Sleeping Dogs (1977)

The movie that revolutionised filmmaking in New Zealand and brought about the country's cinematic New Wave, Sleeping Dogs is a tour de force action thriller that launched the Hollywood careers of both its director and lead actor. It manages to be both nail-bitingly tense and a chilling view of New Zealand as a dictatorship and, as such, it resonated with audiences on a worldwide scale.

Released on 16th April 2018, this Blu-ray edition from Arrow Academy is a must for both fans of the film and those seeing it for the first time.

Adapted from C.K. Stead's novel Smith's Dream, Sleeping Dogs almost single-handedly kickstarted the New Zealand New Wave, demonstrating that homegrown feature films could resonate with both local and international audiences, and launching the big-screen careers of director Roger Donaldson (No Way Out, Species) and Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, Possession).

Neill - in his first lead role in a feature - plays Smith, a man escaping the break-up of his marriage by finding isolation on an island off the Coromandel Peninsula. As he settles into his new life, the country is experiencing its own turmoil: an oil embargo has led to martial law and civil war, into which Smith reluctantly finds himself increasingly involved.

Co-starring Warren Oates (Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia) as the commander of a US army unit drawn into the conflict, Sleeping Dogs is simultaneously a political thriller, a personal drama and a true landmark in New Zealand cinema.

Please note - Disc special features are subject to change, may differ from format to format and/or may differ from region to region.