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Poster for The Dogs of War

The Dogs of War

1980 · 118 min

A cold, methodical descent into mercenary warfare, tense and cynical, with bursts of brutal action and a bitter aftertaste.

Directed by
John Irvin
Genres
Thriller, Action, Adventure
Tagline
Cry 'Havoc!' and let slip...
Overview
Mercenary soldiers Jamie and Drew are hired by a large corporation to liberate Zangaro, a small African nation, from an despot. Havoc ensues.

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Directed by
John Irvin
Genres
Thriller, Action, Adventure
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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • darkstrength 2 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 2 of 3
  • bleakstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • power
  • corruption
  • betrayal
  • violence
  • colonialism
Places
  • big city
  • countryside
  • wilderness
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
  • nonlinear
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language mild
  • Violence strong
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action6
Horror3
Humour2
Realism8
Romance2
Tension7
Darkness7
Complexity6
Emotional weight6

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Cast

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Details

Genres
thriller, action, adventure
Directed by
John Irvin
Written by
Gary DeVore, George Malko
Starring
Christopher Walken, Tom Berenger, Colin Blakely, Hugh Millais, Paul Freeman, Jean-François Stévenin, JoBeth Williams, Robert Urquhart
Music
Geoffrey Burgon
Cinematography
Jack Cardiff
Runtime
118 min
Country
United Kingdom, United States of America
Languages
French, English

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