IF YOU GO

What: ‘Straw Dogs’ (1971) screening

Where: Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium, Newhouse III

When: Today (1971 version), 7:30 p.m.

How much: Free

In the infamous rape scene in Sam Peckinpah’s ‘Straw Dogs’ (1971), the woman under attack, Amy Sumner (Susan George), does something unexpected.

As she is being raped, she smiles.

Most filmmakers would cringe at the prospect of remaking one of the most controversial films ever created, but director Rod Lurie didn’t shy away from its intimidating reputation.

Lurie will show that boldness when he presents the original ‘Straw Dogs’ today in Syracuse University’s Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium at 7:30 p.m., and his remake on Friday, Sept. 24 at the same time. Newhouse adjunct professor Doug Brode will host a Q-and-A session with Lurie after both screenings. 

Though the setting of Lurie’s ‘Straw Dogs’ is different and a few characters’ backgrounds have been altered, the storyline is similar to the original. Seeking a break from life in Los Angeles, David and Amy Sumner (James Marsden and Kate Bosworth) travel to Amy’s hometown of Blackwater, Miss., so David, a screenwriter, can work in peace. They become embroiled in a horrific storm of violence after being antagonized by the locals, and David’s protective nature urges him to fight back so he and Amy may have a shot at escaping.

When comparing the two versions, Brode cites Lurie’s reversal of Peckinpah’s misogynist ideals as the key difference between the films. 

‘Rod hasn’t just remade Peckinpah’s film, but rethought it,’ Brode said. ‘The challenge was to make a film that subverts everything that the original had to say about women and men in relationships. That is a brilliant concept, and Rod has managed to, against all odds, pull it off.’

Brode suggests students view both films to appreciate the contrast between the filmmakers’ different approaches to the same story. 

‘Students should expect to see the most brutal rape scene in movie history, and how one filmmaker, Peckinpah, can portray a rape in order to forward his misogynist vision,’ Brode said. ‘While another can portray that rape sequence from the woman’s perspective, thereby transforming the piece into a feminist vision.’

This will not be the first time Lurie has shown his work at SU. Two years ago, Lurie showed his last film, ‘Nothing But the Truth,’ at Newhouse, another screening Brode hosted. Last year, Lurie came to Newhouse to show clips from ‘Straw Dogs,’ which is set to release in 2011.

An acclaimed writer and director, Lurie was a film critic and radio talk show host before becoming a filmmaker. In his second feature, ‘The Contender’ (2000), Lurie directed Joan Allen and Jeff Bridges to Academy Award nominations.

Roxane West, an undeclared sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, is interested in seeing Lurie’s take on the original’s notorious portrayal of rape, which has been scrutinized consistently in the 39 years since its release. 

‘I think it would be interesting to see how Rod Lurie handles the infamous rape scene,’ West said. ‘Not that I’m looking forward to watching that, but it’s a very tricky territory that the original director maybe didn’t handle as well as he potentially could have.’

Other students find the harsh nature of ‘Straw Dogs’ alluring.

‘I’m interested to see Lurie’s take on the more violent aspects of ‘Straw Dogs,” said Shea Garner, a sophomore communications and rhetorical studies and English and textual studies major. ‘Peckinpah was kind of always criticized for his treatment of women in some of his films, especially ‘Straw Dogs,’ so I’m interested to see what Lurie does with that.’

smlittma@syr.edu

Published on September 22, 2010 at 12:00 pm