| The Dogs of War | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Dogs_of_war_ver2.jpg) Theatrical release poster by Tom Jung | |
| Directed by | John Irvin |
| Screenplay by | Gary DeVore George Malko |
| Based on | The Dogs of War by Frederick Forsyth |
| Produced by | Larry DeWaay Norman Jewison Patrick J. Palmer |
| Starring | Christopher Walken Tom Berenger Colin Blakely |
| Cinematography | Jack Cardiff |
| Edited by | Antony Gibbs |
| Music by | Geoffrey Burgon |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
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Running time | 118 minutes |
| Countries | United States United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $8 million[1] |
| Box office | $5.4 million[2] |
The Dogs of War is a 1980 British war film based upon the 1974 novel of the same name by Frederick Forsyth. Largely filmed in Belize, it was directed by John Irvin and starred Christopher Walken and Tom Berenger. In it a small mercenary unit of soldiers is privately hired to depose the president of a fictional African country modeled on Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Conakry, Equatorial Guinea and Angola (as they were in the late 1970s), so that a British tycoon can gain access to a platinum deposit.[3] The title is based on a phrase from William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar: "Cry, 'Havoc!', and let slip the dogs of war."
- ^ Perry, Simon. "FINANCE FOR LOCAL TALENT". Sight and Sound. Vol. 49, no. 3 (Summer 1980). London. p. 144.
- ^ "The Dogs of War (1981)". Box Office Mojo.
- ^ New York Magazine Feb 23, 1981