The New York Times
Mr. Peckinpah has made some good films (Ride the High Country) and a couple of great films (The Wild Bunch, The Ballad of Cable Hogue) -- which may be why Straw Dogs is a special disappointment.
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Straw Dogs (1971)
A hugely controversial film at the time of its release, this dark and gritty 1970s thriller stars Dustin Hoffman as a mild-mannered academic who discovers a shockingly violent side of himself when brutish village men assault him and his wife.
1971Rating: R116 minsUK, USAABC Pictures
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Straw Dogs (1971) / Reviews
Roger Ebert
The most offensive thing about the movie is its hypocrisy; it is totally committed to the pornography of violence, but lays on the moral outrage with a shovel.
Full reviewVariety
The script... relies on shock and violence to tide it over weakness in development, shallow characterization and lack of motivation.
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Slant Magazine
One of the most ambiguous, neurotic, and disturbing of all American films receives a revelatory new restoration, with supplements that ably grapple with its chaos.
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Chicago Reader
[T]hough doubtlessly reactionary, Straw Dogs has the heat of personal commitment and the authority of deep (if bitter) contemplation.
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