The Dogs of War (film)
Encyclopedia
The Dogs of War is a 1980 war film
based upon the novel The Dogs of War by Frederick Forsyth
, directed by John Irvin
. It stars Christopher Walken
and Tom Berenger
as part of a small, international unit of mercenary
soldiers privately hired to depose President Kimba of a fictional "Republic of Zangaro", in Africa
, so that a British tycoon can gain mining access to a huge platinum
deposit. This movie was filmed on location in Belize
.
The Dogs of War title is a phrase from William Shakespeare
's play Julius Caesar
(1599), which uses the line "Cry, 'Havoc!', and let slip the dogs of war" (line 270, scene 1, Act III).
Shannon arrives in Zangaro's capital of Clarencetown and meets a British documentary filmmaker named North who tells him Zangaro's history and scouts out the defences of the military garrison. However his activities arouse the suspicions of Zangaro's police and he is arrested, severely beaten and thrown in jail. His multiple wounds are treated by Dr. Okoye a physician who was formerly a moderate political leader and the only local politician of whom North approved but who was imprisoned by General Kimba four years ago. North agitates for his release and Shannon is deported after two days of torture. His physician tells him that all the damage he has sustained has taken years off his lifespan.
After Shannon tells Endean that there is no chance of an internal coup Endean offers Shannon $100,000 to overthrow Kimba by invading Zangaro with a mercenary army. Endean intends to install a puppet government led by Colonel Bobi, Kimba's brutal and greedy former ally. This would allow Endean to exploit the country's newly-discovered platinum resources as Colonel Bobi has already signed away the mineral rights. Shannon refuses the offer and decides to leave his mercenary life behind. He meets his estranged wife and proposes that they start a new life in Colorado
or Montana
. She turns him down noting that she does not think that he has changed. Shannon then accepts Endean's offer to organize an attack on Zangaro with the condition that he will have complete control of the operation.
After Endean gives Shannon $1 million for expenses Shannon contacts his mercenary cohorts from Central America and three of them join him but one does not. They meet up at Liverpool Street Station
to plan the coup and when all the options have been decided Michel proposes a toast followed by Shannon's reciting his motto "Everyone Comes Home". The group illegally procures Uzi submachine guns, ammunition, rocket launchers
, mines and other weapons from arms dealers.
He hires a small freighter and crew to transport the team to the coast of Zangaro and purchases a variety of other equipment that will be used in the attack such as Zodiac-style motorboats
. By chance he encounters North who was expelled from Zangaro shortly after Shannon. North believes Shannon is a CIA agent heading back to Zangaro and tries to tail him. Shannon asks Drew to scare North away without hurting him but instead North is killed by someone who had been hired by Endean to follow Shannon and his crew. A furious Shannon kills him in turn and leaves his body at Endean's house during a dinner party held for Colonel Bobi.
At sea the team is joined by a group of black mercenary soldiers trained by a former mercenary colleague, Jinja, who will act as infantry
. Once ashore in Zangaro the mercenaries attack the military garrison where Kimba lives with their entire array of weapons. Drew enters a shack in the barrack's courtyard and is killed by a seemingly-helpless young woman who shoots him in the back with a pistol. After the mercenaries storm the burning bullet-pocked ruins of the garrison, Shannon makes his way inside Kimba's mansion where he kills many of the occupants including Kimba, who offers Shannon money for his life.
Endean then arrives in a helicopter
with Colonel Bobi and they enter the presidential residence where they find Shannon and Dr. Okoye. Shannon introduces Dr. Okoye as Zangaro's new president. Endean and Bobi protest, but Shannon kills Bobi, at which point Endean stops complaining. Shannon, Derek and Michel load the body of Drew onto a Landrover and leave. The story ends with the mercenaries driving through the deserted streets of Clarencetown.
, Belize
, and the surrounding area. The manually-turned swinging bridge described in the end plot, is one of the largest of its kind in the world. The film features several weapons that were prominent in popular culture during the 1980s. The Uzi submachine guns used in the movie (changed from the German Second World War vintage MP 40s of the novel) were actually a mix of real Uzis and set-dressed Ingram MAC-10s
. Shannon's grenade launcher, depicted in the promotional poster, dubbed the "XM-18" in the film, is a Manville gun
a design later used by the MM-1 grenade launcher
.
This was only the second international feature for director John Irvin
, who previously worked as documentary maker during the Vietnam War
. He would go on to direct stars such as Arnold Schwarzenegger (Raw Deal
), Don Cheadle (Hamburger Hill
) and Michael Caine (Shiner
).
