WORTH WATCHING

Watch: Netflix's Making Of Doc for Campion's 'The Power of the Dog'

by Alex Billington
January 27, 2022
Source: Netflix

How did they make that? Netflix has debuted a fascinating new behind-the-scenes documentary film for The Power of the Dog. The featurette is under 20 minutes and spends time on set and in post-production with filmmaker Jane Campion. The video is titled Behind The Scenes with Jane Campion and can be watched on Netflix for free along with the film. This is part of Netflix's push for The Power of the Dog during the Awards Season, with hopes it'll get more than a few Oscar nominations. It's pretty much a DVD Special Feature available on streaming. "A rare glimpse into the creative process of Academy Award winning writer, director and producer Jane Campion as she shares her memories of the making of The Power of the Dog." (More reading on the craft here.) Benedict Cumberbatch stars in the film with Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Thomasin McKenzie, Frances Conroy, Keith Carradine, Peter Carroll, and Adam Beach. This is one of the best films of the year and it's so carefully crafted. The cinematography by DP Ari Wegner is stunning, and we should be talking more about her work, too. Enjoy.

Click on the image below to head directly to Netflix to watch this 17 minute behind-the-scenes documentary.

BEHIND THE SCENES WITH JANE CAMPION is a beautifully shot, illuminating look at the making of #ThePowerOfTheDog that’s out on #Netflix today. Fascinating hearing from Jane herself about artistic self-criticism & how she adapts to challenges. There’s a serenity on the set too. pic.twitter.com/jSXRUlAisJ

— Courtney Howard @ #Sundance (@Lulamaybelle) January 27, 2022

Here are three additional "making of" videos posted by Netflix taking a closer look at The Power of the Dog:

You can watch the very first trailer for Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog here, or the full official trailer.

All of Phil's romance, power and fragility is trapped in the past and in the land: He can castrate a bull calf with two swift slashes of his knife; he swims naked in the river, smearing his body with mud. He is a cowboy as raw as his hides. The year is 1925. The Burbank brothers are wealthy ranchers in Montana. At the Red Mill restaurant on their way to market, the brothers meet Rose, the widowed proprietress, and her impressionable son Peter. Phil behaves so cruelly he drives them both to tears, reveling in their hurt and rousing his fellow cowhands to laughter – all except his brother George, who comforts Rose then returns to marry her. As Phil swings between fury and cunning, his taunting of Rose takes an eerie form – he hovers at the edges of her vision, whistling a tune she can no longer play. His mockery of her son is more overt, amplified by the cheering of Phil's cowhand disciples. Then Phil appears to take the boy under his wing. Is this latest gesture a softening that leaves Phil exposed, or a plot twisting further into menace? The Power of the Dog is both written and directed by acclaimed Kiwi filmmaker Jane Campion, of the films Sweetie, An Angel at My Table, The Piano, The Portrait of a Lady, Holy Smoke, In the Cut, and Bright Star previously. Adapted from the novel by Thomas Savage. This first premiered at the 2021 Venice Film Festival last year (read our review), and it also played at Telluride, Toronto, New York. Netflix debuted The Power of the Dog streaming on Netflix on December 1st, 2021. It's one of the very best films of 2021. Watch it now.

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