User reviews

I'm seen odd movies before. Strange films with quirky characters and bizarre plots and social commentary. Usually these are consistently intriguing, but somehow, "A Boy and His Dog" just didn't connect with me.

I liked the banter between Don Johnson and his intellectual canine companion. I liked the idea of the two roaming the desolate landscape of a world after WWIV. I liked the roll call of presidents... "Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy..." I was still interested when they find the girl holed up in the screamer's lair, but it started to lose me with the "down under" society with all the folks on the committee with their white clown faces, and the robots named "Michael", and the... ahem... milking machine that Don Johnson was hooked up to. I mean, I understood what was going on, but it just didn't connect with me. Perhaps I missed the banter between Johnson and the dog in these scenes. I don't know. And the shocking ending? Well, you don't see anything, but through discussion you find out what happened, and given the context of the film and the character's behavior, I didn't think it was all that shocking.

I admire that it was a low budget film going for a unique premise, but something is flawed about it that I just can't quite put my finger on.

After wanting to see this film since I caught a glimpse of it on cable tv as a teen some 20 years ago, I finally saw it! It is hard not to reveal the last part of it, and once anyone sees it they will fully understand why! At first, I thought I was going to be extremely disappointed. Though it has the feel of some Richard Lester films from the '60s, it seems to really just be a boy and his dog! Don Johnson is also not the world's best actor in my opinion- although I do tend to hate actors who are very good-looking as many of us sexually repressed straight men seem to! But, in the end, everything works out and you can see quite an original, unpredictable story unfolding. I think the overall look of the film- a very interesting set, and the funny, funny talking dog really help it overcome its weaknesses. The late Jason Robards JR., who I briefly met in person is terrific, and I love the way the films pokes fun at conservative America. Considering that this film just takes place 20 years now, there are some things about it which might chillingly come true! Worth a look. Maybe offenisive to conservatives and some feminists, but I for one care little about either group!

Despite its ironically cutesy title ("A Boy and His Dog") and a plot premise that might've come out of the Walt Disney archives (dog and boy share telepathic communication), this movie is about as darkly comic and acidic as anything Stanley Kubrick ever did ("Clockwork Orange"). Sadly, as of the year 2014, almost 40 years later, the only copies you can find, even the laughable Blu-ray HD release, are in serious need of some restoration before audiences will give this film the respect it deserves. But considering its low profile appeal, I highly doubt that'll happen in our lifetimes, so grab it wherever you can.

In the tradition of the great 70s dystopian/postapocalyptic scifis like "Clockwork Orange" (1971), "Rollerball" (1975), "THX-1138" (1971), "Soylent Green" (1973), "The Omega Man" (1971) and I'll even throw in "The Stepford Wives" (1975), this movie has its appeal in a sort of minimalist presentation that presents a chillingly emotionless and sterile future. Where "A Boy and His Dog" excels is in its thick, satirical tongue-in-cheek presentation, particularly in the 2nd half when our hero encounters the true future of human society (or is it the present? You be the judge).

The first half is something like Mr. Ed meets Mad Max, with its equal portions of chatty humor and dusty violence. But right in the first scene we realize that, despite the cute banter between boy & dog, there aren't going to be many warm fuzzies. In the opening scene we learn that the boy (Don Johnson) is looking for female survivors so he can rape them.

If you can swallow that highly disturbing premise, which the director makes no bones in presenting at the outset, then the rest should be an unsettlingly fun joyride all the way to the film's very memorable punchline. Things get really trippy in the 2nd half, and even though there's minimal nudity, certain things happen which would make D.H. Lawrence blush (particularly involving a certain mechanical device attached to the male anatomy).

Definitely NOT a date movie, nor any sort of movie you'd watch with your parents or kids, "A Boy and His Dog" is really like a lost cousin of "A Clockwork Orange" or "Dr. Strangelove". Who ever would've thought that this sarcastic gem would come to light through the directing talents of L.Q. Jones, the ubiquitous guest star on many a 70s TV show like "Charlie's Angels", "Columbo", "Gunsmoke" and "Vega$" but whose only other directing credit is an episode of "The Incredible Hulk" (one which I'm going to re-watch immediately).

