The Dogs of War (1980) on Netflix
R19801h 58mActionAdventureDrama
Mercenary Jamie Shannon is hired to scout Zangaro, an African nation ruled by the dictator President Kimba. Seized as a spy and deported, he is later offered a contract to topple Kimba.
- Netflix3.3/5
- IMDb6.3/1011,152 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes70%
Trailer
Plot summary
Jamie Shannon works as a mercenary, taking on coups and revolutions for a fee. Endean, a British businessman, represents a tycoon with an interest in the mineral wealth of Zangaro, a small African country governed by the dictator President Kimba. Shannon's assignment is to scout the place. In Clarence, the capital, he encounters the documentary filmmaker Alan North, who describes the local politics. This draws the attention of the police, and Shannon is arrested as a spy, beaten and locked up. Dr. Okoye, a physician and one-time moderate political leader held in the same prison, treats his injuries. North campaigns for his freedom, and after two days he is deported. Back in London, Endean offers him $100,000 to invade Zangaro with a mercenary force and remove Kimba.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Dogs of War (1980)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Michael Cimino was hired to rewrite and direct the film with Clint Eastwood and Nick Nolte lined up to star, but he left to make Heaven's Gate, and Norman Jewison brought in John Irvin instead.
- The fictional African republic of Zangaro was not filmed in Africa at all. John Irvin judged shooting there too risky, so Belize City and the country around it stood in for the whole nation.
- The mercenaries' arsenal is partly a fake: the Uzis are a mix of real Uzis and dressed-up Ingram MAC-10s, and Shannon's grenade launcher, sold on the poster as the "XM-18", is actually a Manville gun.
