I frequently review and blurb dog films, which I loosely define as any film that gives significant screen time to one or more dogs, or uses the canine figure as a narrative or visual device. Less attention is given to wolf movies, though a few will appear on this list as well. Screen caps are always included, where available.
We are open to guest contributors who wish to blog about any dog film that has not been previously listed (duplicate entries will be considered for fresh insights). The basic format should be followed, including pertinent identifying information and screen captures, but the entry itself can be as short or as long as you’d like. Preference is given to non-English language films and general audience films (that is, not children’s films). Please get in touch if you’d like to pitch a film blurb and be featured on the blog!
Below is a list of what has already been showcased, with breed(s) noted in rough order of significance and links to original entries:
- The Accidental Tourist. Dir. Lawrence Kasdan. Warner Brothers: 1988. Cardigan Welsh Corgi. 20120418.
- Adventures of Milo and Otis [Koneko monogatari]. Dir. Masanori Hata. Columbia Pictures: 1989. Pug. 20101231.
- All About My Dog [Inu no eiga]. Dir. Atsushi Sanada, et. al. 2005. Shiba Inu, Border Collie, Borzoi, Pug. 20101231
- Amores Perros. Dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu. 2000. Rottweiler, Pit Bull, Lhasa Apso?, mixes. 20101231
- Badlands. Dir. Terence Malick. Warner Brothers: 1973. Catahoula or Great Dane, German Shepherd, Collie mix. 20120507.
- Barking Dogs Never Bite [Flandersui gae]. Dir. Joon-ho Bong. Cinema Service: 2000. Shih tzu, Miniature Pinscher, Toy Poodle. 20110420.
- Barren Lives [Vidas Secas]. Dir. Nelson Pereira dos Santos. 1963. Brazilian terrier (native Brazilian dog, Podenco type). 20120525.
- Beginners. Dir. Mike Mills. Focus Features/Olympus: 2010. Jack Russell Terrier. 20120111.
- Best in Show. Dir. Christopher Guest. Castle Rock: 2000. Norwich Terrier, Weimaraner, Bloodhound, Standard Poodle, Shih Tzu. 20101231.
- Cala, My Dog! [Kala shi tiao gou]. Dir. Xuechang Lu. 2003. Hapa dog/Pekingese type. 20101231
- Call of the Yukon. Dir. B. Reeves Easton, John T. Coyle. Republic Pictures: 1938. Collie, wolf hybrid, Saint Bernard. 20110524.
- Champion, the. Dir. Charles Chaplin. Essanay: 1915. English Bulldog. 20111113.
- Cook, the. Dir. Fatty Arbuckle. 1918. American Pit Bull Terrier. 20110321.
- Dark Water Rising. Dir. Mike Shiley. Shidog: 2006. Pit bulls, various mixes. 20110622.
- Dawn of the Dead. Dir. Zack Snyder. Strike Entertainment: 2004. Collie/Shepherd/Heeler. 20110706.
- Day the Dogs Disappeared [Inu no kieta hi]. Nippon Network Television Corporation: 2011. Shiba Inu, German Shepherd. 20111118.
- Dog Heaven (an Our Gang/Little Rascals film). Dir. Anthony Mack. Hal Roach Studios: 1927. American Staffordshire Terrier / Pete the Pup. 20111219.
- Dog Soldiers. Dir. Neil Marshall. Kismet Productions: 2002. Border collie. 20110805.
- Dog’s Life, A. Dir. Charles Chaplin. First National Pictures: 1918. Terrier mix. 20111111.
- Gates of Heaven. Dir. Errol Morris. 1980. Various. 20101231.
- Goodbye, My Lady. Dir. William A. Wellman. Batjac: 1956. Basenji, English Setter, American Coonhound. 20110222.
- Gremlins. Dir. Joe Dante. Warner Brothers: 1984. All-American mutt. 20111202.
- Has Anybody Seen My Gal?. Dir. Douglas Sirk. Universal: 1952. Soft-coated Terrier mix, Poodles (Standard). 20120604.