Cinematographer Jack Cardiff
had previously directed an account of mercenaries in Africa entitled Dark of the Sun
. Composer Geoffrey Burgon
concludes the film with A. E. Housman
's Epitaph for an Army of Mercenaries sung over the end titles by Gillian McPherson.
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
based upon the novel The Dogs of War by Frederick Forsyth
Frederick Forsyth
Frederick Forsyth, CBE is an English author and occasional political commentator. He is best known for thrillers such as The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File, The Fourth Protocol, The Dogs of War, The Devil's Alternative, The Fist of God, Icon, The Veteran, Avenger, The Afghan and The Cobra.-...
, directed by John Irvin
John Irvin
John Irvin is an English film director. Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, he began his career by directing a number of documentaries and television works, including the BBC adaptation of John le Carré's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy...
. It stars Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken is an American stage and screen actor. He has appeared in more than 100 movies and television shows, including Joe Dirt, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, The Prophecy trilogy, The Dogs of War, Sleepy Hollow, Brainstorm, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, At Close Range, King of New...
and Tom Berenger
Tom Berenger
Tom Berenger is an American actor known mainly for his roles in action films.-Early life:Berenger was born as Thomas Michael Moore in Chicago to an Irish Catholic family. Berenger's father was a printer for the Chicago Sun-Times. Berenger has a sister, Susan...
as part of a small, international unit of mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
soldiers privately hired to depose President Kimba of a fictional "Republic of Zangaro", in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, so that a British tycoon can gain mining access to a huge platinum
Platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pt and an atomic number of 78. Its name is derived from the Spanish term platina del Pinto, which is literally translated into "little silver of the Pinto River." It is a dense, malleable, ductile, precious, gray-white transition metal...
deposit. This movie was filmed on location in Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
.
The Dogs of War title is a phrase from William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's play Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar (play)
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, also known simply as Julius Caesar, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599. It portrays the 44 BC conspiracy against...
(1599), which uses the line "Cry, 'Havoc!', and let slip the dogs of war" (line 270, scene 1, Act III).
Plot
As the film opens, mercenaries Jamie Shannon, Drew, Derek, Michel, Terry and Richard making a hasty exit from a war-torn Central American country by forcing their way onto a government civilian DC-3 airplane. When a Central American officer demands Richard's body to be removed to make room for others one of the mercenaries shows he is still able to safely grasp the spoon of a hand grenade and Drew insists his friend "goes home". After Shannon returns home he gets an offer from a Briton named Endean who is interested in "certain resources" of a small African nation named Zangaro. Endean pays Shannon $15,000 to go on a reconnaissance mission in Zangaro which is run by a paranoid and brutal dictator named General Kimba.Shannon arrives in Zangaro's capital of Clarencetown and meets a British documentary filmmaker named North who tells him Zangaro's history and scouts out the defences of the military garrison. However his activities arouse the suspicions of Zangaro's police and he is arrested, severely beaten and thrown in jail. His multiple wounds are treated by Dr. Okoye a physician who was formerly a moderate political leader and the only local politician of whom North approved but who was imprisoned by General Kimba four years ago. North agitates for his release and Shannon is deported after two days of torture. His physician tells him that all the damage he has sustained has taken years off his lifespan.
After Shannon tells Endean that there is no chance of an internal coup Endean offers Shannon $100,000 to overthrow Kimba by invading Zangaro with a mercenary army. Endean intends to install a puppet government led by Colonel Bobi, Kimba's brutal and greedy former ally. This would allow Endean to exploit the country's newly-discovered platinum resources as Colonel Bobi has already signed away the mineral rights. Shannon refuses the offer and decides to leave his mercenary life behind. He meets his estranged wife and proposes that they start a new life in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
or Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
. She turns him down noting that she does not think that he has changed. Shannon then accepts Endean's offer to organize an attack on Zangaro with the condition that he will have complete control of the operation.
After Endean gives Shannon $1 million for expenses Shannon contacts his mercenary cohorts from Central America and three of them join him but one does not. They meet up at Liverpool Street Station
Liverpool Street station
Liverpool Street railway station, also known as London Liverpool Street or simply Liverpool Street, is both a central London railway terminus and a connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, England...
to plan the coup and when all the options have been decided Michel proposes a toast followed by Shannon's reciting his motto "Everyone Comes Home". The group illegally procures Uzi submachine guns, ammunition, rocket launchers
M72 LAW
The M72 LAW is a portable one-shot 66 mm unguided anti-tank weapon, designed in the United States by Paul V. Choate, Charles B. Weeks, and Frank A. Spinale et al...
, mines and other weapons from arms dealers.
