Review of Boy And His Dog, A

Introduction

It is a post apocalyptic world and a young man Vic (Don Johnson) only has his dog, Blood, for company as they struggle to survive in the post -nuclear desert.

Their main concerns are food, they need to scavenge and steal their daily tins, and for the young man, sex. None of these processes are particularly pretty. Food is from buried caches of tinned goods from the pre-war period.

There is a shortage of women, due it would seem, to the overenthusiastic courtship rituals that result in many men using one woman and then killing her.

Vic has some help though because he and Blood share a telepathic link which means that Blood can tell Vic when he smells a woman. In this way they form a partnership. Vic provides food as Blood can`t use a can-opener and Blood helps him with his "love-life".

As the film opens though Vic is being observed and a honey-trap laid. Due to the shortages of men unaffected by radiation he is needed for breeding purposes.

When Vic finds himself trapped in the underground colony he encounters a very different world where food is plentiful and the people are governed by a triumvirate including Lou Craddock (Jason Robards). Unfortunately for Vic they don`t actually want him to take part in the act of reproduction but merely to provide the means (euw!).

This based on a novella by Harlan Ellison who was closely involved in the adaptation although he had some minor gripes with the profanity and was said to disapprove of the ending.

Video

This is a barebones release with a very poor print. There are a lot of marks appearing all through the film.

Audio

The sound is quite crackly but the dialogue is understandable.

Features

None

The Region One version includes a director`s commentary-something to bear in mind when considering a purchase.

Conclusion

Man`s best friend really is his dog in this odd little film. A darkly comic look at what the world will come to if we succeed at blowing ourselves up. Its scenario is Mad Max with a twist with a nod, knowing or otherwise, to the appearance of The Prisoner.

A Boy and His Dog is nothing to get too excited about but it`s amusing and occasionally intriguing. It looks very dated and crude compared to the the sophisticated and slick offerings we have come to expect but still presents a more intelligent look at human society than the simplistic product-placed led recent outings of I-Robot and Minority Report.

An interesting curiosity that has been poorly presented. Look out for a Region 1 with commentary for better value.