Man Bites Dog (film)
| Man Bites Dog | |
|---|---|
Criterion Collection DVD cover
|
|
| Directed by |
Rémy Belvaux André Bonzel Benoît Poelvoorde |
| Produced by | Rémy Belvaux André Bonzel Benoît Poelvoorde |
| Screenplay by | Rémy Belvaux André Bonzel Benoît Poelvoorde Vincent Tavier |
| Story by | Rémy Belvaux |
| Starring |
|
| Music by | Jean-Marc Chenut Laurence Dufrene Philippe Malempré |
| Cinematography | André Bonzel |
| Edited by | Rémy Belvaux Eric Dardill |
|
Production
company |
Les Artistes Anonymes
|
| Distributed by | Acteurs Auteurs Associés (AAA) (France) Roxie Releasing (US) Metro Tartan Films (UK) |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
95 minutes 92 minutes(Edited cut) |
| Country | Belgium |
| Language | French |
| Budget | BEF1 million (USD$33,000) |
| Box office | USD$205,569 |
Man Bites Dog (French: C'est arrivé près de chez vous, It Happened in Your Neighborhood) is a 1992 Belgian black comedy crime mockumentary written, produced and directed by Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel and Benoît Poelvoorde, who are also the film's co-editor, cinematographer and lead actor respectively.
The film follows a crew of filmmakers following a serial killer, recording his horrific crimes for a documentary they are producing. At first dispassionate observers, they find themselves caught up in the increasingly chaotic and nihilistic violence. The film received the André Cavens Award for Best Film by the Belgian Film Critics Association (UCC). Since its release, the picture has become a cult film, and received a rare NC-17 rating for its release in the U.S.
Ben is a witty, charismatic serial killer who holds forth at length about whatever comes to mind, be it the "craft" of murder, the failings of architecture, his own poetry, or classical music, which he plays with his girlfriend. A film crew joins him on his sadistic adventures, recording them for a fly on the wall documentary. Ben takes them to meet his family and friends while boasting of murdering many people at random and dumping their bodies in canals and quarries. The viewer witnesses these grisly killings in graphic detail.
Ben ventures into apartment buildings, explaining how it is more cost-effective to attack old people than young couples because the former have more cash at home and are easier to kill. In a following scene, he screams wildly at an elderly lady, causing her to have a heart attack. As she lies dying, he casually remarks that this method saved him a bullet. Ben continues his candid explanations and appalling rampage, shooting, strangling, and beating to death anyone who comes his way: women (he is profoundly misogynistic), immigrants (he is a racist xenophobe), and postmen (his favorite targets).
...
Wikipedia