Unfortunately with the somewhat bland & grainy video quality of the existing print, we don't get the full eye-boggling power of this film the way one could imagine it. But all the same, it's an unusual vision which should proudly take its place amongst the other 70s masterpieces I mentioned. You can buy the Blu-ray for literally pennies on ebay, so you have no excuse for not checking this out.

Wow . What could be worse than World War Three ? World War Four ? But according to some wise old Jew that`s only going to be fought with bows and arrows ? Oh I see " The Cold War is actually World War Three , but by calling The Cold War WW3 that`s cheating isn`t it ? Yes it is

And A BOY AND HIS DOG also cheats in more ways than one and is ultimately a confusing film . The story comes in three parts:

Part 1 ) Vic and his telepathic dog struggle for survival in a post apocalypse world

Part 2 ) Vic meets airhead blonde

Part 3 ) Vic and airhead blonde find a civilisation that isn`t all it appears to be

Oh and the film finishes on a grotesque joke that makes it more memorable than it possibly deserved to be , so you`ve got three themes , one of survival but is miles away from the convincing scenarios seen in the works of John Christopher and John Wyndham , one of trying to find a woman which does seem strange since Vic seems to be well nourished and I`d have thought many women would have no hesitation in prostituting them selves for food , and one of a utopian sanctury not being what it seems , something I`ve seen and read in a hundred different SF stories like the BLAKE`S 7 episode Powerplay .

I`m still trying to work out what plot line is the most important , it`s the joke at the end which is since the whole movie is built up to it . Oh and there`s a couple of other things that needed explaining like what is a " Screamer " and what is " The farm " ? I also couldn`t help noticing no one seems to have used nuclear weapons that cause radation sickness

At least one other commentator has mentioned that this is a movie that shouldn`t be taken seriously and with hindsight I can see what my mistake was - I took this film far too seriously and by the time I`d lightened up it was already too late which meant I couldn`t appreciate the funny scene where Vic is tied to the table .

A BOY AND HIS DOG isn`t the worst movie I`ve seen today but it`s probably a film that made an impression because it finishes far , far better than how it started and if you`ve never seen it and get the chance to then make sure you don`t take it at all seriously or you`ll be disappointed

Brace yourself for an odd little film here. It's probably something you've never seen the likes of before, even if you think you have. A Boy and His Dog is a post apocalyptic film about a boy... and his dog. This boy, Vic, who is played by a very young Don Johnson, communicates telepathically with his dog, Blood, voiced by Tim McIntire. Together, Vic and Blood walk the post apocalyptic desert in search of food, shelter, and sex. Vic finds his chance when he encounters a girl who takes him back to her fallout shelter, which has become a tyrannical dictatorship run by "the committee." The film's fairly simplistic plot actually transforms into a big happy of ball of ironic, sardonic, and cynical, and the results are as peculiar as they are intriguing.

A film as odd as this is hard to completely take in on the first watch. You sort of just have to take it in for what it is, which is off balance and strange. It is a quirky film with strange characters, bizarre events, and campy direction that gives the whole tone an overtone of mock seriousness. It is all sort of jumbled together, making it hard to comprehend every little thing that is going on. The film jumps around and doesn't feel the need to draw things out or even explain them in depth. I respect this kind of film, one that has a very selective audience, but it is something that can require a second watch if you want to get the full effect. There are a lot of oddities in here to catch you off guard, and they did just that. I found myself doing a double take a lot of the time going, "Wait. What exactly is going on?" But I can tell by everything that I did pick up on, as well as some of what I've read on the film, that there is a lot more than meets the eye with this film, thus I feel like a complete understanding will take some more time in the future.

If you just look at this film as a B sci-fi flick without anything going for it, you can really see it as a bad film. The direction is odd and a lot of the time it is so dark you can't tell what is going on. This could have been the poor video quality the Netflix stream of the film has, or it could be the film itself. I'm not really sure. Furthermore, this film does have some serious camp to it. Don Johnson's acting is really cheesy, albeit amusing, and there is some very cheesy dialouge which elicits more laughs than cringes, thank God. But it is obvious from the get-go that this isn't a multi-million dollar sci-fi epic blockbuster. This is a small film that knows it has plenty of quirks and flaws, but it plays those up in order to create a very amusing film.

