Man Bites Dog

Original title: C'est arrivé près de chez vous

1992
NC-17
1h 35m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Benoît Poelvoorde in Man Bites Dog (1992)

Caper Dark Comedy Mockumentary Satire Serial Killer Tragedy Comedy Crime Drama

A film crew follows a ruthless thief and heartless killer as he goes about his daily routine. But complications set in when the film crew lose their objectivity and begin lending a hand.A film crew follows a ruthless thief and heartless killer as he goes about his daily routine. But complications set in when the film crew lose their objectivity and begin lending a hand.A film crew follows a ruthless thief and heartless killer as he goes about his daily routine. But complications set in when the film crew lose their objectivity and begin lending a hand.

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 7 wins & 5 nominations total

Photos54

+ 47

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Due to budget problems, it took the filmmakers over a year to complete the film. The company ran out of money several times and shooting had to be postponed until more money could be raised. A lot of friends and family of the filmmakers contributed to the film, both behind and in front of the cameras.

Goofs
At the beginning, Benoît says that four times a child's body weight is needed to sink a dead child. However, at the bar where they drink Dead Baby Boys, Benoît asks René for the weight ratio needed to sink a child, to which René replies "Twice," and Benoit says, "Right!"

Quotes
Ben: Once I buried two Arabs in a wall over there... Facing Mecca, of course.

Alternate versions
ENDING SPOILERS - In some versions, the final shot, where everyone dies, lasts until the film runs out of the camera, which leaves a blank white screen after the film slips out of the camera's gate. In other versions, there is a dissolve between the the final shot and the blank screen at a much sooner point--and the viewer does not see the film slip out of the gate. The Criterion Collection edition released in 2002 has the latter version of the final shot.

Connections
Featured in Zomergasten: Episode #12.2 (1999)

Soundtracks
Ice Ice Baby
Written by David Bowie, Earthquake (as Floyd Brown), John Deacon, Mario 'Chocolate' Johnson (as Mario Johnson), Brian May, Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor & Vanilla Ice (as Robert Van Winkle)
Performed by Vanilla Ice
Courtesy of Capitol Records, LLC
Contains a sample of "Under Pressure"
Performed by Queen & David Bowie
Courtesy of Hollywood Records, Inc. for USA & Canada and Courtesy of Island Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User reviews253

Review

Featured review

10/10

This One Has Teeth: Perhaps The Meanest Satire On Sensationalist Media Of All Time

I remember renting 'Man Bites Dog' (or 'C'est Arrivé Près De Chez Vous' which is its original title) on a hunch in the mid-nineties, because I found the title and the cover on the VHS cassette intriguing. I had no idea for what kind of ride I was in. At first I was taken aback a bit, as I didn't expect the film to be in black and white. And then it simply blew me away. This mix of realism, pitch-black comedy and shocking (though not very graphic) violence had me on the edge of my seat throughout, and I simply hadn't seen anything like it before.

The direction and the realistic performances in 'Man Bites Dog' are simply outstanding; when I later watched it with a friend of mine he was visibly shaken at first, because he had thought he had watched a real documentary (which is obviously the film's intention). What must be mentioned above all else though, is the standout tour-de-force performance by the charismatic and frequently hilarious lead: Belgian actor Benoît Poelvoorde who also co-wrote and co-directed the film. He IS the film, and I have a hard time imagining the story working so well without his inspired, genius turn.

'Man Bites Dog' is perhaps one of the best and most original satires on sensationalist media since Sidney Lumet's seminal movie 'Network'; it's certainly the meanest (and not for the easily offended, mind you). In my opinion, it's a flat-out masterpiece. Highly recommended. 10 stars out of 10.

P.S. In case you don't know whether to trust this review or not, just check out the lists below, and you'll see exactly what kinds of films I like:

Favorite films: IMDb.com/list/mkjOKvqlSBs/

Favorite TV-Shows reviewed: imdb.com/list/ls075552387/

Lesser-Known Masterpieces: imdb.com/list/ls070242495/

Favorite Low-Budget and B-Movies: imdb.com/list/ls054808375/