He hires a small freighter and crew to transport the team to the coast of Zangaro and purchases a variety of other equipment that will be used in the attack such as Zodiac-style motorboats
Zodiac Group
Zodiac, which became Zodiac Aerospace in 2007, is a French corporation, specialized in the production and development of on-board systems, safety systems and cabin interiors...
. By chance he encounters North who was expelled from Zangaro shortly after Shannon. North believes Shannon is a CIA agent heading back to Zangaro and tries to tail him. Shannon asks Drew to scare North away without hurting him but instead North is killed by someone who had been hired by Endean to follow Shannon and his crew. A furious Shannon kills him in turn and leaves his body at Endean's house during a dinner party held for Colonel Bobi.
At sea the team is joined by a group of black mercenary soldiers trained by a former mercenary colleague, Jinja, who will act as infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
. Once ashore in Zangaro the mercenaries attack the military garrison where Kimba lives with their entire array of weapons. Drew enters a shack in the barrack's courtyard and is killed by a seemingly-helpless young woman who shoots him in the back with a pistol. After the mercenaries storm the burning bullet-pocked ruins of the garrison, Shannon makes his way inside Kimba's mansion where he kills many of the occupants including Kimba, who offers Shannon money for his life.
Endean then arrives in a helicopter
Aérospatiale Gazelle
The Aérospatiale Gazelle is a five-seat light helicopter, powered by a single turbine engine. It was designed and manufactured in France by Sud Aviation . It was also manufactured under licence by Westland Aircraft in the United Kingdom , by SOKO in Yugoslavia and ABHCO in Egypt...
with Colonel Bobi and they enter the presidential residence where they find Shannon and Dr. Okoye. Shannon introduces Dr. Okoye as Zangaro's new president. Endean and Bobi protest, but Shannon kills Bobi, at which point Endean stops complaining. Shannon, Derek and Michel load the body of Drew onto a Landrover and leave. The story ends with the mercenaries driving through the deserted streets of Clarencetown.
Cast
- Christopher WalkenChristopher WalkenChristopher Walken is an American stage and screen actor. He has appeared in more than 100 movies and television shows, including Joe Dirt, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, The Prophecy trilogy, The Dogs of War, Sleepy Hollow, Brainstorm, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, At Close Range, King of New...
as Jamie Shannon - Tom BerengerTom BerengerTom Berenger is an American actor known mainly for his roles in action films.-Early life:Berenger was born as Thomas Michael Moore in Chicago to an Irish Catholic family. Berenger's father was a printer for the Chicago Sun-Times. Berenger has a sister, Susan...
as Drew Blakeley - Colin BlakelyColin BlakelyColin George Blakely was a Northern Irish character actor. He was considered an actor of great range.-Early life:...
as Alan North - Hugh MillaisHugh MillaisHugh Geoffroy Millais was a British author and actor known for his film collaborations with director Robert Altman.-Early years:...
as Roy Endean - Paul Freeman as Derek Godwin
- Jean-Francois SteveninJean-François StéveninJean-François Stévenin is a French actor. He has appeared in 150 films and television shows since 1968. He starred in the film Cold Moon, which was entered into the 1991 Cannes Film Festival.-Selected filmography:* Out 1...
as Michel Claude - JoBeth WilliamsJoBeth WilliamsJoBeth Williams is an American film and television actress and director, and current President of the Screen Actors Guild Foundation.-Early life:...
as Jessie Shannon - Robert UrquhartRobert Urquhart (actor)Robert Urquhart was a Scottish character actor who mainly worked in British television during his career.He was born in Ullapool, Scotland on 16 October 1921, educated at George Heriot's School in Edinburgh and made his stage debut in 1947...
as Capt. Lockhart
- Winston NtshonaWinston NtshonaWinston Ntshona is a South African playwright and actor.Born in Port Elizabeth, Ntshona worked alongside fellow South African Athol Fugard on several occasions and played a minor role in Richard Attenborough's acclaimed film Gandhi....
as Dr. Okoye - George HarrisGeorge Harris (actor)George William Harris is a British actor of film, stage, television, radio and musical theatre. His notable roles include Kingsley Shacklebolt in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Captain Simon Katanga in Raiders of the Lost Ark and Clive King in popular medical drama Casualty, where he...
as Col. Sekou Bobi - Alan BeckwithAlan BeckwithAlan Beckwith is an American actor born in Tyrone, Pennsylvania on January 2, 1952. Graduated from high school in 1969 & Penn State University in 1972 with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering. Service in the United States Air Force and the United States Marine Corps. A 1972 graduate of Officer...
