The Dogs of War

1980
R
1h 42m

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

10K

YOUR RATING

Christopher Walken in The Dogs of War (1980)

Play trailer1:46

1 Video

22 Photos

Action Adventure Drama War

Mercenary James Shannon, on a reconnaissance job to the African nation of Zangaro, is tortured and deported. He returns to lead a coup.Mercenary James Shannon, on a reconnaissance job to the African nation of Zangaro, is tortured and deported. He returns to lead a coup.Mercenary James Shannon, on a reconnaissance job to the African nation of Zangaro, is tortured and deported. He returns to lead a coup.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

10K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Michel
(as Jean François Stevenin)

JoBeth Williams

Jessie

Robert Urquhart

Capt. Lockhart

Winston Ntshona

Dr. Okoye

Pedro Armendáriz Jr.

The Captain
(as Pedro Armendariz Jr.)

Harlan Cary Poe

Richard

Ed O'Neill

Terry

Isabel Grandin

Evelyn

Ernest Graves

Warner

Kelvin Thomas

The Black Boy

Shane Rimmer

Dr. Oaks

Joseph Konrad

Priest
(as Father Joseph Konrad)

Bruce McLane

Shop Manager

Director
- John Irvin
Writers
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
While researching the novel in the early 1970s, author Frederick Forsyth pretended he was actually financing a coup d'etat in Equatorial Guinea. The pretense allowed Forsyth access to a number of underworld figures, including mercenaries and arms dealers. Forsyth has since commented that the arms dealers were the most frightening people he has ever met.

Goofs
Derek wears his former SAS beret incorrectly. He wears it with the flash/peak in the center of his forehead and the sides sloped down to the right and left. Military personnel wear the beret with the flash/crest and corresponding peak over the left eye, and the beret sloping down to the right.

The character portrayed is a mercenary and not "military personnel," thus not subject to any military regulations. Also see Ian Yule's character in The Wild Geese (1978), another mercenary wearing an SAS beret "incorrectly" (and Yule is an actual SAS veteran).

Quotes
Michel: [raising his glass in a toast] Vive la mort ! Vive la guerre ! Vive le sacré mercenaire !

Alternate versions
Although the cinema version was uncut the 1986 UK video was cut by 5 secs by the BBFC to remove shots of broken glass being forced into the mouth of Endean's man before being beaten up by Shannon. The 2001 MGM DVD restored the film to its original 119 minute UK length, which had additional character development, including an early scene of Shannon attending the baptism of a fellow mercenary's child, a bed scene between Shannon and Jessie, a scene of the raiding party being delayed by a closed drawbridge, Shannon pressuring Hackett to deliver the Valencia shipment, and extensive footage between Shannon and Lockhart where the latter persuades Spanish officials to allow the cargo on to the boat.

Connections
Edited into Stealth Fighter (1999)

Soundtracks
Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries
Sung by Gillian McPherson
Music by Geoffrey Burgon
Poem by A.E. Housman

User reviews77

Review

Featured review

7/10

One Man's Freedom Fighter is Another Man's Terrorist

There's an old saying that goes: The b*stard you know is better than the b*stard you don't know.* "Dogs of War" dives into the muddy waters of forcibly changing rulers. How good of an idea is that anyway? What are you really getting?

*I had to asterisk the word because imdb flagged it.

The tumultuous and fictitious African country of Zangoro has a ruthless dictator named Kimba as her ruler. He acquired the seat of power through elections then immediately dispatched his opponents. He proceeded to suppress any and everyone who challenged or questioned his authority.

Shannon (Christopher Walken) was tapped on the shoulder to lead a coup to uproot Kimba. That is Shannon's specialty, but he is not unscrupulous.

This was a movie that had me teetering the whole time. They established that Kimba was a wicked despot, but he's the guy they elected. Furthermore, the options for a suitable ruler were limited. It's always a sensitive topic when you're talking about foreigners openly or furtively infiltrating a country to take out its ruler.

But the dogs of war are just that--they're the dogs. They don't make the assignments they just execute them. Shannon and his men were the right dogs for the job.