“The Power of the Dog” is a new film by acclaimed director Jane Campion. The film is sure to be a big Oscars contender.
The film is available on Netflix. Let’s dive into some trivia and facts about the new film.
- The Power of the Dog is a 2021 Western drama film
- It is written and directed by Jane Campion
- The film is based on the 1967 novel of the same name by Thomas Savage
- The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, and Kodi Smit-McPhee
- The film is an international co-production between New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada
- The Power of the Dog had its world premiere at the 78th Venice International Film Festival on September 2, 2021
- In Venice, Campion won the Silver Lion for Best Direction
- The film had a limited theatrical release in Australia and New Zealand on November 11, 2021
- It was released in the United States and the United Kingdom on November 17
- It was released to stream worldwide on Netflix on December 1
- The film received acclaim from critics
- Critics praised Campion’s direction, the score, and performances of the cast
- It was announced in May 2019 that Jane Campion was to write and direct the film with Benedict Cumberbatch and Elisabeth Moss cast to star
- Paul Dano entered negotiations to join the film in September
- He would be confirmed to star the next month
- Kirsten Dunst was cast to replace Moss in her role
- However, by November, Dano also dropped out due to scheduling conflicts with The Batman
- Jesse Plemons was cast to replace him
- In February 2020, Thomasin McKenzie, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Frances Conroy, Keith Carradine, Peter Carroll and Adam Beach were confirmed to be cast in the film
- Filming began in New Zealand on January 10, 2020 in the Maniototo, located in Central Otago, and also took place in the coastal Otago city of Dunedin
- Production on the film was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- Although Cumberbatch, Dunst and Plemons reportedly remained in New Zealand during the country’s lockdown
- After border exemptions were granted for cast and crew, production resumed on June 22, 2020
- The Power of the Dog had its world premiere at the 78th Venice International Film Festival on September 2, 2021, and had Special Presentation screenings at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival and Telluride Film Festival that same month
- By the end of its run, the film screened at film festivals in Charlottesville, London, Middleburg, Mill Valley,Montclair, New York (centerpiece screening), San Diego, San Sebastian, Savannah and Zurich
- The film also played at the 52nd International Film Festival of India in November
- The film began a limited theatrical release in the United States and the United Kingdom on November 17, 2021, prior to streaming on Netflix worldwide on December 1
- The film’s limited release in Australia and New Zealand commenced early on November 11
- With theatrical distribution in both countries handled by Transmission Films, prior to its Netflix release
- Although Netflix does not report box office grosses of its films, IndieWire estimated the film made $125,000 from 40 theaters in its opening weekend
- And a total of $160,000 over its first five days
- On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 95%
- Based on 201 reviews
- With an average rating of 8.40/10
- The site’s critics consensus reads, “Brought to life by a stellar ensemble led by Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog reaffirms writer-director Jane Campion as one of her generation’s finest filmmakers”
- On Metacritic, which assigned a weighted average score of 88 out of 100
- Based on 55 critics
- The film received “universal acclaim”
- Campion was honored with the “Mind the Gap – Best Innovation” award at Mill Valley
- At TIFF, the film was second runner-up for the People’s Choice Award
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