webster, Ken Hutchison, Len Jones, Sally Thomsett

Genre: Thriller, Drama, Crime

Released: 1971-11-25

Runtime: 116 minutes

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Straw Dogs (1971): trivia & fun facts

Fun facts

• Beau Bridges, Stacy Keach, Sidney Poitier, Jack Nicholson and Donald Sutherland were considered for the lead role of David Sumner before Dustin Hoffman was cast.
• The screenplay, by Peckinpah and David Zelag Goodman, is based on Gordon M. Williams's 1969 novel, The Siege of Trencher's Farm.
• The original score by Jerry Fielding was nominated at the 44th Academy Awards in 1971 for Best Music (Original Dramatic Score), his second nomination for a Sam Peckinpah film, following The Wild Bunch in 1969.
• Sam Peckinpah's two previous films, The Wild Bunch and The Ballad of Cable Hogue, had been made for Warner Bros.-Seven Arts.
• Judy Geeson, Jacqueline Bisset, Diana Rigg, Helen Mirren, Carol White, Charlotte Rampling and Hayley Mills were considered for the role of Amy before Susan George was finally selected.
• Equally dramatic is Dustin Hoffman's gradual mutation from his comic, bookish Graduate persona to the white-faced fanatic of the climax.
• The exterior shots for the siege scenes were filmed during night shoots in Cornwall, while the interior shots for the same scenes were filmed in London.

Source: Wikipedia

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