Last of the Dogmen (1995)

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Unseen, under-appreciated, and a Movie that defies explanation as to why it works so well because it shouldn't. It is a Fantasy/Western. How many of those have you seen? It takes a Twilight Zone type story and infuses it on a Modern Day Western Movie template and asks you to believe all this. You most likely will with gleeful abandon.Because it is so charming and produced so well that it all comes together with an ease of confidence that is enticing and wonderful. The scenery is beautiful, the Characters are likable, it moves along with twists and turns and it is like a Classic Children's Story that can be enjoyed by Adults as well.This is Family entertainment at its best. Never Corny, just thoughtful and it is an experience to behold. The Romance is playful, the Action is tough but not in a showy kind of Modern way. This is really a Fairy Tale. An adventure to one of those Lost Horizons of displaced people in a hidden land. Everything seems (sur)real here as two Cultures clash and just like in the Storybooks, everyone lives Happily Ever After......The End.

This is a very poorly acted film with a very thin script, Tom Beringer looked as if he was distracted and disinterested in showing any acting ability. He used to be such a fine actor. It is sad to see him like this. Maybe he was just burnt out.I am a bit surprised so many people loved this forgettable film. John Wayne is not much of actor and people love him. Even John Wayne's movies look like masterpieces compared to this rubbish. It is a commonly held view that Americans have been systematically dumbed down over the past few decades. I never imagined until now jut how dumb they've become. Don't get me wrong the US is the best country in the world when it comes to mediocrity. Great American films haven't been made for so long that rubbish like this has risen in popularity. How sad.

After seeing this movie, I keep saying to myself, "You've got to be kidding." Billed as adult fare, this film turns out to have a juvenile level writing and a Disneyesque finish. It was the first feature film written by Tab Murphy, who went on to write Disney films. Despite reasonably decent directing (Murphy was also the director), someone failed to tell him that this was not a Disney cartoon movie. Terrific acting by the entire cast could not save a script that was marginal at best throughout -- and downright unbelievable toward the end. The movie starts with the sheriff needing our hero Gates to track three escaped convicts because the sheriff couldn't do it, despite his radios, off-road vehicles and helicopters. It's bad enough that Gates displays no tracking ability while chasing the convicts; his dog does all the detective work. Worse yet, when the sheriff decides to form a posse and chase Gates into the wilderness (presumably because Gates stole some penicillin form a drug store), he tracks Gates precisely and directly to the gates of an idyllic Cheyenne community that went without detection for 150 years. My wife is Native American and found the idyllic portrayal of Cheyenne life to be no more realistic than the cartoon Pocahontas. And then, after finding his prey (Gates), the sheriff makes an irrational and unwarranted decision to go even deeper into the wilderness, thereby providing an unexplained villain who now threatens the ancient Native American community, even when Murphy failed to include the sheriff on the community's existence in the first place. It all made for a sappy, hyped and juvenile story line lacking any credibility at the end. Mr. Murphy, please stay with the Disney cartoons and not feature films intended for adults.

I am a 42 years old male who's first VHS movie purchase was Terminator back in 1984. That should tell you what kind of movies I like, so when I tell you that my eyes watered up at least four times during this film please don't think of me as wimpy.When the teaser ran for this on TNT during a commercial break, I had no intention of watching it, and had intended to turn he channel. However, as I held the remote in my hand, fumbling to find the scan button, I noticed Mario Kassar in the opening credits and Carolco Films, (both instrumental in producing the first Terminator film).I am also a Tom Berringer fan as well so what the heck...I figured I would give it a chance. Five minutes into the film, I was so happy I did.I've read a lot of the other comments here, and a few have made some unfavorable remarks about Wilford Brimley's narration. I on the other hand, think that had it not been for Wilford, I may not have stayed interested. What many people don't realize about film is that if there is a lot of "back story", a narrator is typically necessary to fill in the gaps, and tie up loose ends to certain scenes.Hence, I had no qualms about Wilford's addition to the film. The only problem I did have, is at the end, he refers to himself in the first person as if he was somehow part of the story, yet it was never revealed which character he was, (a good guess would be he was the lead Deputy).As for the film itself, I found the entire cast to be believable, interesting, and lovable. As stated earlier, I was holding back tears throughout the film. By the end I was almost ready to start balling. Everything adds up. There are no loose ends, or mysterious "contrived" solutions.For example, in the first scene, a town's person tells Tom's character that his brother went into the woods years ago and never came back. So later when, Tom stumbles upon a stockpile of personal items and I.d.'s and some (Lumberjack) dynamite, of persons lost or abducted over the years by the lost tribe (in an effort to protect their way of life) there is nothing phony about it when Tom uses the dynamite to collapse a cave leading to the hidden valley where the Indian's live. It all makes for a great ending that doesn't make you go.."Yeah, right....sure" with a frown on your face. You instead cheer and weep for joy.I have not come across such a touching "Western" since Duvall and Costner's "Open Range". I also had a reminiscent thoughts of "Last of the Mohican's (Daniel Day Lewis) while watching this film, up until the point when I realize that this lost Indian tribe was more civilized than the law enforcement agency of the local town.I think the core reason this film such a great piece of art, is the irony. In the beginning, the film set me up to think there was something in the woods, almost supernatural. I was expecting to see ghosts, and Indiana Jones like spirits chasing Tom through the woods. But none of that ever happened.Once I learned that this film had something to do with Native Indians, the discovery of the Indians went from being understandably and realistically tense, to making me recall real life history of the native Indian, such as Little Bighorn, to sitting on the edge of my seat wondering if the film will end with another modern day massacre, or if everyone will come out of this alive.The growth of all the characters involved, even the dog "Zip", is astonishing, and something to admire as well. I am not kidding, even the dog had enough sense to know when he had it good. Befriending a little girl and having someone to play with, as opposed to waking up in a bar with Tom drunk out of his skull, was something cute to watch.I've babbled enough. Bottom line is...go rent or buy this flick today!