The Best Dog Films to Watch

A dog, they say, is man’s best friend. Since the early days of human civilization, dogs have been known to be the constant companions of humans.

A dog will teach you unconditional love. If you can have that in your life, things won’t ever be too bad.

Whether it was for hunting in the earlier days, or keeping the flock together as shepherd dogs, to being our solution to feelings of loneliness that human relations often leave us in, dogs have been everywhere. The values of friendship, unconditional love and loyalty have become synonymous with dogs.

It is but natural that being such an important part of human existence, dogs have also been a subject of many films. There have been some excellent films that portray the beauty of the human-dog relationship tugging at our hearts and wanting us to adopt a dog at some point in life. Dog films give us  such joy and makes us laugh and cry incessantly.
Let’s take a look at some of those films that we need to watch for the love of dogs:

• A Dog’s Purpose

Without giving spoilers, anyone who has owned a dog, and has seen his life end, and then another one, and another one, this movie will touch you. The movie literally portrays so many different ways that dogs are treated. A Dog’s Purpose did an amazing job at building up raw emotion in a short amount of time. Very similar to the way we felt in Marley and Me. It is an absolute shame that this movie has been swept under the rug by many people because they believe everything they read on the internet.

• Umberto D.

Umberto D. is an Italian masterpiece of world cinema that narrates the story of a poor elderly man who is left homeless with his dog Flike. Umberto tries to find a home for the dog but fails, as Flike refuses to leave him and keeps coming back. In the end, Umberto, still poor and homeless, walks away with his dog.

• Old Yeller

This 1957 American classic is based on a book of the same name by Fred Gipson. It is about a boy named Travis and a stray dog in post-Civil War Texas. At many points in the film, the dog protects Travis and his family from danger, but cannot save itself from the rabid bite of a wolf. With a heavy heart, Travis has to shoot the dog.

• A Boy and his Dog

This is a science fiction thriller that is set in the post-apocalyptic world in which a teenage boy, Vic, and his telepathic dog, Blood, work together as a team to survive in the wasteland of South Western United States.

• Bingo

Bingo is the story of the adventures of a runaway circus dog who saves the life of a young boy, Chuckie, and they become the closest of friends doing everything together. The initial objection of Chuckie’s parents to Bingo being able to stay in the house gives way to consent as Bingo again puts his life in danger to save Chuckie.

• Beethoven

A heart-warming film about a St. Bernard dog that is adopted by a family after it enters the house as a puppy. The family names him after the famous music composer Ludvig van Beethoven. Beethoven helps the individual members of the family in dealing with their own issues, and at the same time trying to fight the evil attempts of Dr. Varnick who is involved in unethical animal experiments and has his eyes set on Beethoven.

• 101 Dalmatians

Based on the 1961 animated movie, 101 Dalmatians is an enjoyable watch with Glenn Close playing the role of Cruella de Vil who wants to wear a fur coat made of Dalmatian skin. She has 99 Dalmatian puppies kidnapped but all her plans are foiled by Pongo and Perdy whose puppies are also kidnapped. In the end, the lead pair of Roger and Anita become the guardians of 101 dalmatians.

• Top Dog

Chuck Norris plays a cop in this action thriller in which he is partnered with Reno, a police dog. Together, they foil a terrorist attack on a conference after several assassination attempts and hand-to-hand fights with the terrorists.

• Eight Below

Eight Below is a survival drama film that is based on an actual expedition to the Antarctica. Eight sled dogs are left behind at the Antarctica research base due to inclement weather, and the film is the tale of their surviving for about six months before their owner (Paul Walker) comes back to rescue them. Unfortunately, only six dogs survive the ordeal.

• Marley and Me

Starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston, Marley and Me is about a newly wedded couple adopting a dog to know if they’re ready to start a family. Marley, despite his mischievous ways, becomes an integral part of the family and the subject of the regular column that the character of Wilson writes.

• Hachi: A Dog’s Tale

Perhaps the most heart-breaking of all dog movies, Hachi is based on a true Japanese story of love and devotion between a man and a dog. Richard Gere plays the role of Professor Parker Wilson who finds a lost puppy of Japanese breed. Such is the bond between the two that every day when Parker would get back from work by train, Hachiko would be waiting outside the station for his master. One day, Parker dies suddenly at work, but Hachiko keeps waiting for him every day for almost ten years till he also dies of old age.

These films prove that the relationship between humans and dogs is one of love and loyalty, and dogs will forever remain man’s best friend. No other animal bonds to a human being the way a dog does. And I suspect there is no other animal to which human beings can bond the way we can bond to a dog.