Red Dog

"He's Been Everywhere Mate."

2011 1h 32m EN

👍

7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 446

DramaComedyFamily

Synopsis

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The legendary true story of the Red Dog who united a disparate local community while roaming the Australian outback in search of his long lost master.

“He's Been Everywhere Mate.”

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Cast

Josh Lucas
John
Rachael Taylor
Nancy
Rohan Nichol
Jocko
Luke Ford
Tom
Arthur Angel
Vanno
John Batchelor
Peeto
Keisha Castle-Hughes
Rosa
Noah Taylor
Jack

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Kriv Stenders
Writers: Daniel Taplitz
Languages: English
Countries: Australia, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 15 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Australia, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Red Dog Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Kriv Stenders, shot by Geoffrey Hall. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Cezary Skubiszewski. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jill Bilcock shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Josh Lucas and Rachael Taylor and Rohan Nichol carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Kriv Stenders directs. Geoffrey Hall behind the camera. Cezary Skubiszewski scores. Jill Bilcock cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in Australia, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Released 15 years ago.
3International production across 2 countries: Australia, United States of America.
4Part of the "Red Dog Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Kriv Stenders, shot by Geoffrey Hall. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Cezary Skubiszewski. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Jill Bilcock shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Josh Lucas and Rachael Taylor and Rohan Nichol carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "He's Been Everywhere Mate.".
10IMDB entry: tt0803061 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 12 themes, including "australia", "1970s", "human animal relationship", "search".

The technical file

Cinematography: Geoffrey Hall
Original score: Cezary Skubiszewski
Editing: Jill Bilcock
Production design: Ian Gracie
Makeup / hair: Jen Rossiter
Sound: Marco Augusto Comba
Runtime: 92 min · 1h 32m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $5
Box office: $13
Return: 260% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Red Dog (2011)

Awards

AACTA Award for Best Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

Red Dog Collection

The Red Dog movie series

Also by

Kriv Stenders

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Harry_Gill2026-06-27
Most dog films chase your tears with a slow death and a swelling score. Red Dog earns its feeling a different way, by treating one kelpie as the connective tissue of an entire town. Set in the iron-ore country of the Pilbara in 1970s Western Australia, it follows a wandering red dog who adopts a whole community of miners, truckers and misfits before fixing his loyalty on John, an American newcomer played by Josh Lucas. The structure is clever. The dog has already died when the film opens, and the story is assembled from the tall tales locals swap in a pub, so Red Dog becomes folklore in real time. What works is how unsentimental the comedy is. The roughneck miners, the caravan park, the bickering couples, all of it feels lived-in rather than staged for cuteness. Kriv Stenders never begs you to cry. He lets the landscape, all red dust and big sky, do the heavy lifting, and Koko, the kelpie who plays the lead, has real screen presence and none of the cloying tricks these films usually lean on. It is a small film with a big heart, and it understands something most dog movies miss: a dog's real power is social, not just emotional. He is the reason strangers in a hard, transient place become a community. That is a warmer idea than one more deathbed. Full review: https://dogwithblog.in/red-dog-movie-review/

Production companies