Search - Dog Bite Dog on DVD

Harrowing account of the man's violent potential...earns its

Woopak | Where Dark Asian Knights Dwell | 08/23/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Soi Cheung's ultra-violent "DOG BITE DOG" is the antidote for people who are a bit tired of the usual stylish "bullet ballet" action films from Hong Kong. At first glance, it may remind you of Jet Li's "Unleashed"; but the premise is done with more realism and brutal graphic violence that it really earns its Category III (NC-17) RATING.

Overview partially derived from the dvd back cover:
A young Cambodian assassin named Pang (Edison Chen) arrives in Hong Kong to kill the spouse of a judge. After completion of the dire deed, he is pursued by the local police force partly headed by Inspector Wai (Sam Lee) who has his own demons to combat. Like a caged animal, fighting and fleeing like a cornered beast, Pang wipes out all of Wai's men. Along the way, he comes across a girl named Pei-Pei (Weiying pei), who is being abused by her stepfather. He rescues her from her ordeal; the chase goes to overdrive with an obsessed Inspector Wai...

Intensely brutal, gritty and seedy, director Soi goes for the throat and pulls out all the stops when it comes to (very)graphic violence. No style, almost no fight choreography is shown as the two protagonists pummel, bludgeon, and beat each other with everything but the kitchen sink. (I think there was a scene that they did use a kitchen sink) They even bite each other as the title suggests. Unrelenting violence is the lure of this film; it seemed to me that Soi has found his true calling in filming very dark, seedy and depressing thrillers.
DOG BITE DOG may turn off some viewers; the pessimistic portrayal of humanity and the lack of characters seeking redemption. There are no heroes of any kind here, even the emotional scenes have a feel that it is ready to implode on itself with unexpected violence. All the characters are "victims" of the challenges of life. However, I am certain that this film will find fans with its dark, unrelenting violent nature and movie-cults will be glad to say: "NOT A FAMILY MOVIE". The main theme of the film is; SURVIVE, by any means necessary.

The set designs are awesome. Soi does a tremendous job portraying the dark, dank alleys of Hong Kong as another character in the film. The set designs are well-designed; the dump sites look so real that I could almost "smell" the dirt and grime. The music has that depressing feel with almost a "sense of death" Edison Chen and Sam Lee do a decent job in their portrayal of Pang and Wai. I still had some issues because I still look at them as "teen idols". The film is NOT perfect, it has its faults (I didn't like the final act), but thankfully, the great direction by Soi overshadows its shortcomings.

I have the 1-disc UNCUT edition by Joy Sales (Hong Kong release)
VIDEO/AUDIO: Anamorphic Widescreen. (Sorry, I saw this film mid-last year, can't remember the aspect ratio) The transfer is intentionally shot with a grayish hue, colors are a bit dull but the contrast is extremely sharp. Black levels are solid. 5.1 Dolby/5.1 DTS Cantonese track with very good English subtitles.

Final remarks:
Dog Bite Dog is a harrowing account of the darker side of man. It is not for the faint of heart, it is a world that everything just doesn't work out and is so pessimistic that "Cute Stuff" collectors should stay away. It is over the top and dare I say, a bit nihilistic a lot of times. This film will not disappoint fans of this type of movie...
Highly Recommended! For those who love challenging violent cinema. It is ANYTHING but cute! (4 Stars)


"

Pure cinematic art.

Francisco José Poyato Ariza | Madrid, Spain | 09/26/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a piece of pure cinema. Uncompromising, unapologetic, as raw in its portrait of violence as it is disgusted by it. Here, violence has reasons (not justifications, mind that), and is a spiral that sucks your entire life if you let yourself be gotten into it. It is not a mindless form of entertainment, as in the endless american "movies" that have tortured cinema lovers for such a long time now. But, there is always a place for love and tendernesss, even in the most extreme environment. The screenplay is simply perfect, it should be taught in universities and academies. Add to that a magnificent acting (the expressions in the eyes of the lead actors are breathtaking) and a fresh, innovative, straightforward, honest direction...the result? A pure cinematic enjoyment, and a deep experience about the meaning of life. Both are things that are missing from US movies for many, many years already. I might say that I don't get the negative reviews, but I do, indeed: this is yet another masterpiece from Asia, showing, once again, that american mainstream "cinema" is simply trash, and that all interesting movies are made in the Far East for quite a number of years now. Yes, it will not please pop-corn eaters, because it requires some effort from the audience and makes you think about the violence in contemporary society, and about life at its deepest...too bad, isn't it? US movies RIP."

Great Movie

Martin Estrada | 10/26/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a dark movie but it is different from all the movies i have ever seen it had action sequences which were weird but yet entertianing
great movie a must buy for dragon dynasty owners"

Film Noir Extrême - Survival Of The Fittest

Veritas Veritatis | 10/31/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This review is for the 2006
Joy Sales Films (unrated, 109 min.)
release of the film.
***************************************

Dark, relentless, brutally violent.

The pursuit of one man,
a policeman completely out of
his mind with rage, after another,
a homicidal maniac with
little more left than a will to
survive, fleeing from him.

And "survive" he does as a result
of one of the most bizarre love stories
ever with an unbelievably horrific and
strangely hopeful ending.

There are fleeting moments
when one thinks that perhaps
the extremely damaged people
in this tragedy will find
some redemption and salvation,
but ultimately the only thing
redeemed is their one way ticket
to oblivion.

This is the real thing movie fans.
This is what you've been waiting for.

The images, the sounds, the characters,
the acting, the action, the plot...
the beginning, the middle and the ending.

Taking film noir to a new level.

A unique, mature and masterful
work of film art.

I loved it."