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Straw Dogs

£225.00

Film

Straw Dogs

Additional information

Year

1971

Size/Type

UK Quad (30" x 40") Single Sided, Printed in England by Lonsdale & Bartholomew (Nottingham) Ltd

Country of Origin

British / UK

Condition

Very Fine plus; originally folded (as issued)

Director

Sam Peckinpah

Actor/Actress

Colin Welland, Dustin Hoffman, Jim Norton, Peter Vaughan, Sally Thomsett, Susan George, T.P. McKenna

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”Every man dreads the day he might be forced to defend his wife and his home. For David, today is the day.”

An original first release ‘X’ certificate 1971 UK quad film poster for Sam Peckinpah’s brutal revenge thriller “Straw Dogs”. A cleverly designed poster that emphasises the sexual content by portraying Susan George in a tight jumper yet it is a bespectled Dustin Hoffman wielding a large double barrelled shotgun that sticks in the memory and hints at the violence to come. An incredibly rare British poster featuring country unique artwork. Sometimes simple is best and that certainly applies here…effective and memorable. Totally original and unrestored this folded (as issued) example displays and presents to excellent effect with a truly bright white background and sharp graphics. In this high grade condition it represents a scarce & sought item of authentic movie memorabilia from a pivotal 1970’s movie .

 …more detail

Vintage Movie Posters Grading Criteria... read more +

Film Description

Straw Dogs Movie Poster

“Upon moving to Britain to get away from American violence, astrophysicist David Sumner and his wife Amy are bullied and taken advantage of by the locals hired to do construction. When David finally takes a stand it escalates quickly into a bloody battle as the locals assault his house.”

Straw Dogs is an intense thriller that shows what can happen when you push even the most mild mannered man too far. Dustin Hoffman plays a mathematician who temporarily moves to a house in a rural village in England with his wife, a former resident of the town, played by Susan George. The two withstand incessant needling from several of the townsfolk until George is raped and assaulted and Hoffman is pushed over the edge.

Incidentally, right after watching this film I found a documentary on cable about filmmakers from the late ’60s to late ’70s and one of the directors profiled was Sam Peckinpah. I had always considered his films to be violent and vaguely shocking, which never surprised me, knowing that he was a hard-living maverick who did things his way – an element that is resplendent in most of his films. A brief mention of Straw Dogs was included in this documentary, where they described it as a “sexist film”. There are obvious scenes in the film that could support this criticism, but I think that is overanalyzing the film with a political correctness that is out of place. While the two female characters are both victimized, Susan George also has her moments of empowerment. I may be a female, but I don’t consider Peckinpah’s tendency to make testosterone-driven films any more sexist than anything that Quentin Tarantino puts out, and I’m a big fan of his work as well. It’s a dangerous line to draw when one labels a film due to what is *not* included in a film.

What this film does contain is much more stellar – Hoffman is beyond incredible in this film. His character development is amazing to experience. One criticism of the film that I heard from a friend who saw it before me was that it “dragged.” I couldn’t disagree more. The development of the story until the extremely violent climax is a perfect pace because it made me feel like I was sitting in a dentist chair, knowing that this low boil could explode at any time. After the dust settles, the viewer is left to decide whether Hoffman’s character made the right decision, and left to speculate on the ramifications of the choices made

 

Vintage Movie Posters Grading Criteria

Mint
A poster that has never been used or displayed and may show the most minor signs of age and wear. The poster should have no holes or tears.

Near Mint
A generally unused poster with fresh, saturated colors. May have minimal tears at folds. Has no significant holes, no paper loss, may have minor tears along edges, may have fine pin holes.

Very Fine
A poster with bright colour and crisp overall appearance. It may have very general signs of use including slight fold separation and fold wear. It may have pin holes or very minor tears. This is the highest grade allowed for a poster that has been restored either on linen or on paper.

Fine
A poster with good colors and overall clean appearance. It may have minor tears small paper loss and minor stains. It may have some fold seperation.

Good
An average poster with overall fresh color. May have tears, minor paper loss, minor hazing. Paper may be brittle due to age, may have minor stains. May have a small amount of writing in an unobtrusive place. May have medium or major restoration.

Fair
A poster with faded colors and brittle paper, showing significant signs of use. May have tears and paper loss. May have tape, writing, stains in image area. In need of restoration or had major restoration.

Poor
A poster that is worn, torn, and/or damaged. May have staining, cracking, dry rot, and/or large tears. May be heavily soiled, may have pieces missing. In need of major restoration.

All photographs and images used on our site are photographs of the actual poster/item you are buying, we do not use stock photographs.

Most Popular Poster Types

US Posters

LOBBY CARD
11 x 14″ printed on heavy stock paper. Used as display in theatre lobbies. Originally made in sets of eight. Some sets have a title card, which contains credits and artwork, essentially a mini-poster. The remaining seven cards are coloured photographic credits and poster artwork showing different scenes from the movie.

WINDOW CARD
14 x 22″ printed on heavy stock paper with the top 4-6 inches usually left blank for the local cinema owner to fill in the cinema and the date it was due to play. Largely discontinued during the 1970’s.

HALF SHEET
22 x 28″ printed on heavy stock paper. The image displayed is normally a smaller version of the main poster, although some do have different artworks and sometimes come in two versions.

INSERT
14 x 36″ printed on heavy stock paper. Inserts usually have the same artwork as a one sheet. Popular with collectors since they are smaller and easier to frame. Normally come tri folded or rolled.

STYLE Y/FORTY BY SIXTY
40 x 60″ printed on heavy stock paper. Rare since they were primarily used for major motion pictures only. Designed to be used outside the theatre, on an easel, normally at a drive-in movie theatre.

ONE-SHEET
27 x 41″ printed on paper. This is the most common size of poster, intended to be displayed in a glass “marquee” case. It is the most sought after size by collectors. Since the 1980’s most posters are sent to the theatre rolled and maybe slightly smaller measuring 27″ by 40″ and with the advent of backlit light boxes a growing number of modern movie posters are available double-sided and the more traditional single-sided.

THREE-SHEET
41 x 81″ printed on paper. These were printed on two or three separate sheets designed to overlap, few survive. Used for larger advertising spaces, normally posted on walls, perfect for huge movie theatres the drive-in, where people could see them from a distance. From the 1970’s on, three-sheets were sometimes printed in one piece and issued as “international” versions to be used abroad.

BRITISH Posters

BRITISH QUAD
30 x 40″ Most common poster size used in the UK. British Quads are horizontal and may have different artwork to the US one sheet. Like a US one sheet they normally come in two versions. Like a US one sheet they are usually supplied single-sided or more commonly now as a double sided poster.

BRITISH ONE-SHEET
27 X 40″, printed on paper. Very rarely used size.

ITALIAN Posters

ITALIAN LOCANDINA
13 x 28″ six inches shorter than the US insert, very nice size to frame. Italian poster illustrators are some of the best in the industry.

ITALIAN PHOTOBUSTA
18 x 26″ Glossy, high quality, used as lobby cards in Italy. Size may vary, either vertical or horizontal format. There are also double Photobusta or mini Photobusta.

2-FOGLIO (DUE)
(DUE): 39 x 55″ This is the standard poster size used in Italy. Italian poster illustrators are some of the best in the industry.

4-FOGLIO
(QUATTRO) 55 x 79″ Very large Italian poster printed in two pieces, often contains very beautiful artwork.

FRENCH Posters

FRENCH
47 x 63″ (GRANDE) or 24 x 33″ (PETITE) French movie posters normally come with different artwork to either the US or the UK. Like the Italian’s some of the artwork is extrememly beautiful.