17 best movies about dogs

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

After watching this movie, you will probably want to have a pet.

1. To me, Mukhtar

• USSR, 1964.
• Crime drama.
• Duration: 78 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 7.

An ordinary shepherd dog, abandoned at the station by a reckless mistress, falls into the reliable hands of Lieutenant Glazychev. Now Mukhtar has to show what he is capable of.

The film became incredibly popular in the USSR and even contributed to the spread of the nickname Mukhtar. And 40 years later, the series "The Return of Mukhtar", dedicated to the service of the Moscow police, was released.

2. White Bim Black Ear

• USSR, 1976.
• Adventure melodrama.
• Duration: 183 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 2.

A dog with a beautiful nickname White Bim Black Ear is forced to be homeless after its owner - an intelligent writer Ivan Ivanovich - is hospitalized. Passing from hand to hand, the poor dog is faced with human indifference and cruelty.

The film by the outstanding Soviet director Stanislav Rostotsky was nominated for the Oscar in 1979 as the best picture in a foreign language - however, then the French melodrama Prepare Your Handkerchiefs won. The tape has earned the status of a cult, and many tears were shed over it by different generations of viewers.

3. C-9: Dog Work

• USA, 1989.
• Crime comedy.
• Duration: 102 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 0.

Detective Michael Dooley is ready to take drug dealer Ken Lyman red-handed, for which he is assigned a specially trained German shepherd named Jerry Lee. The quarrelsome hero will have to make incredible efforts to find a common language with the pet, as well as find out the price of true friendship.

The comedy directed by Rod Daniel is often compared to the Soviet crime film "Come to me, Mukhtar!" because of a similar plot. However, the American tape pays very little attention to the topic of crime and rather makes fun of typical police action films.

4. Turner and Hooch

• USA, 1989.
• Comedy detective.
• Duration: 97 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 2.

Police officer Scott Turner is going to move to a big city, where he hopes to do much more serious business. In the meantime, he has to investigate the murder of a certain Amos Reed. And the strangest thing is that the only witness to the crime is a French mastiff named Hooch.

Roger Spottiswood's picture came out just three months later than K-9: Dog's Job, but at the same time far ahead of its predecessor at the box office. Perhaps the reason is the charm of Tom Hanks, who played the main role. The popularity of the film prompted the producers to start production of the series of the same name, but the matter did not progress beyond the pilot episode.

5. Beethoven

• USA, 1992.
• Family adventure comedy.
• Duration: 87 minutes.
• IMDb: 5, 6.

Once in the Newton's house as a puppy, St. Bernard named Beethoven quickly made friends with the children and mother, and only the head of the family, George, was not happy with the pet that had fallen on his head. The hero will have to accept and love the good-natured dog, and at the same time teach the evil doctor Varnik, who is pretending to be a veterinarian, a lesson.

The nostalgic film directed by Bryant Levant (who later directed the film adaptation of the popular animated series The Flintstones) became a box office hit and gave rise to the film franchise of the same name. And although the quality of the picture can be argued, it is difficult to deny its cult status and popularity among viewers who do not want souls in dogs.

6. Iron Will

• USA, 1993.
• Adventure melodrama.
• Duration: 108 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 6.

17-year-old Will is killed by his beloved father, who, shortly before his death, was going to take part in a dog sled race. The young man decides to do it instead of his dad, which ultimately results in a real test of endurance and fortitude.

This beautiful and tense picture is capable of capturing any viewer with its dynamism. Film fans will be pleased to see Kevin Spacey, who was noted for a small role of the journalist Harry Kingsley, covering Will's fate in the races.

7.101 Dalmatians

• USA, 1996.
• Family adventure comedy.
• Duration: 103 minutes.
• IMDb: 5, 7.

The villainess Cruella De Ville decides to steal Dalmatian puppies in order to sew a fashionable spotted fur coat out of them. However, the owners of the dogs are not going to sit back and go in search of them.

Walt Disney Pictures has shot game remakes of its animated classics in the past. At the same time, the plot of the 1961 cartoon of the same name was practically not changed. The audience enthusiastically accepted the picture, and the powerful cast greatly contributed to the success.

The incomparable Glenn Close was cast as the ruthless queen of the fashion world, Cruella De Ville. The villainess' henchmen were played at that time by little-known Hugh Laurie and Mark Williams. The first is now familiar to viewers on the television series "The Fry and Laurie Show", "Jeeves and Worcester" and "House Doctor". Williams later became famous as the performer of the role of Arthur Weasley in the Potterian.

8. My dog Skip

• USA, 1999.
• Family melodrama.
• Duration: 95 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 0.

The little shy boy Will is given a dog for his birthday, after which the boy's life changes dramatically: he has friends and a beloved girl. Moreover, the dog manages to influence not only its owner, but in general on the small town in which he lives.

Although this film is primarily aimed at children, adults of all ages will also enjoy watching it. You just need to take into account that the picture is very touching and you definitely can't do without a box of handkerchiefs.

9. Lassie

• USA, France, Ireland, UK, 2005.
• Family adventure melodrama.
• Duration: 100 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 7.