as The mercenaryMercenaryA mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he... - Eddie TagoeEddie TagoeEddie Tagoe is a Ghanaian actor best known in the U.K. for playing "Presuming Ed" in the 1986 film production of Withnail and I, a role which he resumed in 2000 in a stage production of the same work. Internationally, he may be better recognized for his brief appearance in the movie, Raiders of the...
as Jinja - Ed O'NeillEd O'NeillEdward Phillip "Ed" O'Neill, Jr. is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the main character, Al Bundy, on the Fox Network sitcom Married... with Children, for which he was nominated for two Golden Globes...
as Terry - Harlan Cary Poe as Richard
- Olu JacobsOlu JacobsOludotun Jacobs , is a Nigerian actor. He has starred in several British television series and international films. In 2007 he won the African Movie Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.- Career :...
as Customs Officer
Production
The opening Central American scene was filmed at the Miami Glider Port southwest of Miami, Florida. Later African country scenes were filmed in Belize CityBelize City
Belize City is the largest city in the Central American nation of Belize. Unofficial estimates place the population of Belize City at 70,000 or more. It is located at the mouth of the Belize River on the coast of the Caribbean. The city is the country's principal port and its financial and...
, Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
, and the surrounding area. The manually-turned swinging bridge described in the end plot, is one of the largest of its kind in the world. The film features several weapons that were prominent in popular culture during the 1980s. The Uzi submachine guns used in the movie (changed from the German Second World War vintage MP 40s of the novel) were actually a mix of real Uzis and set-dressed Ingram MAC-10s
MAC-10
The MAC-10 is a highly compact, blowback operated machine pistol developed by Gordon B. Ingram in 1964.-Design:The M-10 was built predominantly from steel stampings...
. Shannon's grenade launcher, depicted in the promotional poster, dubbed the "XM-18" in the film, is a Manville gun
Manville gun
The Manville gun was a stockless, cylinder-fed, semi-automatic gun created by Charles Manville. Manville designed the weapon for 12-gauge, 26.5-mm, and 37-mm shells.-Manville 12-Bore Gun:...
a design later used by the MM-1 grenade launcher
Grenade launcher
A grenade launcher or grenade discharger is a weapon that launches a grenade with more accuracy, higher velocity, and to greater distances than a soldier could throw it by hand....
.
This was only the second international feature for director John Irvin
John Irvin
John Irvin is an English film director. Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, he began his career by directing a number of documentaries and television works, including the BBC adaptation of John le Carré's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy...
, who previously worked as documentary maker during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. He would go on to direct stars such as Arnold Schwarzenegger (Raw Deal
Raw Deal (1986 film)
Raw Deal is 1986 action film directed by John Irvin and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. It is the story of an elderly and embittered high-ranking FBI agent who wants to get revenge against a Mafia organization, and sends a former FBI agent played by Schwarzenegger to destroy the organization from...
), Don Cheadle (Hamburger Hill
Hamburger Hill
Hamburger Hill is a 1987 American war film about the actual assault of the U.S. Army's 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, part of the 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division 'Screaming Eagles', on a well-fortified position, including trenchworks and bunkers, of the North Vietnamese Army on Ap Bia...
) and Michael Caine (Shiner
Shiner (2000 film)
Shiner is a 2000 released film written by Scott Cherry and directed by John Irvin and starred Michael Caine and Martin Landau.The story centers on Billy "Shiner" Simpson, played by Caine, a boxing promoter whose promising son he represents is killed. Simpson suspects a rival played by Landau and...
).
Cinematographer Jack Cardiff
Jack Cardiff
Jack Cardiff, OBE, BSC was a British cinematographer, director and photographer.His career spanned the development of cinema, from silent film, through early experiments in Technicolor to filmmaking in the 21st century...
had previously directed an account of mercenaries in Africa entitled Dark of the Sun
Dark of the Sun
Dark of the Sun is a 1968 adventure-war film starring Rod Taylor, Yvette Mimieux, Jim Brown, and Peter Carsten...
. Composer Geoffrey Burgon
Geoffrey Burgon
Geoffrey Alan Burgon was a British composer notable for his television and film themes.-Life and career:Burgon was born in Hampshire in 1941, and taught himself the trumpet in order to join a jazz band at school...
concludes the film with A. E. Housman
A. E. Housman
Alfred Edward Housman , usually known as A. E. Housman, was an English classical scholar and poet, best known to the general public for his cycle of poems A Shropshire Lad. Lyrical and almost epigrammatic in form, the poems were mostly written before 1900...
's Epitaph for an Army of Mercenaries sung over the end titles by Gillian McPherson.