Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.0

DogMan Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 28, 2024

Luc Besson's "DogMan" (2023) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Altitude Film Distribution. The only bonus feature on the release is an original theatrical trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Are dogmen supposed to be the ultimate social outcasts? If you view Luc Besson’s latest film and right after it Matteo Garrone’s film, you will be left with the impression that it is exactly what they are supposed to be in this century. They might have been and probably were completely different characters several decades ago, but in the present, they are supposed to be the ultimate social outcasts that no one wants to know exist and deal with. Excluding, maybe, the worst of the worst that coexist with the rest of us.

But this is where Besson’s film and Garrone’s film head in opposite directions and spend a little less than two hours with two drastically different characters. They both genuinely love dogs. However, their environment is so different that they do not share any of the instincts they rely on to survive while making ends meet and avoiding the worst of the worst.

In Besson’s film, the dogman (Caleb Landry Jones) is a cripple who makes ends meet as a stage performer in a drag club. He makes money while stealing from the wealthy too, but prefers to be on the stage, doing what makes him happy and appreciated by the crowds. How does he do the stealing? He does not do the hard work. His dogs, or babies as he calls them, do the hard work for him. He identifies the wealthy targets, instructs the dogs how to reach their homes, and at the right time orders them to go fetch him some, or all, of their precious jewelry. The dogs never disappoint. They sneak in and then sneak out with the loot, and even when the expensive surveillance cameras document their work, the investigators see and think of them as harmless visitors. In Besson’s film, the dogman is an American, too.

In Garrone’s film, the dogman is a loser living in a lousy suburb where the only people with money are the drug dealers and killers. He is trying to survive without breaking the law, too. He struggles to attract clients to his rundown shop, but even when he is successful, there is hardly enough for him to take care of the place and support himself. On top of this, the area’s biggest bully, who has an expensive drug habit, has figured out that shaking down the dogman is as easy as snorting a line of coke. In Garone’s film, the dogman is an Italian from a large Italian city.

The two films have completely different narrative structures as well. Besson’s film goes back in time after its dogman runs out of luck and is arrested. The dogman’s story is then reconstructed through flashbacks in an interview with a visibly amused psychiatrist (Jojo T. Gibbs), who fails to predict that the dogs can enter the police station where he is kept as easily as they would the targets they have robbed for him. (Imagine that). Garrone’s film operates in the present, where its dogman gradually begins to realize that he is going to have to confront the bully if he is to stay alive.

But none of these discrepancies are what make the two films very, very different. Besson’s film wants to be a messenger first and then everything else, while Garrone’s film immediately goes to work to tell an engrossing story.

In Besson’s film, there are carefully scripted messages about acceptance, tolerance, politics, and religion, all of which flood its narrative with seemingly endless overused cliches. Unsurprisingly, after fifteen minutes with the dogman, the flashbacks begin to look like elaborate commercials preaching the truth. Garrone’s film is firmly grounded in reality, which is not pretty, and the dogman’s ordeals are fascinating to behold. (For reference, the dogman and many of the characters around him easily could have emerged from the outstanding TV series Gomorrah: Season).

Eric Serra, who scored Besson’s greatest films, including The Big Blue, is unable to help make any of the visuals more appealing.

DogMan Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.38:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, DogMan arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Altitude Film Distribution.

The entire film looked spectacular on my system. Delineation, clarity, sharpness, and depth were equally impressive during the daylight, indoor, and nighttime footage. Fluidity was exceptional as well. In fact, quite often, I felt as if I was viewing native 4K content. Colors reproduction is just as pleasing. Saturation levels, balance, and stability were outstanding. Highlights are wonderfully managed too, though all of this, from color saturation to balance and stability, is hardly surprising considering when and especially how the film was shot. I did not encounter any troubling encoding anomalies to report in our review. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

DogMan Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed the entire film with the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and did not test the LPCM 2.0 track. I do not know if the film has an all-digital soundtrack, but the 5.1 track is as nicely balanced and potent as I would expect that kind of modern soundtrack to be. Some of the action footage in the film, while not very impressive, sounds absolutely incredible. The dialog is always very crisp, clear, and very, very easy to follow.

DogMan Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - an original trailer for DogMan. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

DogMan Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Luc Besson's DogMan quickly becomes lost in a massive hurricane of cliches and carefully scripted preaching, making it almost impossible to believe that several decades ago he directed such terrific films as Subway, The Big Blue, and La Femme Nikita. If you want to see a fantastic film about a dogman, pick up Matteo Garrone's masterpiece, which has been out for a few years now. For what it's worth, it was one of my favorite international films in 2018.