Danny the Dog (2005)

Director:

Louis Leterrier

Writer (WGA):

Luc Besson (written by)

Release Date:

13 May 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Music | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Serve No Master

Plot:

A man raised into behaving like a dog, escapes from his captor to start a new life, who seeks to reclaim him because of his unnatural martial arts skills that are triggered when unleashed.

Plot Keywords:

Collar | Fight | Dog | Piano | Fight Club

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jet Li	...	Danny
Morgan Freeman	...	Sam
Bob Hoskins	...	Bart
Kerry Condon	...	Victoria
Vincent Regan	...	Raffles
Dylan Brown	...	Lefty
Tamer Hassan	...	Georgie
Michael Jenn	...	Wyeth
Phyllida Law	...	Distinguished Lady
Carole Ann Wilson	...	Maddy
Mike Lambert	...	The Stranger
Jaclyn Tze Wey	...	Danny's Mother
Puthirith Chou	...	Teen Danny
Tony Theng	...	Little Danny
Owen Lay	...	Baby Danny

Also Known As:

Unleashed (Australia) (Philippines: English title) (UK) (DVD title) (USA)
Danny the Dog (France) (Hong Kong: English title)
Danny the Dog (Italy) [it]
Danny the Dog (Greece) [el]
Enchaîné (Canada: French title) [fr]
Kir zincirlerini (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Unleashed - Entfesselt (Germany) [de]
Vjerni Danny (Croatia) [hr]

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violent content, language and some sexuality/nudity.

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

France | USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

New Zealand:R18 | Finland:K-15 | Taiwan:R-12 | Argentina:16 | Philippines:R-13 | Brazil:16 | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SG | USA:Not Rated (unrated DVD version) | Canada:14A (British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | South Korea:15 | Spain:18 | Australia:MA | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:18A (Alberta) | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:18 | Netherlands:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R | Portugal:M/16 | Norway:18

Filming Locations:

Blackfriar's Bar, Merchant City, Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland, UK

Company:

Europa Corp.

Trivia:

The role of Sam was written for Morgan Freeman. He was the first and only choice to play the character.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Bart is being beaten by thugs near the beginning of the film, you can see the padding on his stuntman's back.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Bart: Get 'em!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Lindsay Lohan/Coldplay (#30.20)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Aftersun

Drama, not an action movie

Unleashed is the touching story of Danny (Jet Li) who as a young boy was brought harshly by a loanshark (Bob Hoskins) and was trained to kill once his dog collar is removed. Although Danny was brought up as a dog, he is human, and through the intervention of music and the care and love of a blind piano tuner (Morgan Freeman), and his stepdaughter (Kerry Condon), Danny discovers another side of life.

Unleashed is not an action movie. There certainly are some spectacular fight scenes, but the emphasis is put on the relationship between Morgan Freeman and his stepdaughter, and Jet Li, and on the development of Danny's "humanity". Danny yearns for more than just killing; he discovers music and is saved by it. Music also plays a key role in his self-discovery as it awakens long-lost memories of his childhood.

For the first time, the audience are treated to Jet Li's true acting capabilities. Jet Li seems genuine and earnest--perhaps this is because the actor openly acknowledges that this film is close to his heart: as a Buddhist, Jet Li is against violence, and this film portrays the fight between humanity and violence.

This drama is a surprising break from usual martial arts movies. The fact that the number of action scenes is limited is counter-balanced by Yuen Wo Ping's masterful choreography; do not expect a fight-fest. Do however expect an unpretentious touching story featuring good actors with a few spectacular action scenes.