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Set in San Francisco on the eve of John F. Kennedy’s assassination, Dogfight is pitched on the precipice of a massive sea change in American life. The post-war boom of the 1950s is waning, and the civil rights era and the Vietnam War are right around the corner. The film’s protagonists exist, then, in a kind of liminal space, uncomfortable in their own skin and riddled with anxieties and uncertainties about their immediate futures.

Released in 1991, when nostalgia for the ’60s was near its peak, Nancy Savoca’s film takes a distinctly feminine perspective on the era, challenging the unbridled machismo and ritualistic behaviors that were often celebrated, or at least unexamined, in the male-directed films of the time. For the opening 20 minutes, we bear witness to an especially cruel competition in which Eddie Birdlace (River Phoenix), an 18-year-old Marine, and several of his jarhead buddies, all on...

A good movie hug, one that’s more than a neat tie-up, can pack a wallop, especially in the final stretch of a gripping story. The proportions of bittersweet angst and healthy schmaltz vary. The situation might be a charged reunion, a heartrending goodbye or a romantic declaration. Films as unalike as It’s a Wonderful Life, E.T. and Reds offer memorable clinches. But I can’t think of a screen embrace as packed with complex emotion and metaphoric zing as the one that closes Dogfight.

Nancy Savoca’s 1991 drama, digitally restored and arriving April 30 in a Blu-ray special edition from the Criterion Collection, defies genre expectations at every turn. In certain ways — beautiful ways — it’s as winningly awkward as its protagonists, portrayed by two of the most gifted risk-takers of their generation, River Phoenix and Lili Taylor. Thoroughly cinematic yet also endearingly stagy (no wonder it inspired a...

Through the lens of 2024, “Dogfight” plays like a subtle, personal film you would expect from indie director Nancy Savoca (“Household Saints”), but that’s not what Warner Bros. thought they were making.

“They were thinking ‘Porky’s.’ They thought it was a comedy,” said director Nancy Savoca while on IndieWire’s Toolkit podcast to discuss “Dogfight,” which is entering the Criterion Collection on April 30.

At the end of the 1980s headed into the early ’90s, when Warners was developing Bob Comfort’s “Dogfight” screenplay, teen comedies were big business for the studios. Alongside the wild success of the classic slate of teen comedies John Hughes wrote, directed, or produced, the “Porky’s” trilogy came to define the sex comedies of the era. It’s through this lens the studio saw the dogfight competition in Comfort’s script: A group of young soldiers pick up the “ugliest” woman they can find, bring her to a bar,...

It has not been an easy week. At the start of the week, we had our editorial meeting here at HitFix, as we do every Monday, to talk about both the week ahead and longer-term projects as well. For fairly obvious reasons, there was a fair amount of talk about Valentine's Day content, and I mentioned a few different ideas that I might write about, including one that I'll end up publishing at some point about Steve Martin. But even as I pitched a few ideas, I found myself uncomfortable with the entire idea of writing about romantic films right now. Honestly, I was hoping to spend this week with my head down and then just sail right through this weekend without writing about love at all, because for the first time in my adult life, I am no longer sure what I think about it. After all, I was with my wife for 14 years.

Ghostlight Records will present the Original Cast Recording of the musical Dogfight with a digital release today, April 30 and the CD in stores on May 21. The show - which debuted Off-Broadway at Second Stage Theatre last year - features music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul A Christmas Story, a book by Peter Duchan IFC Films' Breaking Upwards and directed by two-time Tony Award winner Joe Mantello Wicked, Glengarry Glen Ross. Dogfight is based on the Warner Bros. film and screenplay by Bob Comfort.

Ghostlight Records will present the Original Cast Recording of the musical Dogfight with a digital release on April 30 and the CD in stores on May 21. The show - which debuted Off-Broadway at Second Stage Theatre last year - features music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul A Christmas Story, a book by Peter Duchan IFC Films' Breaking Upwards and directed by two-time Tony Award winner Joe Mantello Wicked, Glengarry Glen Ross. Dogfight is based on the Warner Bros. film and screenplay by Bob Comfort. To pre-order the album, please visit www.sh-k-boom.comdogfight.html.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The advantages of using charismatic, identifiable performers are illustrated in this entertaining and endearing buddy picture about two disabled men who help each other overcome their fears while preparing to embark on a whitewater rafting race. Although ultimately a predictable exercise in feel-good emotions, "Guys Like Us" benefits enormously from the performances of stars Vincent D'Onofrio and Gregory Hines. The film was recently showcased at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival.

D'Onofrio, who is truly headed for a major film career, plays Ole, a star football player who is cut down in his prime. A freak tackling accident leaves him totally blinded, and he goes from being the toast of Seattle to hurling furniture from his apartment in a drunken range, precipitated by watching his ex-girlfriend tout her tell-all book on television. (She doesn't hesitate to include a chapter on his impotency problems.) This incident lands him in jail, where he is visited by Lemley (Hines), a wheelchair-bound dental technician who proposes to Ole that they collaborate in a whitewater rafting race. The plan has to do with a (real-life) organization called SOAR, which helps physically challenged individuals participate in various outdoor and athletic events.

Ole is skeptical at first, but eventually agrees, and the two men embark on a road trip to Oregon. The predictable complications ensue, including an ill-fated gambling excursion and a comical sexual encounter between Ole and a casual pick-up. (Lemley is forced to wait in the hotel room bathroom.) Ultimately the pair wind up in Oregon, only to be told that they can't participate in the race. Setting off further down the river for a practice run so they can crash the race, they have a close encounter with a friendly pot-grower (Max Gail).

During the course of the film, the two characters, initially hostile, ultimately become bosom buddies, and Lemley helps Ole overcome the emotional blocks that have prevented him from getting on with his life. Although much of the taunting banter is formulaic, Bob Comfort's screenplay contains a generous amount of amusing situations and dialogue, and the characters are so likable that one can't help but be caught up in their struggle.

D'Onofrio, who is not afraid to play obnoxious, is wonderful as Ole, whose boorish behavior is offset by his charisma and his larger-than-life persona. Hines, in one of his best screen roles in recent years, gives a low-key but genuinely amusing performance, with enough slow burns to rival Jack Benny. Football great Joe Theismann has a cameo, and James Earl Jones shows up in a small role as a jocular sportscaster.

GUYS LIKE US

An East West Film Partners production

Director:Richard Labrie

Screenplay:Bob Comfort

Executive producers:Richard Hahn, Bob Comfort

Director of photography:Maximo Munzi

Editor:Neal Grieve

Music:Tim Truman

Color/stereo

Cast:

Bernard "Bern" Lemley:Gregory Hines

Tony "Ole" Olezniak:Vincent D'Onofrio

James Bing:James Earl Jones

Farmer John:Max Gail

Joe Theismann:Himself

Running time: 90 minutes

MPAA rating: R...