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Title: A Boy And His Dog: Special Collector's Edition
Region: Zero - Compatible With NTSC DVD Players Worldwide
Genre: Science Fiction
Stars: Don Johnson, Suzanne Benton, Jason Robards Jr., Charles McGraw, Alvy Moore, and Tim McIntire as the voice of Blood.
Writer: L. Q. Jones
Based On The Novella By Harlan Ellison
Director: L.Q. Jones
Feature length: 90 minutes
Extras: Original and Re-release Theatrical Trailer, Feature Length Audio Commentary with Director L.Q. Jones, Unspecified DVD-ROM Features
Languages: English Dolby Surround 2.0
Subtitles: N/A
Packaging: Super Jewel Box Case
Chapter Stops: 22
Sound: Dolby Stereo Surround Sound
Year of Theatrical Release: 1976
Home Video Distributor: Slingshot Entertainment
MPAA Rating: R
FILM/PERFORMANCE - 35 out of 40
VIDEO - 10 out of 20
AUDIO - 10 out of 20
SUPPLEMENTS - 10 out of 20
TOTAL - 65 out of 100 = C-
DVD Rating: C-
Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera
"A Boy And His Dog" may not be for everyone's taste, but there is no doubt that it is a Science Fiction Satire that influenced the look of such films as "The Road Warrior" and even evoked similar scenes in such films as Kevin Costner's Adaptation of David Brin's Hugo Award Winning Novel, "The Postman." The film features Don Johnson as Vic, a wanderer in a post World War Four Earth Circa 2024. Vic depends upon the guidance of his telepathic dog, Blood, voiced by Tim McIntire, who shares a symbiotic relationship with Vic. Basically Vic provides the muscles and Blood provides the brains.
While avoiding marauding raiders and searching for food for Blood, Blood uses his senses to alert Vic of danger and helps Vic with finding women to copulate and educates Vic about history from his point of view. When a beautiful young woman lures Vic into a trap, Vic finds himself the unwilling host to an underground authoritarian society where all the men are sterile and Vic's sperm is their only hope to repopulate their underground society for another generation.
"A Boy And His Dog" is a Hugo award winning science fiction satire adapted by director L.Q. Jones based on Harlan Ellison's Award Winning Novella. The film features an imaginative use of the camera to create a believable future world without the large budget or CGI most inferior sci-fi and fantasy films. There is a scene where Johnson's character watches old black and white and decrepit soft core skin flick that seems to have been borrowed in idea only in a scene from the Costner Film Version of "The Postman" where General Bethlehem is showing a warped celluloid copy of "The Sound Of Music" to his troops and George Miler has acknowledge "A Boy And His Dog" as one of his influences for carrying Max's character forward in the hit Mad Max sequel, "The Road Warrior."
The Slingshot Special Collector's Edition DVD Release of "A Boy And His Dog" features a widescreen 2.35:1 transfer that despite the remastering of the film for the theatrical reissue, it still has many cuts and scratches especially in the first half of the film though the second half is quite clear considering this widescreen DVD edition and the previous Lumivision release were among the first letterboxed versions of the film made widely available to consumers.
The sound is only Dolby Stereo, but it sounds rather monophonic. The strongest element to the release is the feature length commentary track by Director L.Q. Jones, who comments on everything from young Don Johnson's performance to the use of the dog and the private screening for Harlan Ellison among many other things. The DVD has simple stagnant menus and the DVD has a full frame version of the original trailer as well as a widescreen reissue trailer. The DVD also features DVD-ROM features, but is not clear as to what they are since there was no DVD-ROM drive available at the time this DVD was screened review and the packaging does not state what those DVD-ROM Features are. The DVD comes in a super jewel case box.
If you are a fan of this film, it is available on and offline for less then twenty dollars. Otherwise, it is more of a rental than a keeper.
Mark A. Rivera - C-