Sleeping Dogs

Sleeping Dogs - 1977

Aardvark Films - 105 min.
DVD UPC # 013131261691 (2 disc set w/smash palace)

Cast: Sam Neill, Ian Mune, Warren Oates, Nevan Rowe, Donna Akersten, Ian Watkin, Bill Johnson.
Crew: Screenplay: Ian Mune, Arthur Baysting (based on the C. K. Stead's novel, 'Smith's Dream'); Photography: Michael Seresin; Editor: Ian John; Music: Murray Grindlay, David Calder, Mathew Brown; Producer and director: Roger Donaldson.

Against a background of economic crisis and industrial turmoil, goading a repressive government to rule by force, an apolitical man (Neill) leaves a broken marriage to set up home on an offshore island, unaware that revolutionaries are using it to store arms. He finds out when the police some for him. Meanwhile his wife's lover (Mune), likewise apolitical until he is unwittingly caught up in police violence at a demonstration, becomes a revolutionary. This is considered the film the marked the beginning of contemporary New Zealand cinema, and lauched the careers of several film-makers and actors, most notably Sam Neill and Roger Donaldson.

Censor Rating: PG - Review Rating: B-

AVAILABILITY OF VHS OR DVD COPIES

New PAL copies will cost about $20nz or 10eur. New NTSC VHS copies will be about $10us.
There is a two-disc set in either R1 ntsc or R4 pal with SMASH PALACE titled THE ROGER DONALDSON COLLECTION. It is a product of Anchor Bay and contains an excellent commentary track by Donaldson, Neill and Mune. It also has one of the best "Making of....." features I have even seen with a New Zealand film (65 minutes) plus the disc also has a gallery of stills and posters as well as text bios. The movies are restored widescreen 1.76:1, enhanced for 16x9 and includes restored soundtracks with Dolby Digital 1.0 or Dolby 5.1 surround - resulting in an above average visual and aural quality.
The 2-disc DVD set sells new for about $15us from various sources, but be sure to search for it by the title: ROGER DONALDSON COLLECTION. This collection is definately the way to go. The optical and sound quality approaches theatrical and the background info in the commentary and "Making of" additions is very insightful - altogether and excellent buy for the cost. For R4 PAL users - this "double feature" offering, with audio commentaries and "Making of" featurettes, is available in NZ for about $30nz. As of January 2009, the 2-disc Collection is out-of-print, so expect pricing for new copies to start increasing.

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SOUNDTRACK ON AUDIO CD

There are no known soundtrack CDs of this title.

Link to soundtrack sample download

The first known NZ feature film to also have its own soundtrack release was the 1977 33rpm LP of Sleeping Dogs. Other titles that are on 33rpm LP and/or audio cassette, but have not yet (as of 2007) found their way to CD are: Solo (1978), Goodbye Pork Pie (1980), Battletruck (1981), Smash Palace (1981), Strata (1984), Bridge to Nowhere (1986), Queen City Rocker (1986) and The Leading Edge (1987).

Details on these rare LPs can be found at the Soundtrack LP page.

TRAILER - REVIEWS - MISC

Official Trailer

Roger Ebert Review

Information at IMDB

Internet Movie Poster Awards

DVD Compare's Review

Nicholas Sheffo Review

Time Out Review

Moria Review

Graeme Clark Review

New Zealand Film Archive Info and Reviews

DVD Talk - Glenn Erickson Review

DVD Verdict Review

New Zealand Film Commission Synopsis

IMDB User Comments

Peter Harcourt's Sequence Review

"I think Sleeping Dogs has something important to say about New Zealand. Civil liberties are declining fast in this country. Although there haven't been any events as violent as those in the movie, there have been plenty of indications in the last few years that N.Z is becoming a constricted democracy. In N.Z, as in other countries, there are people who are prepared to have total disregard for the rights of individuals, people who feel that the end justifies the means. If Sleeping Dogs has a lesson, it is that we should beware of giving anyone too much power in the belief that he won't abuse it. If power is not controlled, then it very likely will be abused" - (Roger Donaldson interviewed by Roger Horrocks in, "Worth the Ulcers", Craccum, October 3,1977)

"As Smith, Sam Neill is a natural. He projects the right intensity for a man caught up in an Orwellian nightmare. Neill's charm overcomes the script's ambiguity which seems to have him deserting his family for no better reason than he doesn't like the way the political scene is shaping...Without going for easy scenic shots, Michael Seresin's camera work records the freshness of a landscape hardly seen on international screens. It will give Sleeping Dogs a visual novelty for offshore audiences " - (Variety, October 26, 1977)

Vietnam-in-New Zealand, rendered as a commercial thriller. A seminal film, credited with reviving the New Zealand film industry and spurring the government into establishing a film commission. - (Nicholas Reid - 'A Decade of New Zealand Film' - 1986)

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