Sleeping Dogs | |
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![]() Film poster | |
Directed by | Roger Donaldson |
Written by | Ian Mune Arthur Baysting |
Produced by | Roger Donaldson Larry Parr |
Starring | Sam Neill Nevan Rowe Ian Mune Ian Watkin Warren Oates |
Cinematography | Michael Seresin |
Edited by | Ian John |
Music by | Mathew Brown David Calder Murray Grindlay |
Production companies | Aardvark Films Broadbank Films |
Distributed by | Satori (United States) |
Release date |
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Running time | 107 minutes |
Country | New Zealand |
Language | English |
Box office | $450,000 (New Zealand)[1] |
Sleeping Dogs is a 1977 New Zealand action thriller film directed by Roger Donaldson, who also produced with Larry Parr. The film is based on the book Smith's Dream by C.K. Stead.[2] The film stars Sam Neill, Clyde Scott, and Warren Oates, it is notable for being the first feature-length 35 mm film produced entirely in New Zealand.[3] The film was a major success critically and commercially, and launched the career of Sam Neill.
A political thriller with action film elements, it follows the lead man alone character "Smith" (Neill) as New Zealand plunges into a police state as a fascist government institutes martial law after industrial disputes flare into violence. Smith gets caught between the special police and a growing resistance movement, and reluctantly becomes involved. Often named one of the best New Zealand films of all time, it is considered a classic and a landmark in the new wave of New Zealand cinema that flourished in the 1970s and 80s.[4][2]