Last of the Dogmen

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Tab Murphy directs. Karl Walter Lindenlaub behind the camera. David Arnold scores. Richard Halsey cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 131 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
• 2Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
• 3Directed by Tab Murphy, shot by Karl Walter Lindenlaub. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 4Original score by David Arnold. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 5Editor Richard Halsey shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 6Tom Berenger and Barbara Hershey and Kurtwood Smith carry the top of the cast.
• 7Marketing tagline: "A journey of the heart. The adventure of their lives.".
• 8IMDB entry: tt0113617 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography

Karl Walter Lindenlaub

Original score

David Arnold

Editing

Richard Halsey

Production design

Trevor Williams

Costume design

Elsa Zamparelli

Runtime

118 min · 1h 58m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

PG

IMDB

Last of the Dogmen (1995) ↗

Rotten Tomatoes

69% 🍅 Fresh

IMDB rating

6.9/10 · 6,251 votes

MPAA

PG

US box office

$7,024,389

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

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Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Official Trailer

  Trailer · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• John Chard2017-05-17
  ★ 7/10

  There's a reason they are called dog soldiers. Last of the Dogmen is written and directed by Tab Murphy. It stars Tom Berenger, Barbara Hershey, Kurtwood Smith and Steve Reevis. Music is scored by David Arnold and cinematography by Karl Walter Lindenlaub. When three convicts escape from prison and head into the Montana mountains, the local law enforcer hires skillful tracker/bounty hunter Lewis Gates (Berenger) to go find them. What he finds is torn clothes, blood and an Indian arrow. After spying someone in the trees it leads Gates to an investigation on the possibility of a lost tribe of Cheyenne Indians living in the mountains. A thoroughly enjoyable contemporary Western, even if it's cribbing clichés from a number of films and TV episodes of the past. Formula of story is simple, grizzled tracker man Berenger and prim anthropologist Hershey are poles apart, but into the mountains they go in search of a hidden tribe of Cheyenne. That they find them is a given, since the title says it all, but what unfolds is a burgeoning relationship between the two, while much understanding and soul searching involving the "alien" Cheyenne makes for a good chunk of the narrative. There's observations galore in here about the advancement of time, different cultures etc, and a nod to the Sand Creek Massacre, while a back story sub-plot involving Kurtwood Smith is deftly handled; if a little redundant in the grand scheme of things. Anyone who has seen the likes of The African Queen, Dances With Wolves and the Twilight Zone Episode: A Hundred Yards Over The Rim, wont be particularly surprised by what transpires in eventuality. But Berenger and Hershey make for a nice duo to be in the company of, while Kip the dog steals the film from both of them! Though story is set in Montana, film was shot on location in Alberta and British Columbia, and here is the film's trump card, where Lindenlaub's photography is quite simply stunning. In fact his work, and that of Arnold, whose score darts in and out of the landscape, deserves to be in an "A" grade movie. It rounds out as very watchable, a professional picture that just about manages to sustain interest and good will for the two hours run time. 7/10

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Carolco Pictures

  US

• JO

  Joel B. Michaels Productions

  US

Key crew

• StuntsSimone Boisseree
• EditorRichard Halsey
• ProducerJoel B. Michaels
• Executive ProducerMario Kassar
• Costume DesignElsa Zamparelli
• Production DesignTrevor Williams
• CastingCathy Sandrich Gelfond
• CastingAmanda Mackey
• Associate ProducerThomas Hedman

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• bounty hunter
• montana
• mountain
• forest
• anthropologist
• cheyenne
• native american tribe

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical1995-09-08PG
• Physical1999-11-23PG· DVD

Also known as

International titles

• Dogman - Das Tal der letzten KriegerDE
• Das Tal der letzten KriegerDE