A Boy and His Dog
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| A Boy and His Dog | |
|---|---|
 Film poster |
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| Directed by | L.Q. Jones |
| Produced by | L.Q. Jones Alvy Moore |
| Written by | Harlan Ellison (story) L.Q. Jones (screenplay) Wayne Cruseturner (uncredited) |
| Starring | Don Johnson Susanne Benton Tiger Charles McGraw Jason Robards |
| Music by | Tim McIntire Jaime Mendoza-Nava (underground segment) |
| Cinematography | John Arthur Morrill |
| Distributed by | LQJaf Productions |
| Release date(s) | 1974 |
| Running time | 91 min. |
| Country | US |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
A Boy and His Dog is a short story by Harlan Ellison which was also the basis of a 1974 post-apocalyptic science fiction film of the same name directed by L. Q. Jones. The story was first published in 1969. A revised and expanded version was printed in Ellison's 1976 story collection The Beast that Shouted Love at the Heart of the World, and Ellison continued the story in the graphic novel Vic and Blood. The film version is often cited as an inspiration for George Miller's Mad Max though Miller has said he didn't view Jones' film until after he had completed his own[citation needed]. The movie was also distributed after the initial run under the name, "Psycho Boy and His Killer Dog" among other titles.
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[edit] Plot
This is a post-apocalyptic tale in which the earth's surface has been devastated by nuclear war, and the few survivors who remain above ground must forage and fight for food, ammunition, and women. Of these necessities, women are the rarest finds; as explained in the movie, most survivors are male because while the males were off fighting the war, their leaders bombed their enemies' cities and destroyed their homes.
The main character, Vic, played by Don Johnson in a notable early role, is an 18-year-old boy focused on stealing food and fulfilling his sexual needs. He is accompanied by a well-read and wise-cracking telepathic dog named Blood, an "experienced female provider." Blood was voiced by Tim McIntire.
In addition to locating women for Vic to rape, Blood also has the unenviable task of trying to educate Vic and keep him safe from harm. Blood is the result of human genetic experimentation, which resulted in an intelligent canine mutation with telepathic abilities. However, the only human Blood can communicate with is Vic, whom Blood refers to as "Albert" as a sort of "term of endearment." (In the graphic novel "Vic and Blood", Blood explains: "I get such a kick out of calling him Albert - after Albert Payson Terhune, who wrote all those stupid dog books in which we noble creatures were pets, always being saved by some sappy human - it is my best gambit to make him scream." It is a common misconception that Blood calls Vic "Albert" in reference to Albert Einstein). Blood's opinion of the human race is not generally a positive one. As Blood notes, with characteristic form, "human sex is an ugly thing."
Most of civilization has gone into the "downunder" (a subsurface setting). One underground city, "Topeka", fashioned in a mockery of 1950s rural innocence and brave-new-worldian madness, solves its need for exogamous reproduction by forcibly extracting fluids from sperm donors. But the city is running low on viable donors. Quilla June (played by Susanne Benton), the daughter of one of Topeka's committee leaders, is sent to the surface to bait Vic into "service." Vic takes leave of his lifelong friend Blood and pursues the young lady into the downunder. He soon learns the harsh reality of the authoritarian committee and of its need for his semen.
Quilla June, along with a few other rebellious teenagers, have other plans for Vic. They free him from captivity and beg him to kill the committee members and their android enforcer Michael, thus leaving Quilla June in power. Vic, however, has interest in neither politics nor in remaining underground. The rebellious teenagers are all sentenced to death (referred to by the committee as "going to the farm"). Quilla June and Vic manage to disable the pursuing Michael and then escape to the surface. Above ground, they find that Blood is near death. Vic faces a difficult situation, and in a surprise ending, kills his new love and cooks her to save Blood. Both the film and the short story end here.
[edit] Criticism
On the film's DVD audio commentary, L.Q. Jones states that Harlan Ellison was generally pleased with the movie, with the exception of the final line of dialog. In the introduction of the Vic and Blood anthology, Ellison criticized the film's "moronic, hateful chauvinist last line, which I despise."[1][2]The final line occurs after Vic had to choose between saving the life of his faithful guide or running off with Quilla June. A shot of cooking meat followed by the line from Blood, "Well, I'd say she certainly had marvellous judgement, Albert, if not particularly good taste", ends the movie. The movie and short story are widely attacked for being misogynistic. Ellison has been quoted as saying he did not intend it this way.
[edit] Graphic novel
Ellison later continued the story in the graphic novel Vic and Blood. After a retelling of the first story, the final chapter deals with the events immediately afterward. Although Blood is now back on his feet, the pair's situation deteriorates as Vic begins having guilt-ridden hallucinations as a result of an awakening of conscience following the death of Quilla June. Due to his preoccupation, Vic stumbles into a near-fatal encounter with a roving gang, resulting in his getting separated from Blood once again. After the two reunite, Blood finds Vic in a hopeless, almost catatonic state. Despite Blood's appeals and attempts to reawaken Vic's sanity, Vic allows himself to be captured by a giant, mutated spider. Cocooned, poisoned by venom, and beyond any hope of saving, Vic accepts his fate as Blood is left to fend for himself.
The reasons given by Ellison for this abrupt ending have differed over the years. One relates to his anger over the L.Q. Jones ending of the film, as detailed above. The other is, according to Ellison, essentially a desire to stop his fans from requesting more stories about the two characters. Ellison claimed at the time of the film's release that he had said all he wanted to say about Vic and Blood, and that there would be no more sequels.
[edit] Sequel
On the film's DVD audio commentary, L.Q. Jones states that he had started to write a script sequel to the film that would have picked up right where the first film ended and featured a female warrior named Spike. Jones and Ellison collaborated on this short-lived effort. Ellison, however, has denied that development went beyond a short "what if?" conversation, and that any efforts were solely that of Jones.
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- Ranked #96 on Rotten Tomatoes Journey Through Sci-Fi (100 Best-Reviewed Sci-Fi Movies)
- Tim McIntire is helped with the music by Ray Manzarek, formerly of The Doors.
[edit] References
- ^ Ellison, Harlan. Ellison Webderland Bulletin Board Archives (HTM). Retrieved on 2006-09-04.
- ^ Ellison, Harlan and Richard Corben. Vic and Blood. Simon & Schuster. 2003. 5-6.
[edit] See also
- Talking with Dog - a film in pre-production that has a similar plot
