1001 Movies Club - Man Bites Dog (1992)

 #855. Man Bites Dog (1992)

Why It's In The Book: "Man Bites Dog is probably the most controversial film in the history of Belgian cinema. It rose to instant fame after critics all over the world denounced its portrayal of on-screen violence... Ben's running commentary... invests Man Bites Dog with a surprisingly humorous tone... Then the laughter stops. Man Bites Dog... [becomes] instead a bleak criticism of our desire to watch everyday life tilt out of balance... it forces us to rethink our earlier pleasures, and changes the status of the narrative... the idea of the film stemmed from a Belgian tabloid journalism TV series, one which blew small stories out of proportion and intruded on people's private lives. This underlying concept helped guarantee the film's success, and secured its status as an all-time cult favorite." -1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

Member Ratings

Klaus Ming - 10/10
"Although Man Bites Dog is at times undeniably disturbing, it appropriately questions the value of the coverage of our entertainment-style 24 hour news media as they sell the minutiae of these kinds of events for advertising dollars."
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CMrok93 - 9/10
"Man Bites Dog may have its problems with the motives of its main killer, but it is so brilliantly acted, directed, and written, that almost everything you see in this film, no matter how disturbing, all seems so real."
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Adolytsi - 8/10
"Few things in this world are as black and white as taking someone’s life, and Man Bites Dog makes the argument that media and its audience hop between the two colors so quickly that it ends up creating a blur of gray, a color we are much more apt to agree with about ourselves, but maybe not quite for the right reasons."
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Chip Lary - 8/10
"Man Bites Dog is an ultraviolent, seriously twisted, dark dark satire on 'reality' programming. I was saying to myself, 'I shouldn't be laughing at this.' It’s a movie that is certainly not for the faint of heart."
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Movie Guy Steve - 7/10
"It’s a guilty feeling to laugh at parts of this film, and yet it also feels like the most real and natural reaction."
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Whitney - 6/10
"Man Bites Dog attempts to shock you rather than implicate you in the violence you are watching. It seems like more of a 'shame on you' to filmmakers while leaving the audience somewhat innocent. That doesn't seem fair to me."
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Floating Red Couch - 5/10
"Man Bites Dog looks like a student snuff film made by guys that could easily have been at Jackie Treehorn's beach party."
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This Guy Over Here - 5/10
"Man Bites Dog is a film that many haven’t seen or even heard of, and probably for good reason. It’s interesting, but not wholly important as there are films out there that succeed far more in its commentary on media."
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alfindeol - 4/10
"A serial killer movie that saves room for gratuitous chubby broad nudity."
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Overall Rating: 6.6/10