Shiloh (1996)

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

We all have those classic movies about animals that we watched when we were little ones, and hopefully if you've got any senses about you, still revisit as an adult. Well, most people have a few of those... I've got at least like twenty. One couple of movies that are very dear to me are Shiloh, and Shiloh 2: Shiloh Season, two indisputable classics that I was pretty much raised on, and have a burning nostalgia for. Shiloh boils down to one simple, loving archetype: a boy and his dog. Or, rather, a boy who desperately wishes to save a dog from going down the same road of violence and abuse that it's currant owner has. Marty Preston (Blake Heron, and Zachary Browne in the sequel because they just can't stick with one actor) is a young rural lad with a wholesome life and family, wishing for a dog of his own. Local roughneck and hunter Judd Travers (Scott Wilson) owns a whole pack of mutts that he mistreats when drunk, and aims to turn them all into vicious hunting dogs. When one small beagle escapes, it makes its way onto Preston land and suddenly Marty finds he has a new best friend. His stern father Ray (inimitable Michael Moriarty) warns him that the dog is probably Judd's, while his mother (excellent character actress Ann Dowd) urges compassion from her husband. Soon enough Judd comes looking, and conflict arises between the boy and the bitter old hunter. It's a children's story so nothing too messed up ever happens, but there's some touching lessons and surprising gravitas from both Moriarty and Wilson that is nice to see from such a seemingly innocuous, kid oriented franchise. Judd shows beautiful complexity in the sequel, the writing allowing Wilson to illustrate that not all mean people started out that way, and that with a little kindness and a lot of patience, old wounds can be burrowed into and treated. I first became a fan of Scott through the Shiloh films and he will always be Judd Travers to me. Marty finds a friend in Shiloh, getting right to the point of what these movies are about: friendship. New friends, old friends, and letting people in who need someone and don't even know it. It's great stuff, timeless to be sure, and always guaranteed to draw forth a smile. Rod Steiger lends his famous kind streak to the role of Doc Wallace, a convenience store owner with sagely wisdom for Marty and his fellow friends, as well as compassion for Judd. Now, there's a third film, also with Wilson but yet another different actor for Marty, and Moriarty sitting it out as well, which is why I haven't checked it out so far. Maybe it's time.

If you look at the jacket, you would expect Shiloh to be about a cute dog that has an I.Q. of 150 who saves the day, or who perhaps accompanies some children on a long hike, fending off wolves and cougars. Or perhaps a dog that makes messes. It is nothing like that at all. Shiloh is a cute, but completely ordinary dog, who does nothing more exciting than licking people's faces and gobbling food.It is a morality tale. There is the evil Christian who believes God gave us animals to use as we please, including sadistic pleasure.There is the postman father who equates right with legal.Then there is the hero, a boy about ten, who argues articulately again and again for a higher heart-centred morality motivated by his loving caring for the young dog Shiloh. He gradually wins over his mom, his dad and even the evil Christian. There is plenty of ambiguity and conflict. It is not a totally black and white tale.Even though the boy is only ten, he is one of the most heroic figures in movies.The sudden happy ending did not ring true for me. A more plausible ending would have had the villain eaten alive by his dogs, or some such bad karma.

To begin, Shiloh is a very well-written novel. It deals with a boy who does what he believes is right in order to save a runaway dog from its abusive owner. It also deals with honesty, loyalty, friendship and standing up for what one feels is right.The movie, while a lot is changed, still worked for me. Despite some awkward editing (some shots last for about a second before cutting to another, but I'm sure I'll see worse), the movie was still good for me. Sure, they made "finally getting the dog from Judd Travers" much harder than in the novel.As many put it, even though Judd Travers is a very cruel character, he states that he had been abused by his father during his childhood and never understood or got sympathy and anyone with a dark past can relate to him (not me, but I am against child abuse so I understand).Another good point is the acting, Blake Heron acts like he cares about the dog, Scott Wilson really puts effort into acting like a man who never understood sympathy, kindness, love and nurturing and Rod Steiger's performance as Doc Wallace is also well-done, especially during the scene where he encourages Marty to stand up for what's right by recounting a memory from the past.I bought this film and Shiloh Season from a secondhand store, but I have yet to read the second novel and watch the second film, so I'll see how they are.I know this film is not 100% true to the original novel, but I have heard of worse book-to-movie adaptations. As someone who is against animal cruelty, I loved this movie and the novel to the point where I recommend giving both a try.

In the first 5 minutes the kid works on showing us how not to use riffle by pointing it around, followed by unbelted car ride with his father. I saw nothing even remotely watchable in this move and about halfway through turned it off. A complete waste of time unless you like animal cruelty and self torture, which me and my 6 year old are not. Oh and speaking of torture the actors look like they are being torture by the script. Feel sorry for the poor guy that had to edit this, but not like he spent much time. Think I will pay the library for this movie just so I can destroy the DVD and save others from this. IF you see this movie run, run, run!