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Information

Year
1975
Runtime
91 min.
Director
L.Q. Jones
Genres
Drama, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Rating *
6.6
Votes *
10,645
Checks
2,620
Favs
147
Dislikes
55
Favs/checks
5.6% (1:18)
Favs/dislikes
3:1
* View IMDb information

Top comments

  1. Carlson's avatar

    Carlson

    This was one of the most unsatisfying movies I have seen in a while. The entire of motivation of the main character is to rape women. The brief karmic interlude inside the bizarre underground town was the only thing that was interesting. 6 years 1 month ago
  2. Siskoid's avatar

    Siskoid

    Since A Boy and His Dog is based on Harlan Ellison novella, you expect a certain cynicism. Director L.Q. Jones doubles down on that cynicism, perhaps in the name of black comedy, and unbalances Ellison's finely-tuned original, pushing it into the realm of obnoxious bad taste. And it's pretty dull besides, which is probably the worst sin. But yeah, you start with a Mad Max prototype starring a young Don Johnson who has a telepathic bond with a dog who helps him find girls to rape. That's the premise. Somebody should have warned me before I pressed play. As it plays out, it's consensual when he does hook up with a girl, so ok. The dog has some charismatic moments, but his voice actor kind of doesn't. After watching these two assholes run around the desert, sometimes coming across a pack of idiots scrabbling around in the dirt (yeah, it's not Mad Max quite yet), the kid finds his way to an "advanced" underground society where things get more boring, if that's possible. The 70s were big on dystopian SF, but this is a collection of weird elements for their own sake, with annoying chatter over public speakers, and a waste of Jason Robards whose character doesn't even care when the kid and the girl make their escape, so why should we. The dark ending is out of the novella, but not the final punchline, which Ellison is on record as having disliked. I think I do too. It's bad enough the film doesn't have any likeable characters, but it flips their attitude from amoral survivalist to just evil. Misogyny abounds from the concept on down into the muck where the film finally crashes. I like oddball SF as much as the next guy, but Jones can't carry these weird concepts off. Despite some early shots that recall spaghetti westerns, the result is cheap, tawdry, and mean-spirited. 4 years 8 months ago
  3. lachyas's avatar

    lachyas

    My favourite ending in cinema history, and even besides that I think it's a great and entertaining film that modern post-apocalyptic movies and games owe a great debt to. The very definition of a cult classic. 10 years 6 months ago
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In 3 official lists

  1. This movie ranks #10 in BFI's 100 Science Fiction Films
    BFI's 100 Science Fiction Films's icon

    BFI's 100 Science Fictio…

    10
  2. This movie ranks #69 in Total Sci-Fi's The 100 Greatest Sci-Fi Movies
    Total Sci-Fi's The 100 Greatest Sci-Fi Movies's icon

    Total Sci-Fi's The 100 G…

    69
  3. This movie ranks #92 in 366 Weird Movies
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    366 Weird Movies

    92
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