I tried to read The Dogs of War when I was in high school in the mid 70's and got bored; yes, I had the attention span of a gnat and Forsyth's novel was both dry and clinical in its careful examination of the platinum-driven purchase of an African nation.
I saw the movie on cable in the early 80's and, thanks to its prudent editing of what I perceived as the book's excesses, I gave Forsyth's story my own inconsequential (in the grand scheme of things) stamp of approval.
I finally read the book in 2000; somewhere along the way I picked up a used full-length attention span! I've seen TDOW about five times (the last was yesterday; Superbowls generally bore me worse than dry, clinical novels) and I have to say that this is a rarity, a movie better than the book. Whether it was Christopher Walken's jerky, paranoid performance, the superbly shown squalor of the capitol of the country about to be taken, or the pathetic, teary fear in President Kimba's eyes, I was both hooked and pleased by the film version.
The Dogs of War isn't a great film or a well-known one, but it was both entertaining and diverting. All a viewer needs on Superbowl Sunday!
I saw the movie on cable in the early 80's and, thanks to its prudent editing of what I perceived as the book's excesses, I gave Forsyth's story my own inconsequential (in the grand scheme of things) stamp of approval.
I finally read the book in 2000; somewhere along the way I picked up a used full-length attention span! I've seen TDOW about five times (the last was yesterday; Superbowls generally bore me worse than dry, clinical novels) and I have to say that this is a rarity, a movie better than the book. Whether it was Christopher Walken's jerky, paranoid performance, the superbly shown squalor of the capitol of the country about to be taken, or the pathetic, teary fear in President Kimba's eyes, I was both hooked and pleased by the film version.
The Dogs of War isn't a great film or a well-known one, but it was both entertaining and diverting. All a viewer needs on Superbowl Sunday!