Mad Dog Morgan (1977) (DVD Review)
Directed By: Philippe Mora
Starring: Dennis Hopper, David Gulpilil, Harold Baigent
Rated: UR/Region: 0/1:66 (Letterbox)/Number of disc: 2
Available from Troma
Dennis Hopper (“Blue Velvet” “Easy Rider”) plays Dan Morgan, the infamous real-life 1800′s outlaw. Morgan is an Irish immigrant working as a gold digger in the treacherous Australian brush. when his comrades reject him, Morgan resorts to stealing horses and is caught and sentenced to jail. After years of abuse and brutality he is released and falls back into his bandit ways. Soon Morgan is wanted at any price, dead or alive, setting the backdrop for this intense and riveting thriller!
Mad Dog Morgan is a true exploitation right down to the real life snake death we see on screen. Dennis Hopper takes his method acting and his performance is reason alone to see this film. And, what an interesting film it is. The movie does some odd quick editing cuts that seem very random and jump pretty good lengths of time. It seems weird, but it moves things right along and I found myself kind of actually liking it. We have random violence, some of which are VERY good. The film seems to have a bit of everything, but does seem to lose some steam at times.
I think a movie like this will only appeal to those who do love exploitation films. At the end of the day we have stuff that just won’t hit the right spots for some, but the character Hopper plays on screen is one I found very interesting. It is a bit of a modern day Robin Hood tale, only with male rape and heads at times being blown off. It isn’t a pretty film, but it at least seems to be effective enough.
– Interview with director Philippe Mora
– Interview with Mike Molloy
– Interview with Richard Brennan
– Radio Interview
– Deleted Scenes
– Locations featurette
– Still Gallery
– Original Theatrical Program
– Tromatic Extras
