A Boy and His Dog is a 1975 post-apocalyptic science fiction film directed by L. Q. Jones and based on the Harlan Ellison short story of the same title, which originally appeared in 1969. A revised and expanded version was printed in Ellison's 1976 story collection The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World. There is also a graphic novel on the story titled Vic and Blood. The film version was a direct inspiration for Mad Max. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (494x755, 57 KB)Source: http://www. ... L.Q. Jones (born August 19, 1927 in Beaumont, Texas) is an American character actor and film director, best-known for his work in the films of Sam Peckinpah. ... Alvy Moore (December 5, 1921–May 4, 1997), born Jack Alvin Moore in Vincennes, Indiana, was an American light comic actor best known for his role as scatterbrained county agricultural agent Hank Kimball on the television series Green Acres. ... Harlan Jay Ellison (born May 27, 1934) is a prolific American writer of short stories, novellas, essays, and criticism. ... Donald Wayne Don Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor well known for his film and television appearances. ... Tiger was a mixed-breed dog performer owned by Lou Scumacher and trained by Joe Hornok. ... Born Charles Butters in Ohio May 10, 1914, square-jawed Charles McGraw grew up to become an actor and eventually made his first movie in 1942. ... Robards as Cheyenne in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) Jason Nelson Robards Jr. ... Tim McIntire (July 19, 1944 – April 15, 1986) was an American character actor, probably most famous for his portrayal of disc jockey Alan Freed in the film American Hot Wax (1978). ... // January 28 - George Lucas creates the second draft of what would eventually become Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... // January 28 - George Lucas creates the second draft of what would eventually become Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. ... It has been suggested that Post-holocaust be merged into this article or section. ... Poster for 2001: A Space Odyssey, an archetypal science fiction film Science fiction film is a film genre that uses speculative, science-based depictions of imaginary phenomena such as extra-terrestrial lifeforms, alien worlds, and time travel, often along with technological elements such as futuristic spacecraft, robots, or other technologies. ... L.Q. Jones (born August 19, 1927 in Beaumont, Texas) is an American character actor and film director, best-known for his work in the films of Sam Peckinpah. ... Harlan Jay Ellison (born May 27, 1934) is a prolific American writer of short stories, novellas, essays, and criticism. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... Mad Max is an Australian apocalyptic science fiction film starring Mel Gibson which was first released in Australia in 1979, and internationally in 1980. ...

Plot

This is a post-apocalyptic tale in which the earth's surface is devastated by nuclear war, and the few survivors who stayed above ground must forage and fight for food, ammo, and women. Of these necessities, women are the rarest finds; as explained in the movie, most survivors are male because while the males were off fighting the war, their leaders bombed their enemies' cities and destroyed their homes. Nuclear War is a card game designed by Douglas Malewicki, and originally published in 1966. ...

The main character, Vic, played by Don Johnson in a notable early role, is an 18-year-old boy focused on stealing food and fulfilling his sexual needs. He is accompanied by a well-read and wise-cracking telepathic dog named Blood, played by the dog Tiger, an "experienced female provider." Donald Wayne Don Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor well known for his film and television appearances. ... // Telepathy (from the Greek τηλε, tele, distant; and πάθεια, patheia, feeling) is the communication of information from one mind to another by means other than the known perceptual senses. ... Tiger was a mixed-breed dog performer owned by Lou Scumacher and trained by Joe Hornok. ...

In addition to locating women for Vic to rape, Blood also has the unenviable task of trying to educate Vic and keep him safe from harm. Blood is the result of human genetic experimentation, which resulted in an intelligent canine mutation with telepathic abilities. However, the only human Blood can communicate with is Vic, whom Blood refers to as "Albert" as a sort of "term of endearment" ("Albert" being a reference to Albert Einstein, whose intelligence Blood sees as a far cry from what Vic tends to demonstrate without and despite Blood's guidance). Blood's opinion of the human race is not generally a positive one. As Blood notes, with characteristic form, "human sex is an ugly thing." Einstein redirects here. ...

Most of civilization has gone into the "downunder" (a subsurface setting). One underground city, "Topeka," fashioned in a disturbing mockery of 1950s rural innocence and brave-new-worldian madness, solves its need for exogamous reproduction by forcibly extracting fluids from sperm donors. But the city is running low on viable donors. The 1950s was the decade spanning from the 1st of January, 1950 to the 31st December, 1959. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ...