- Hulk. Dir. Ang Lee. Universal Pictures: 2003. Pit bull, American Staffordshire terrier, Standard Poodle. 20110603.
- I Was Born, But… [Otona no miru ehon - Umarete wa mita keredo]. Dir OZU Yasujiro. Shochiku: 1932. Jack Russell Terrier. 20120403.
- Inja [Dog]. Dir. Steve Paslovsky. Big World Cinema: 2001. Boerboel. 20110408.
- Journey of Natty Gann. Dir. Jeremy Kagan. Walt Disney/Buena Vista Pictures: 1985. Alaskan malamute/wolf hybrid. 20101231.
- Just Around the Corner. Dir. Irving Cummings. 1938. Afghan Hounds, Borzoi, Poodle, Pekingese, Bedlington Terrier. 20120514.
- La Condition Canine [Gou de zhuang kuang]. Dir. Jia Zhangke. 2001. Chinese dogs, Shepherd mixes. 20111125.
- Lady with the Dog [Dama s sobachkoj]. Dir. Iosif Kheifits. Lenfilm: 1960. Pomeranian / German Spitz / American Eskimo dog. 20110929.
- Love Parade. Dir. Ernst Lubitsch. Paramount: 1929. Boston terrier. 20111208.
- The Lucky Dog. Dir. Jess Robbins. Sun-Lite: 1921. Mutt, Miniature Poodle. 20111229.
- Masters of the Congo Jungle. Dir. Henry Brandt, Heinz Sielmann. Belgian International Scientific Foundation: 1958. Very brief footage of Congolese hunting dogs. 20110809.
- Mine. Dir. Geralyn Pezanoski. Smush Media: 2009. Terrier mix, German Shepherd, Labrador Retriever, Akita-pit bull mix, miniature poodle mix. 20110622.
- Mooch Goes to Hollywood. Dir. Richard Erdman. Saint Claire Vision: 1971. Border terrier mix (Higgins the Dog). 20110719.
- My Dog, Tulip. Dir. Paul and Sandra Fierlinger. New Yorker Films: 2009. Alsatian/German Shepherd. 20101231
- Nanook of the North. Dir. Robert Flaherty. 1922. Huskies, malamutes, various sled dogs. 20101231.
- Number, Please?. Dir. Hal Roach. 1920. Maltese? 20110321.
- The Outlaw, Josey Wales. Dir. Clint Eastwood. Malpaso Company / Warner Brothers: 1976. Redbone coonhound. 20110824.
- Patton. Dir. Franklin J. Schaffner. 20th Century Fox: 1970. Bull terrier, Pekingese, Sloughi. 20120101.
- Plague Dogs. Dir. Martin Rosen. Nepenthe Productions: 1982. Labrador mix, Fox Terrier, fox. 20110517.
- Plutopia. Dir. Charles Nichols. Walt Disney Pictures: 1951. Pluto the dog. 20110428.
- Poltergeist. Dir. Tobe Hooper. MGM: 1982. Golden Retriever. 20110608.
- Porndogs: The Adventures of Sadie. Dir. Greg Blatman. Watermark Pictures: 2009. Labrador Retriever, Labradoodle, Chinese Shar-pei, Doberman Pinscher, Dachshund. 20111028.
- Quill [Kuiiru]. Dir. Yoichi Sai. Quill Film Project: 2004. Labrador retriever. 20110921.
- Rainy Dog [Gokudô kuroshakai]. Dir. Takashi Miike. Daiei: 1997. Taiwan dog mix. 20110720.
- The Searchers. Dir. John Ford. Warner Brothers: 1956. Mutt/unknown mix. 20120216.
- Siren of the Tropics [La sirène des tropiques]. Dir. Mario Nalpas, Henri Étiévant. La Centrale Cinématographique: 1927. “German” Shepherd dog. 20120131.
- Snoopy Come Home. Dir. Bill Melendez. National General Pictures: 1972. Beagle. 20101231.
- Snow Trail [Ginrei no hate]. Dir. Senkichi Taniguchi. Toho: 1947. Hokkaido ken. 20110906*.
