Jane Campion

The Power of the Dog

The Power of the Dog

Jane Campion returns to the kind of mythic frontier landscape—pulsating with both freedom and menace—that she previously traversed in The Piano in order to plumb the masculine psyche in The Power of the Dog, set against the desolate plains of 1920s Montana and adapted by the filmmaker from Thomas Savage’s novel. After a sensitive widow (Kirsten Dunst) and her enigmatic, fiercely loving son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) move in with her gentle new husband (Jesse Plemons), a tense battle of wills plays out between them and his brutish brother (Benedict Cumberbatch), whose frightening volatility conceals a secret torment, and whose capacity for tenderness, once reawakened, may offer him redemption or spell his destruction. Campion, who won an Academy Award for her direction here, charts the repressed desire and psychic violence coursing among these characters with the mesmerizing control of a master at the height of her powers.

Film Info

  • United States, New Zealand
  • 2021
  • 128 minutes
  • Color
  • 2.28:1
  • English
  • Spine #1158

DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • 4K digital master, approved by director Jane Campion, with Dolby Atmos soundtrack
  • One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
  • Interview with Campion about the making of the film
  • Program featuring interviews with members of the cast and crew and behind-the-scenes footage captured on location in New Zealand
  • Interview with Campion and composer Jonny Greenwood about the film’s score
  • Conversation among Campion, director of photography Ari Wegner, actor Kirsten Dunst, and producer Tanya Seghatchian, moderated by filmmaker Tamara Jenkins
  • New interview with novelist Annie Proulx
  • Trailer
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • English descriptive audio
  • PLUS: An essay by film critic Amy Taubin

    New cover by Greg Ruth

Purchase Options

DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • 4K digital master, approved by director Jane Campion, with Dolby Atmos soundtrack
  • One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
  • Interview with Campion about the making of the film
  • Program featuring interviews with members of the cast and crew and behind-the-scenes footage captured on location in New Zealand
  • Interview with Campion and composer Jonny Greenwood about the film’s score
  • Conversation among Campion, director of photography Ari Wegner, actor Kirsten Dunst, and producer Tanya Seghatchian, moderated by filmmaker Tamara Jenkins
  • New interview with novelist Annie Proulx
  • Trailer
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • English descriptive audio
  • PLUS: An essay by film critic Amy Taubin

    New cover by Greg Ruth
The Power of the Dog
Cast
Benedict Cumberbatch
Phil Burbank
Kirsten Dunst
Rose Gordon
Jesse Plemons
George Burbank
Kodi Smit-McPhee
Peter Gordon
Thomasin McKenzie
Lola
Genevieve Lemon
Mrs. Lewis
Keith Carradine
The governor
Frances Conroy
The old lady
Peter Carroll
The old gent
Alison Bruce
The governor’s wife
Credits
Director
Jane Campion
Written by
Jane Campion
Based on the book by
Thomas Savage
Produced by
Jane Campion
Produced by
Tanya Seghatchian
Produced by
Emile Sherman
Produced by
Iain Canning
Produced by
Roger Frappier
Executive producer
Simon Gillis
Executive producer
Rose Garnett
Executive producer
John Woodward
Coproducer
Libby Sharpe
Coproducer
Chloe Smith
Director of photography
Ari Wegner
Editor
Peter Sciberras
Production designer
Grant Major
Costume designer
Kirsty Cameron
Hair and makeup designer
Noriko Watanabe
Original music by
Jonny Greenwood
Casting by
Nikki Barrett
Casting by
Tina Cleary
Casting by
Nina Gold

Current

The Power of the Dog: What Kind of Man?
The Power of the Dog: What Kind of Man?

In her first film that places a male character front and center, Jane Campion trains her unsparing gaze on the brutality of patriarchal power and the pain of repressed homoerotic desire.

By Amy Taubin