Stars: Rod Steiger, Michael Moriarty, Scott Wilson, Blake Heron, Bonnie Bartlett, Ann Dowd, J. Madison Wright

Director: Dale Rosenbloom

Summary: An ill-treated beagle pup is found by a young boy who tries to save it from a cruel owner.

The bond between a young boy and an amicable blond beagle is tested when the dog is abused and must be rescued from its owner. Based on the Newberry Award-winning children's story by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, this feature also won the prestigious 1997 Genesis Award for Outstanding Feature for spotlighting animal issues with "courage, creativity and integrity."

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Shilohis the film of the novel of the same name. However, before armchair historians click this one into their shopping baskets, be advised that the novel in this case is not Shelby Foote's meditation on one of the more ghastly battles of the US Civil War, but Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's heartwarming homily to a boy and his dog. The good news is that people who buy this Shilohin error might be pleasantly surprised: though it is, principally, a movie aimed at children, and one which employs the standard good-kids-versus-bad-adults dynamic, it is also deftly written, beautifully acted, and wholly commendable in its refusal to patronise its target audience.

Shilohthe film is about Shiloh the preternaturally adorable beagle pup, who flees the violent tyranny of backwoods hunter Jud (Scott Wilson) for the love of local child Marty (Blake Heron). Jud wants the dog back, and Marty plots to keep him, despite the initial objections of his parents. It all ends much the way you'd expect it would, but it takes some startling detours getting there--unusually for a children's film, Shilohdares to display adults and moral choices as complicated things, and the result is a film that children will most certainly enjoy, and no parent will resent sitting through.

On the DVD:Shilohon disc has English, French and Dutch soundtracks, plus subtitles in all three languages. Extras include interviews with the cast and crew and the author of the novel that inspired the film, as well as a speech by film critic Roger Ebert taken from something called The Overlooked Film Festival, in which he argues for the inclusion of Shilohin the pantheon of cinematic greats. There's also an interesting curiosity: a television advertisement by the American Library Association, in which Shilohis the example used to demonstrate to children the joys of reading. --Andrew Mueller

Aspect Ratio:	1.85 Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Introduction By Roger Ebert, Interviews With Cast And Film Makers, Interviews With The Author, Public Service Announcement, Interactive Menus, Scene Access, Trailer
Subtitles:	Dutch, English, French
Year:	1997
Release Date:	September 2, 2002
Runtime:	87 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	D 036200
Keywords:	Family, Wide, Screen, Shiloh
Genre:	Family