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Ruff ruff ruff!
Grrrrr! Woof ruff BARK! Gruuuuuff woof woof!
(scratch… scratch… scratch…)
Whine. RUFF RUFF RUFFF GRRRRRRRR! Yap ruff
yap yap yap WOOF!
Oh… sorry… I guess you’d
rather know what I thought in English. I
was just trying to make it easier for all
the canine readers of this site to get a
review of one of their favorite movies this
side of “All Dogs Go to Heaven.”
I’d like to think that most of you
know that 1985’s “Cujo”
was based on a book by the wildly popular
Stephen King.
And by wildly popular, I mean that people
buy his books by the kabillions (me included)
as he is one of the more talented writers
of the 20th century. Those you who consider
him a ‘hack’ have never really
read any of his books and experienced the
level of psychological depth he has plumbed
from his characters.
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That said, I’d like to turn your attention
back to “Cujo”, where King was able
to write book, in part, from the viewpoint of
a rabid St. Bernard. He was also able to slowly
turn this playful family dog into a gibbering
monster that readers could both fear and sympathize
with. I can’t tell you how many times and
wished the story would change and Cujo didn’t
chase that rabbit into the hole. But the book
was far more than just a monster dog story as
it also visited the slow death of an American
family. Death from lack of attention, lack of
love, and lack of simply being around. (Which
is why I refuse to do a lot of travel for my work…
no job is worth spending too much time away from
your wife and kids…)
I remember driving all the way from El Paso,
Texas to Las Cruces, New Mexico to attend a screening
of “Cujo” way back in 1985. My drive
was not so much for the movie, but to meet Stephen
King, who was going to be in attendance. The audience
that attended the film had a good scary time,
as the film, actually did justice to the book.
It was well directed and tense in all the right
places. With one exception… the ending.
Now, I’m going to go out on a limb here
and believe that not everyone here has read the
book or seen the movie, so I’m not going
to reveal any spoilers. But suffice to say, the
ending in the book was downright tragic. King
loves to mess with his readers’ emotional
strings and he does so here with aplomb. The movie
version COMPLETELY changes the ending, giving
it one of those ‘Hollywood-style’
resolutions. It was such a cheat, that King made
fun of it in the talk he gave after the viewing.
(As well as making fun of Stanley Kubrick’s
bastardization of “The Shining.”).
But that was the only complaint about the film
version of “Cujo.” The rest of the
movie delivered what it could of the book’s
psychological death of the Trenton Family, Cujo’s
descent into doggie madness, and the all around
terror of being chased by a rabid St. Bernard.
Performances by Daniel Hugh Kelly and Dee Wallace
(as the Trenton’s) were strong and true.
Even six year old Danny Pintauro delivered a top
notch performance, especially once he and his
mother are trapped inside the family Piinto. All
in all, “Cujo” is a decent horror
flick. Just that ending man….
Anyhow, years have gone by and now Lionsgate
is releasing a 25th Anniversary Edition of the
film on Bluray… well actually the 25th Anniversary
was already put out on DVD back in 2007, but there’s
really no need to rename the edition for this
Bluray release. I was initially impressed by that
2007 release in how great the transfer looked,
but I’ll have to admit that this Bluray
edition actually looks even better. It’s
not perfect but you have to take into consideration
the film’s age. The sound also fairs better
in this edition, but really more in how the music
plays into the film than any of the ambient sounds.
All of the Special Features that were included
on the 2007 release are also present here. Director
Lewis Teague is present with a commentary that
is actually quite listenable. Where a lot of directors
tend to drone, Teague is little more lively and
interesting. There is also a lengthy three part
documentary that delves into quite a bit of what
it took to bring the movie from book to screen.
It is interesting to note that Teague claims that
King suggested the film’s drastically different
ending and he supposedly said if given the chance
he would have re-written the book that way. However,
that flies in the face of what King stated at
the screening I attended. At that time, he acted
vehemently against the change. Hmmmmm….
“Cujo”, as I mentioned, is a pretty
darn good horror flick that is getting the due
it originally deserved. If you already have the
DVD that released back in 2007, there really isn’t
a big reason to get this new Bluray, unless you
consider yourself an aficionado and prefer the
better video quality.
Directed by: Lewis Teague
Starring: Daniel Hugh-Kelly, Danny Pintauro, Ed
Lauter, Christopher Stone
Extras: Audio Commentary by Director Lewis Teague;
“Dog Days – The Making of Cujo”
Specifications: 1080p High Definition Widescreen;
DTS–HD Master Audio
Studio: Lionsgate
Release Date: 11/24/2009
MPAA Rating: R
http://www.LionsgateBluray.com
We'll give Cujo: 25th Anniversary Edition (Bluray)
a B.
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