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Man Bites Dog - Criterion Collection

Man Bites Dog - Criterion Collection

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Stop Laughing, You Sick-O!
Review: Clever, black and white, French faux-documentary about a camera crew who tag-along with a sadistic-yet-kinda-funny serial killer as he goes about his daily nastiness. What makes "Man" so disturbing, is that you'll catch yourself laughing at the stuff he does, but you know that if you were even one tiny bit a decent goddamn human being, you wouldn't find it amusing! Would you!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Disturbed American Review
Review: I thought I was hip, enlightened and beyond being shocked by a movie. I've only felt disturbed by a films brutality a few times in my life ie; A Clockwork Orange, Blue Velvet, and Natural Born Killers. But this, this frightning movie takes the prize. I looked forward to it's arrival, when it finally came I put it into the VCR watched it in a state of shock, took it out of my VCR, put it back on the shelf and have not touched it since. This movie scared me. I'm frightened. That is why Remmi gets four stars. A fictional film that produces the same effect as a documentary about death camps deserves some sort of praise. Someday I will try to watch it again. Buy this film if you think your man enough. Not recomended for psychopaths seeking justification. Bon apetit!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A unique film that pushes back the boundaries
Review: A black and white, pseudo fly on the wall documentary, with French dialogue following the weird antics of a man teetering somewhere beyond the edge of normality. That may sound like a description of "Mr Hulot's Holiday" but it also sums up "Man Bites Dog".

The film follows the exploits of Benoit, a serial killer. It is his vocation and he takes it seriously indeed. Serious, not just about killing individuals but about being a serial killer. He is aware of his filmers and, on occasion, plays up to the camera. We see him commit a number of gruesome killings and dispose of the bodies of his victims. Gradually, the film makers become dragged into his crimes and finally, they are fully fledged accomplices.

Some people have ascribed motivations and meanings to this film as being a comment on the way in which the media fixates on and lauds some violent criminals. I cannot agree with this. The film was made as a student project and with no expectation that it would be viewed outside its immediate academic environment. It is perhaps unconstrained by the expectation that it would be widely exhibited.

There is a lot of violence in this movie. Explicit, gratuitous and, on occasion, sexual. At the same time, there is a lot of, albeit very dark, humour. It is not for the squeamish or for the narrow minded and indeed, I could not really argue with anyone who found this film profoundly offensive. On the other hand, it does have something to say which can only be said in this way.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Belgian Cinema...
Review: As a Belgian my comments may be biased, but when it came out I knew people would have to talk about this little gem. If nothing else it showed what low-budget headaches on the part of the producers can generate in terms of brilliant inventiveness: a pseudo-documentary about a quite "personable" serial killer. Many people see this flick as a rabid satire on reality tv and media violence. I agree. But, think about it, just the idea of the setup is fantastic. For those who are interested in watching this, like always, be certain to get the uncut version (unless you want to censored), because American censorship is still alive and kicking!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Forget all you've read or heard... It's simply entertaining.
Review: Of course, this only concerns people who have a strong stomach and an open mind. I don't care about social commentary or excessive violence, I see movies for entertainment. And, suprisingly, this film is VERY entertaining. My family looked at me like I was crazy because I was laughing so hard. If you keep in your mind that it's not real, you can laugh along with the violence.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Interesting and a comment on TV realism
Review: Man Bites Dog is a film which explores the dark, light and banal aspects of one mans psyche. The film gives you the message that only incidently is he a serial killer. However, by the end of the film we learn that some hobbies, like serial killing, have consequences for the killer and those who surround him that no-one can possibly guess. Shot in what later has become the Dogme convention style this film is all about realism. It's also very funny, in a dark and ironic way. People who are incensed by the extreme violence are missing the point. The very fact that it the killing is not morally judged, and even tacitly colluded with by the documentary crew following the killer around, and not opinionised by anyone else means that you become the impassive judge, it forces you to think about what is really happening. I would reccomend this film to anyone who is not easily shocked and likes films which are unconventional, funny, shocking, and complex.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Pure Art
Review: C'est arrivé près de chez vous (Man Bites Dog) is a mocumentary (fake-documentary) from Belgium, released in 1992. It is a masterpiece. Some people just don't like it, and you wonna know why? It's because they probably don't have the mind to understand what it is about. From what I've seen, I think the film isn't about one particular subject. That's why some people feel cheated. That's how I thought the first time I saw it. But I guess the film is aimed at how all human beings are the same. If they're poor, rich, black, white, young, old, nice, mean, helper, or killer. The main character, Benoît Poelvoorde, is a serial killer. He kills for money, and for pleasure. Basically, all that is done in the film is the crew hangs around Poelvoorde. When you're watching, you'll probably say "This is boring, all we're watching is his everyday life. It's boring." And that is very true. All you're doing is watching what he does in his everyday life, which is boring. Very boring. But at the same time, you find yourself attached to your seat. I don't know why I was, and you probably won't know why you were either. What this film taught me was that there are two sides to every single person. Benoît Poelvoorde was a cold-hearted, $h!+ talking, serial killer, yet at times he seems like your best friend, like you know him so well. And that's what the film is about. No matter how bad a person is, they're still a human. You find so much incommmon and uncommon with eachother. And that's what the film is aimed at. It's about nothing, but there's a purpose and lesson to it. I'm 15, and it's rated NC-17, so I watched this film illegally, but if you're a parent, and your child is used to seeing blood, let them see it, they'll like it just as much as I did. It's not a family movie, but it's a learning movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Knock, Knock¿¿¿.who¿s there?
Review: I notice that the two previous comments were written in the UK, perhaps demonstrating again the lack of following this imaginative film has found in America.

The premise of Man Bites Dog (which the original French translates to I come to YOUR house) is very 90's...film students with little money enlist a serial killer to finance their film. He agrees provided the project be a documentary on his life, and career.

Of course Ben, is not a REAL serial killer in this mocudrama, but he might as well be. And the film within the film style in combination with layers of the blackest of humor and the harsh, stark realities of brutal murder make this film a must for anyone who strays from the mainstream.

The scene where he kills the old lady? A classic.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Dark comedy, very dark.
Review: Man Bites Dog, A very amusing film, The opening struck me as odd because i'd never heard any backstory to it. Benoit (the killer) Looks into the camera and instructs how to weigh down dead bodies. Dead bodies! Then he goes on to children and midgets. Midgets! The comedy sometimes IS tasetless , but that just adds to the freakishness of the mood that this movie sets. Benoit scaring an old woman ( so he wouldnt waste a bullet) to death, genious. I'm not so much into the blood N guts, but i really liked this.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Laugh?
Review: I've seen the uncut version of Man Bites Dog. Could be an age thing, but I didn't laugh. I wanted to vomit. Killing a child, raping and mutilating is funny? Compelling for sure, but be wary of those who think call this humor. And for god's sake, don't watch it with kids!


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