- Soi Dogs. Dir. Ella Todd. Environment Films: 2010. Thai street dogs. 20111019.
- Still Life with Animated Dogs. Dir. Paul Fierlinger. 2001. Terrier mix, Boxer. 20110116.
- Stella Dallas. Dir. King Vidor. 1937. Great Dane. 20120208.
- Stowaway. Dir. William Seiter. 1936. Terrier mix, Pekingese. 20120227.
- Stray Dog [Nora inu]. Dir. Akira Kurosawa. Toho: 1949. Japanese dog mix. 20110105.
- A Tale of Ururu’s Forest [Ururu no mori no monogatari]. Dir. Makoto Naganuma. Toho: 2009. Wolf dog. 201201016.
- The Thin Man. Dir. W.S. Van Dyke. MGM: 1934. Wire Fox Terrier. 20111227.
- The Thing. Dir. John Carpenter. Universal: 1982. Alaskan Malamute, Siberian Husky, Jed the Wolfdog. 20110730.
- Walking with the Dog [Inu to arukeba]. Dir. Makoto Shinozaki. 2004. Shiba mix, Siberian husky, mutts. 20110527.
- War Dogs. Dir. S. Roy Luby. Monogram Films: 1942. German Shepherd, Airedale Terrier, Great Dane. 20110505.
- Wendy & Lucy. Dir. Kelly Reichardt. Field Guide Films: 2008. Mutt. 20120328.
- Wonderful World of Dogs. Dir. Mark Lewis. Radio Pictures: 1990. German Short-haired Pointer, Chihuahua, Australian Cattle Dog, Miniature Poodle. 20111010.
British Pathe video archives:
“Basenjis.” Dir. unknown. 1954. Basenji. 20100816.
“Basenjis Dogs.” Dir. unknown. 1938. Basenji. 20100816.
“Junior Artist.” Dir. unknown. 1939. Tosa inu. 20101223.
“Toys”. Dir. unknown. 1930. Japanese Chin. 20101223.
“U.S. Troops Leave Hokkaido.” Dir. unknown. ca. 1950 ~ 1959. Hokkaido ken/mix. 20101223.
* denotes guest blog
Queued for review (films viewed but not yet screencapped/written about, in no order of priority)
- Antarctica [Nankyoku monogatari 南極物語]. Dir. KURAHARA Koreyoshi. Fuji TV: 1983. Karafuto dogs (historical), mixed breed Northern spitz/sled dogs.
- A Dog’s Love. Dir. John Harvey. Thanhouser: 1914. Scotch Collie.
- Gran Torino. Dir. Clint Eastwood. Village Roadshow/Malpaso: 2008. Labrador Retriever.
- Hachiko [Hachiko monogatari ハチ公物語]. Dir. KOYAMA Seijiro. Shochiku: 1987. Akita.
- King of Dogs [Quan wang 犬王]. Dir. YAO Shougang 姚守崗. Bayi: 1993. German Shepherd, Great Dane.
- Old Dog [Khyi rgan]. Dir. Pema Tseden. 2011. Tibetan Mastiff.
- Play Dead. Dir. Andres & Diego Meza-Valdes. Borscht: 2011. Labrador retriever, Australian shepherd, Papillon, Jack Russell Terrier, Border Collie.
- Postman in the Mountains [Nashan naren nagou 那山那人那狗]. Dir. HUO Jianqi 霍建起. Beijing Film Studio: 1999. German Shepherd.
- Shep’s Race With Death. Dir. John Harvey. Thanhouser: 1914. Scotch Collie.
- A Tale of Mari and Her Three Puppies [Mari to koinu no monogatari マリと子犬の物語]. Dir. INOMATA Ryuichi. Toho: 2007. Shiba Inu.
- Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale [賽德克 巴萊]. Dir. WEI Te-sheng 魏德聖. 2011. Formosan mountain dog, German Shepherd.
- White Dog. Dir. Samuel Fuller. Paramount: 1982. German Shepherd (white).
- Year of the Dog. Dir. Mike White. Plan B: 2007. Beagle, Welsh Corgi, German Shepherd.
