Heart of a Dog
A brilliant Soviet surgeon’s attempt to manufacture a better human unleashes a grotesque comic portrait of nature, nurture, and social upheaval.
Overview
A thought-provoking exploration of identity and humanity through the lens of an extraordinary experiment.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- witty
- absurd
- grotesque
- classic cinema night
- literary adaptation viewing
What critics said
The film is broadly celebrated as a sharply acted, faithful, and darkly comic adaptation of Bulgakov’s satirical science fiction novella.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Sharikov’s transformation turns a scientific experiment into a critique of post-revolutionary society and human pretension.
Professor Preobrazhensky performs an experimental transplantation intended to reshape a dog into a human being, with socially destructive consequences.
Sharikov’s crude and aggressive behavior reflects the characteristics associated with the deceased donor Klim Chugunkin.
The animal-to-human experiment, domestic chaos, and Sharikov’s behavior create an absurd comic vehicle for social commentary.
Films like Heart of a Dog, and why
The Fly
shared blend of satirical comedy, speculative transformation, and social critique
Frankenstein
shared grotesque science fiction premise, dark humor, and anxieties about reshaping human nature
Brazil
shared absurdist political satire, allegorical social commentary, and comic bureaucratic grotesquerie
Being John Malkovich
shared literary science fiction, comic human transformation, and philosophical questions about personhood
Movie Details
- Director
- Vladimir Bortko
- Release Date
- 1988-11-11
- Runtime
- 136 min
- Rating
- 7.9 / 10 (203)
Cast
- Evgeniy Evstigneev
- Boris Plotnikov
- Vladimir Tolokonnikov
- Nina Ruslanova
- Olga Melikhova
- Aleksei Mironov
- Roman Kartsev
- Anzhelika Nevolina
- Natalya Fomenko
- Evgeniy Kuznetsov
Common questions
- What is Heart of a Dog about?
- A brilliant Soviet surgeon’s attempt to manufacture a better human unleashes a grotesque comic portrait of nature, nurture, and social upheaval.
- What is Heart of a Dog like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Heart of a Dog as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Heart of a Dog violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Heart of a Dog as mild.
- What did critics think of Heart of a Dog?
- The film is broadly celebrated as a sharply acted, faithful, and darkly comic adaptation of Bulgakov’s satirical science fiction novella.
- Which films are like Heart of a Dog?
- Films with a similar feel include The Fly, Frankenstein, Brazil, and Being John Malkovich.
- How long is Heart of a Dog?
- Heart of a Dog runs 136 minutes.
In Ember's collections
Movies like Heart of a Dog
- The Very Same Munchhausen1979
- The Face of Another1966
- 12 Chairs1971
- Britannia Hospital1982
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: The Hound of the Baskervilles1981
- Morphine2008
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: The Hound of the Baskervilles - Part 11981
- The Master and Margarita2024
- The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!1976
- Hard to Be a God2014