Quilla June (played by Susanne Benton), the daughter of one of Topeka's committee leaders, is sent to the surface to bait Vic into "service." Vic takes leave of his lifelong friend Blood and pursues the young lady into the downunder. He soon learns the harsh reality of the authoritarian committee and of its need for his semen. Horse semen being collected for breeding purposes. ...

Quilla June, along with a few other rebellious teenagers, have other plans for Vic. They free him from captivity and beg him to kill the committee members and their android enforcer Michael, thus leaving Quilla June in power. Vic, however, has interest in neither politics nor in remaining underground. The rebellious teenagers are all sentenced to death (referred to by the committee as "going to the farm"). Quilla June and Vic manage to disable the pursuing Michael and then escape to the surface. The android Data, portrayed by Brent Spiner, from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation An android is a robot made to resemble a human, usually both in appearance and behavior. ...

Above ground, they find that Blood is near death. Vic faces a difficult situation, and in a surprise ending, sacrifices his new love (by cooking and eating her) to save Blood. Both the movie and the short story end here.

Criticism

On the film's DVD audio commentary, L.Q. Jones states that Harlan Ellison was generally pleased with the movie, with the exception of the final line of dialogue. Ellison criticized the film's "moronic, hateful chauvinist last line, which I despise." ^[1] DVD (sometimes called Digital Versatile Disc, or Digital Video Disc) is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for data storage, including movies with high video and sound quality. ...

The final line, the one that so angered Ellison, has Vic choosing between saving the life of his faithful guide or running off with Quilla June. A shot of cooking meat followed by the line from Blood, "Well, I'd say she certainly had marvellous judgement, Albert, if not particularly good taste", ends the movie.

The movie and short story are widely attacked for being misogynistic. Ellison has been quoted as saying he did not intend it this way. He has argued that the character of Quilla June was much more sympathetic in the original story than in the movie. Misogyny () is hatred or strong prejudice against women. ...

Graphic Novel

Ellison has also been heavily criticized by fans of Vic and Blood for killing off Vic in a sequel Graphic Novel. The reasons given by Ellison for this abrupt ending have differed over the years. One reason given relates to his anger over the L.Q. Jones ending of the film, as detailed above. The other is, according to Ellison, essentially a desire to stop his fans from requesting more stories about the two characters. Ellison claimed at the time of the film's release that he had said all he wanted to say about Vic and Blood, and that there would be no more sequels. Either way, the Graphic Novel appears to have resolved the story of Vic and Blood in such a way that further adventures are highly unlikely.

The graphic novel, written by Ellison, ends the story of Vic and Blood. After a retelling of the first story, the final chapter deals with the events immediately afterward. Although Blood is now back on his feet, the pair's situation deteriorates as Vic begins having guilt-ridden hallucinations as a result of an awakening of conscience following the death of Quilla June. Due to his preoccupation, Vic stumbles into a near-fatal encounter with a roving gang, resulting in Vic getting separated from Blood once again. After the two reunite, Blood finds Vic in a hopeless, almost catatonic state. Despite Blood's appeals and attempts to reawaken Vic's sanity, Vic allows himself to be captured by a giant, mutated spider. Cocooned, poisoned by venom, and beyond any hope of saving, Vic accepts his fate as Blood is left to fend for himself.

Sequel

On the film's DVD audio commentary, L.Q. Jones states that he had started to write a script sequel to the film that would have picked up right where the first film ended and featured a female warrior named Spike. Jones and Ellison collaborated on this short-lived effort. Ellison, however, has denied that development went beyond a short "what if?" conversation, and that any efforts were solely that of Jones. DVD (sometimes called Digital Versatile Disc, or Digital Video Disc) is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for data storage, including movies with high video and sound quality. ...

References

1. ^ Ellison, Harlan. Ellison Webderland Bulletin Board Archives (HTM). Retrieved on 2006-09-04.

2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 4 is the 247th day of the year (248th in leap years). ...

External links

• A Boy and His Dog at the Internet Movie Database
• A Boy and His Dog at All Movie Guide
• A Boy and His Dog at Rotten Tomatoes
• A Boy and his Dog at Badmovies.org
• An Underground Bunker Full of Delights
• Interview: L.Q. Jones (Director, A Boy and His Dog)