I definitely want to watch this film again eventually, because it's obvious that there is a lot more to get out of this film than just a cheap sci-fi film. In a way I can compare this film to A Clockwork Orange because of its sardonic tone, the amount of cynical irony and sarcasm, all combined with cheese and camp that actually has a much more complex meaning and can seem silly to the untrained eye. A Boy and His Dog might just be a simple little sci-fi film with some thoughtful undertones, or it might be a masterpiece. I've yet to find out, but another viewing should determine that for me.

The early to mid 1970s were inundated with dystopian science fiction. In fact, it was virtually the only kind of science fiction being made. I have a theory that the enormous success of Star Wars was due partly to the huge sense of relief at FINALLY seeing a SF film without a morose, downcast, "we're all doomed and the future is not something to look forward to" viewpoint. I know I felt that way. Going to the movies became fun and exciting again. Technology had a sense of wonder, instead of being sinister. Star Wars had caused the dystopian wave to recede.

This movie is part of that dystopian wave. It's anything but fun and exciting. There's no sense of wonder, no deep philosophical message. Just some unlikable schmuck scrounging for food and sex in a dank, dark, depraved, dilapidated setting. Not any kind of hero. The telepathic dog gimmick is the only "SF" element of note. The dog's voice and personality are obnoxious. Come to think of it, the obnoxious lack of likability matches that of the writer of the story, Harlan Ellison, who was an arrogant jerk who treated women very poorly.

Vic and his telepathically talking sheep dog, Blood, travel post-apocalyptic Arizona. Besides scavenging for food and sex, this movie features old, terrible porn clips, evil Amish looking people with clown makeup and possibly the greatest pun in movie history. Blood provides hilarious commentary to all Vic's endeavors, his comments while Vic and a girl he finds have sex are particularly entertaining. At parts, this movie gets so strange you can't do anything but laugh at it, which is definitely not a bad thing! A Boy and His Dog is not something that will ever be universally popular, but it is a great movie for late nights and all nerds. A classic piece of science fiction.

I heard about this film long before I watched it. This is one of those staple films in the post-apocalyptic genre; after all, it came four years before the original "Mad Max" (the initial entry of what I consider the pinnacle series of post-apocalyptic films) and was one of its main inspirations ( also one of the main inspirations for the Fallout series, if we've got any gamers reading). At the same time that I had heard of this films existence, I had heard differing reports as to the quality of the film, and, to make matters worse, the first person who told me about this movie described it as "A boy and a psychic dog go around looking for people to rape," and while that certainly sounds weird, it also wasn't exactly something I wanted to go out of my way to see.

Now, having watched this film, I wouldn't honestly say that that description is wrong, but it's not wholly accurate either. The film certainly contains a few scenes of misogyny towards women, and our protagonist, Vic (Don Johnson, "Knives Out"), isn't exactly an upright individual, but if you give the film a chance to let itself play out, you can start to understand why Vic is the way that he is; you might start to understand the relationship between Vic and Blood his dog (voiced by Tim McIntire, "Jeremiah Johnson"); and you might even begin to chuckle at a bit of the black humor that permeates their world. "A Boy and His Dog" is not a film that will appeal to everyone, but it certainly worked for me.

This is a pretty wild satirical 70's apocalyptic sci fi flick. This is taking place after WW4 in the United States post nuclear landscape. A Boy And His Dog has a young Don Johnson wandering around the barren wasteland with his dog that has psychic powers. His dog lets Don know where the women are that and in exchange for getting him laid he must feed his dog well. The film is pivotal in showing the dynamic of this relationship and the post nuclear world, showing the futility of a post nuclear future. This was directed by LQ Jones who was a character actor in all kinds of stuff most notably westerns and a lot of them made by Sam Peckinpah. A Boy And His Dog is good for what it is and is totally outrageous old school B grade science fiction. If you are in the mood for something unusual give this a go.