The action takes place in a small mining town in Yorkshire before World War II. The impoverished Carraclough family comes to a difficult decision - to sell their son's dog to a wealthy nobleman Radling. But Lassie wants to go home and over and over again tries to escape from his new owners.

The image of this selfless and devoted collie was invented by the writer Eric Knight back in 1938. Subsequently, based on his novel "Lassie", numerous films, serials and television programs were released one after another. But most of all, viewers love and remember the version of the English director Charles Sturridge.

10. White captivity

• USA, 2006.
• Adventure drama.
• Duration: 120 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 3.

A scientific expedition sets out in search of a meteorite, but an unexpected incident forces the scientists to leave their dog sleds and go back. Now eight Siberian huskies must fight for survival in the icy desert and wait for them to be rescued.

The kind and life-affirming film by Frank Marshall turned out to be much more optimistic than the real events of 1958: then the Japanese expedition was evacuated and only two of 15 dogs were rescued. The same incident formed the basis of the old Japanese tape "Antarctic Tale".

11. Hachiko: The most loyal friend

• USA, UK, 2008.
• Family melodrama.
• Duration: 93 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

Professor Parker Wilson finds a lost Akita puppy at the train station. But no one comes for the animal, so the man leaves a new friend for himself and gives him the name Hachiko. The pet grows up very devoted: every day he sees the owner to work to the station, and in the evening he meets him there. This continues until an unexpected tragic incident destroys their idyll.

The film by Swedish director Lasse Hallström is based on a true story that happened at the beginning of the 20th century with Professor Hidesaburo Ueno and his pupil. The same events formed the basis of the 1987 Japanese painting The Story of Hachiko. They tried to make the American version closer to the Western audience: the action takes place today in Rhode Island, and the charming Richard Gere plays the main role.

12. Marley and me

• USA, 2008.
• Family comedy melodrama.
• Duration: 115 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 1.

Young journalist John marries the beautiful Jenny, they move to Florida and have a Labrador named Marley, who turns out to be a real wretch. And when the main character gets a job in a local newspaper, he begins to write his own column dedicated to the antics of his naughty dog.

Marley is based on the newspaper columns of real-life journalist John Grogan and is directed by David Frankel, creator of The Devil Wears Prada and co-author of Sex and the City.

13. Belle and Sebastian

• France, 2013.
• Family adventure drama.
• Duration: 104 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 9.

The action takes place in German-occupied France in 1943. Little orphan Sebastian lives with foster parents in the French Alps. Their village is kept in fear by a huge ferocious beast, supposedly killing sheep. But the boy discovers that the mysterious monster is not a predator at all, but a stray dog that escaped from a cruel owner.

This heartfelt story is based on the stories of the French actress and writer Cecile Aubry, and was filmed by director Nicolas Vanier, and the events of the original source were transferred during the Second World War.

14. A dog's life

• USA, 2017.
• Family melodrama.
• Duration: 100 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

The four-legged protagonist of the film has an amazing ability, with the help of which he is reborn in other dogs and gains experience of interacting with people.

The permanent ABBA music video director and melodrama master Lasse Hallström again filmed a touching story about the relationship between a dog and a person. This time it was based on one of the main American sentimental bestsellers "The Life and Purpose of a Dog" by Bruce Cameron.

15. Island of dogs

• USA, 2018.
• Adventure drama.
• Duration: 101 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 9.

The action takes place in Japan of the future, where in one of the prefectures, an evil cat-lover mayor decides to expel all the dogs to a garbage island. The main character, 12-year-old Atari, goes there in search of his beloved dog. Five local dogs are called to help the boy and protect him from the Japanese authorities - Chief, Rex, Boss, Duke and King.

Wes Anderson's animated film deservedly won the Best Director award at the Berlin Film Festival. The brilliant puppet film was voiced by famous actors: Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Brian Cranston and others.

16. Incredible world through the eyes of Enzo

• USA, 2019.
• Comedy drama.
• Duration: 109 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

The film tells the story of aspiring racer Danny Swift and his best four-legged friend, Enzo. The latter considers it his duty to go through all life's difficulties together with the owner and support him in difficult moments.

Based on Garth Stein's best-selling Wet Pavement Racing, directed by Simon Curtis, the soulful film is deeply touching. The film is definitely worth watching in the original, since the inimitable Kevin Costner voiced the golden retriever Enzo.

17. My dog is an idiot

• France, Belgium, 2019.
• Comedy.
• Duration: 106 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 3.

The writer Henri is going through a creative crisis. For all his troubles, the hero blames his wife and adult children, but one day a man meets a huge Neapolitan mastiff on the street, which makes him reconsider his outlook on life.

The film is based on the novel of the same name by American writer and screenwriter John Fante. Initially, the French director Claude Berry planned to film the book. However, at that time, Berry did not speak English well and this would interfere with work, since almost the entire cast was American.

Then the picture was offered to be removed to the husband of actress Charlotte Gainsbourg, director Ivan Attal. The latter turned the novel into a light and very French dramedy in spirit.