The Dogs Of War is available in a Limited Edition of 3000 from Twilight Time.
Christopher Walken is one of a kind. Those piercing eyes, angular face, and most interestingly his characteristic halting, syncopated speech — his image and persona are so singularly ingrained in our collective experience that we simply accept him as a necessary and wonderful part of our film landscape. And while the guy is in many, many awful movies, you’ve gotta give him credit for usually being the best part of them.
Hollywood has always had a bit of a problem trying to cast him in the right roles, and this was never truer than right after Michael Cimino’s The Deer Hunter, for which he took home the Academy Award for best supporting actor. John Irvin’s The Dogs Of War is interesting in that it’s not only a rare leading role for Walken, but a legitimate attempt to make him an action star.
Films about war or disgruntled soldiers aren’t exactly uncommon, but The Dogs Of War manages to differentiate itself by spotlighting the experience of soldiers of fortune. Walken’s character, Jamie Shannon, is a member of a mercenary outfit that’s introduced in an opening action sequence in which they make their escape from their last mission. The team also includes Tom Berenger (back when he looked like James Franco), Ed O’Neill (Married With Children’s Al Bundy), and Paul Freeman (Belloq from Raiders Of The Lost Ark).
Jamie’s career choice has alienated his wife and dissolved his marriage, and he’s taken up a lonely residence in a New York City apartment, clearly unhappy with where his life has taken him. He’s offered a solo recon job to report on the stability of an African dictatorship; his employer hopes to either do some big-money business with the dictator Kimba, or replace him with someone else who will play along. Their motivation is greed, not politics. Eventually Plan B is chosen, and Jamie rounds up his old outfit to join him on the job that might make them all rich.
While fictional, the setting of Zangaro effectively shows a real portrait of an African dictatorship that’s consistent with the modern vibe I get from the bizarro documentary The Ambassador, as well as fictional films like Blood Diamond. Armed military-types roam around, keeping “order”. Personal freedoms are violated and corruption abounds. It starts for Jamie the moment he steps off the plane and has half of his money and possessions brazenly stolen by a customs official — “airport tax”, the man smiles, whilst stuffing a wad of cash into his shirt pocket.
The Dogs Of War strikes a nice narrative variety, going from a solo recon mission to a team strike, showing the planning and training steps before getting to the assault which serves as the film’s major action beat. Walken gets a chance to chew the scenery with some crazy line deliveries, and the confident camera work of the legendary Jack Cardiff reminds us of his own directorial mercenary tale, Dark Of The Sun.
Despite being a soldier of fortune, the key to Jamie is that he actually has a strong moral compass and a sense of social justice. This plays out in a couple of surprising ways. At home, this includes a series of interactions with a neighborhood kid, presumably from a low-income family. In his work, it informs his actions as a resentful soldier of fortune who hates the people he works for, right up to the film’s conclusion — which I found immensely satisfying.
THE PACKAGE
The Dogs Of War comes to Blu-Ray from Twilight Time in a limited edition of 3000 units. The package includes a 8-page booklet with liner notes written Twilight Time resident film historian Julie Kirgo.
The disc includes both the theatrical and international cuts of the film, as well as English subtitles. The Dogs Of War is Rated R.
Special Features and Extras
Both cuts of the film US Theatrical Cut (104:00)
International Cut (118:46)