Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: In China They Eat Dogs/I Kina Spiser De Hunde (1999) - Olsen finds comedic gold with terrific Jensen script

7/20/2024

In China They Eat Dogs/I Kina Spiser De Hunde (1999) - Olsen finds comedic gold with terrific Jensen script

♥♥♥♥

The four main stars in black jumpsuits walking away from an explosion makes up this poster for Lasse Spang Olsen's In China They Eat Dogs

Arvid is a bank worker, who one day stops a bank robbery using a squash racket. But he later decides that he was wrong to do this, and that he and his brother Harald should be part of the robbery of a money transport.

In China They Eat Dogs is written by Anders Thomas Jensen (The Promised Land/Bastarden (2023)) and directed by Lasse Spang Olsen (Operation Cobra (1995)). The title is a literal translation of the original Danish title.

Possibly among the funniest Danish films of all time, Jensen's script is brilliant, and the lines and plot are highly original. The performances are delivered with bravado by Kim Bodnia (Krigarnas Ö (2016)), Dejan Cukic (Borgia (2011-14)), Trine Dyrholm (Brecht (2019)), Nikolaj Lie Kaas (Riders of Justice/Retfærdighedens Ryttere (2020)) and Tomas Villum Jensen (Old Men in New Cars/Gamle Mænd i Nye Biler (2002)).

Olsen, previously known as a stunt coordinator, is no great director, and the action elements and sound work in the film are often sketchy.

Watch a very short clip from the film here

Cost: 8 mil. DKK, approximately 1.17 mil. $

Box office: At least 1.5 mil. $, projected final gross of 1.8 mil. $

= Uncertain but likely a big flop (projected return of 1.53 times its cost)

[In China They Eat Dogs was released 10 September (Denmark) and runs 91 minutes. Very unusually for a Danish film, Olsen did not secure any state funding for his film, for which it was denied repeatedly, and instead gathered funds from different avenues. Shooting took place in Denmark, including in Copenhagen. The film sold 223,248 tickets in Denmark, coming to 1.5 mil. $. Regrettably the gross numbers from its foreign markets (Norway, Iceland, Germany, Slovenia, Czech Republic) are not reported online. Likely small, they could have resulted in a projected final gross of 1.8 mil. $, which would result in a big flop rating. The film won 1/3 Robert award nominations (Denmark's Oscar). The film got a sequel in Old Men in New Cars/Gamle Mænd i Nye Biler (2002) with returning stars and creatives. Olsen first returned with Kløcler & Vingsøe Udfordrer Afrika (2000, TV game-show) and theatrically with Jolly Roger (2001). Bodnia returned in Dragonfly/Øyenstikker (2001); Kaas in Taxi (1999, TV-series)), Kajen mod Vest (1999, TV movie)) and theatrically in Max (2000). 23k+ IMDb users have given In China They Eat Dogs 7.3/10 average rating.]

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Donald Sutherland has passed away

Born in Canada, Sutherland battled polio as a child. His first credit was in Suspense (1963, TV-series) and his first film was The Castle of the Living Dead (1964). Later credits in his remarkable career include The Saint (1965-66), The Dirty Dozen (1967), M*A*S*H (1970), Kelly's Heroes (1970), Klute (1971), Don't Look Now (1973), 1900 (1976), Casanova (1976), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), Ordinary People (1980), A Dry White Season (1989), JFK (1991), Outbreak (1995), Fallen (1998), Virus (1999), Fierce People (2005), Pride & Prejudice (2005), Lord of War (2005), The Hunger Games (2012), The Undoing (2020, miniseries) and many more. He passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Roger Corman has passed away

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Corman had a sprawling, intellectually hungry life as a youth and young man before arriving with his first film in 1955, Five Guns West. He would follow that with titles such as Apache Woman, It Conquered the World, Attack of the Crab Monsters, Teenage Cave Man, A Bucket of Blood, House of Usher, The Little Shop of Horrors, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Intruder, The Raven, The Terror, The Masque of Red Death, The Tomb of Ligeia, The Wild Angels, The Trip, Bloody Mama and many more. As a producer he was behind almost 500 films. Arguably among the most important filmmakers of the 20th century, Corman passed away at age 98. R.I.P.

William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

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Wolfgang Petersen has died

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Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (17-24)

7/20/2024

In China They Eat Dogs/I Kina Spiser De Hunde (1999) - Olsen finds comedic gold with terrific Jensen script

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Eagerly anticipating this week ... (16-24)

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