A Boy and His Dog (1975)
Base of Galactic Science Fiction :: SCIENCE FICTION CINEMA :: Silver Age of Science Fiction Cinema
Page 1 of 1
A Boy and His Dog (1975)
Well, now...here we have A Boy and His Dog (1975). I obtained a Laserdisc in 1996.
Don Johnson (Miami Vice) stars in an early role and Jason Robards also pops up.
The year is 2024. The atomic bombs we see going off some years before do not represent World War III as many think; the titles tell us it's World War IV. What happened to World War III? Probably pushed aside to another part of Harlan Ellison's mind (actually, I re-checked: Blood the dog tells us WWIII was the Cold War, from 1950-1983, according to this re-telling of history). Nowadays, we can argue that World War III is happening now, as it has been for the past decade or two, and World War IV is the one where we really empty our nuclear arsenals. The Re-Issue Trailer:
Radical!
When I first saw this in a theater in the seventies, I confess I was put off by some of the elements; I was old enough already to recognize the dark, twisted humor, but some of the narrative, mostly in that weird underground recreation of small town Americana (the last half-hour), was just too bizarre and a turn-off. Someone was trying very hard to offer a vicious sideways view of certain institutions many hold dear - I get it. L.Q. Jones himself (the director) has stated repeatedly that this isn't for kids, despite the dog - the most likable character, of course (and the best one, perhaps; story goes the dog was almost nominated for an Oscar, as a person). Overall, this is an unusual & esoteric depiction of a post-holocaust landscape.
The one thing that caught my attention & appreciation right off the bat was the set design, the visual depiction. I watched Vic (Don Johnson) and the dog wander over this desolate landscape, sometimes surreal, sometimes downbeat (well, almost always downbeat) and thought - yeah, this is the way it really would be. There was a lot of thought put into the visuals, based on some theorizing that I never heard before: that setting off all the nukes at once would stop the Earth's rotation, just for a fraction of a second, but with enough momentum for the oceans to sweep over the land masses. So now everything is covered with a 20-foot layer of dried, caked mud. And that's what we see here, in this film.
ABOVE: Vic HUNTS FOR FEMALES & FOOD; Vic ATTENDS AN OUTDOORS MOVIE SCREENING
Similar topics
» Bug (1975)
» The Noah (1975)
» The Strongest Man in the World (1975)
» The Hindenburg (1975)
» Rollerball (1975)
» The Noah (1975)
» The Strongest Man in the World (1975)
» The Hindenburg (1975)
» Rollerball (1975)
Base of Galactic Science Fiction :: SCIENCE FICTION CINEMA :: Silver Age of Science Fiction Cinema
Page 1 of 1
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
|
|