LAST OF THE DOGMEN (1995) - Andy's Blu-Ray Review

[AndyDursin]

8.5/10

So many films from the 1990s have fallen through the cracks in the transition to high-def, never mind Ultra HD. One of the catalogs that has received especially short shrift is the library of Savoy Pictures, an independent studio that distributed a handful of memorable films including Robert DeNiro's “A Bronx Tale” and the Ray Liotta sci-fi thriller “No Escape.” My favorite among their few dozen releases was LAST OF THE DOGMEN (118 mins., 1995, PG), a sweeping romantic western that represented one of the last gasps of Mario Kassar's Carolco Pictures, and a film that remains a wonderful, old-fashioned adventure that's been long overdue for rediscovery.

Tab Murphy – whose career began with a script for “Gorillas in the Mist” but later jumped to a prolific amount of work in Disney animation – wrote and directed his original screenplay about a lost tribe of Cheyenne still living, unspoiled by civilization, in Montana's vast Oxbow Quadrangle. They're stumbled upon by a grizzled, cranky tracker named Lewis Gates (Tom Berenger), who's been assigned to find the whereabouts of three armed convicts who have fled into the wild. After uncovering the remains of the men, Gates returns to civilization at the behest of the town sheriff – also his former father-in-law (Kurtwood Smith) – who tasks Gates with an explanation for their apparent deaths. He finds it with the help of an anthropologist (Barbara Hershey) with whom he shares a combative, yet slowly developing, relationship, with the couple finding themselves more attracted to the ways of the improbably long-lost “Dogmen” than the modern world they've been a part of.

We hear the word “throwback” used a lot today, but “Last of the Dogmen” was indeed a real throwback at the time of its release. PG rated with the kind of story that could appeal to anyone, Murphy's effort is wonderfully lyrical, big and old-fashioned– even more so than something like Kevin Costner's “Dances With Wolves,” which this picture was unfairly grouped in with. Murphy instills a sense of mystery in the movie, utilizing the Mexican and Canadian shooting locations to superb widescreen effect, and crafts a straightforward, uncluttered story with appealing performances from the two leads. Berenger and Hershey's characters should've warmed up to one another a little sooner than they do, yet they still work well off each other and provide a contemporary grounding for the picture's classic genre sensibilities.

The majestic widescreen visuals are captured by cinematographer Karl Walter Lindenlaub, who had just come straight off Carolco's last big hit, “Stargate,” as did composer David Arnold. And speaking of the music, what a score Arnold delivered for this film – broad, beautiful and supportive at every turn, this is my favorite of all of Arnold's soundtracks, and is rightly hailed by the filmmakers in Kino Lorber's Blu-Ray commentary track.

“Last of the Dogmen” opened right after Labor Day in 1995 and I recall enjoying it tremendously back then. Alas, the movie didn't make much noise commercially despite receiving a number of positive reviews from major critics like Siskel & Ebert and Leonard Maltin. Like most Savoy releases, the picture would end up being released on home video by HBO and despite the fact that it seems to have been kept in print for many years, we've never had a quality HD transfer of the movie to enjoy until now.

Kino Lorber's new Blu-Ray of “Last of the Dogmen” marked the first time I had watched the film since a home video release over 20 years ago. The good news is the film really holds up – unlike Costner's 1990 Oscar winner, the preachiness is dialed down in favor of a flavorful, appealing story, an “old fashioned” entertainment that tells its story with a confidence and style from an era that had already long diminished from view by the time it was released.

The disc's 4K restored (2.35) AVC encoded transfer is spectacularly clear, warmly-hued and just superb – a treat for anyone who might have only seen the movie in standard definition. Extras include an insightful and affectionate commentary with Murphy and producer Joel B. Michaels, along with the trailer and TV spot.

It's worth noting the movie has both its “intended” soundtrack available here in 2.0 and 5.1 formats, as well as the theatrical soundtrack (also 2.0 and 5.1), featuring a studio-added narration by Wilford Brimley. This track tries to set the movie in the context of an “Old West” folk legend of sorts, and was so obviously thrown in after the fact that it was clear to viewers who saw the movie originally back in '95 that it wasn't supposed to be there. It's also completely unnecessary, so that its inclusion here is just for posterity's sake, as the disc defaults to the narration-free track upon start up (HBO first included this Brimley-less track in its DVD release).

[Eric W.]

I never have seen this. Sounds good.

[Eric W.]

I streamed this the other night and really liked it.

[AndyDursin]

Definite recommend!

Could use an expanded score, the old Atlantic album is 36 minutes.

[Monterey Jack]

Picked this up in the most recent Kino sale and sat down to watch it this morning. Very good! The locations are stunningly photographed (it'd all be shot inside of a Georgia warehouse these days ), Berenger and Hershey have chemistry, the pooch was adorable, and David Arnold's sweeping score is a huge asset (even if you can hear hints of temp-track influences from Cliffhanger and the secondary Field Of Dreams theme Horner beat for death for 25 years). Maybe not a great movie, but extremely amiable and "old-fashioned" in the best sense of the term.

[John Johnson]

Definite recommend!

Could use an expanded score, the old Atlantic album is 36 minutes.

I'm surprised LLL haven't released an expanded version. They seem to have a good relationship with David Arnold

[Chris Shaneyfelt]

I watched Last of the Dogmen based on your excellent review, Andy, and really enjoyed it. Thank you!

I don't own the David Arnold album from way back, but would definitely purchase it if one of the specialty labels could re-release it (good point about LLL, John) - very good music!