Shiloh (1997)

When does a boy become a man?

When someone needs him. When an abusive hunter's Beagle escapes and takes refuge with Marty's family, the boy realizes he's the dog's only hope.

If only we can be what our dogs believe we are. That uncompromising love made a young boy a man. You see Marty slowly changing as he learns new skills and devotes his life to saving an animal that was counting on him.

It's a great family story and one that even a cat lover could relate to. Well done and well worth seeing over and over. August 26, 2007

Expectations

This is a story of a boy who goes for a walk one day through his West Virginia town and a beagle, Shiloh, follows him home. The boy, Marty Preston, discovers that the dog has an abusive owner. The boy's own family is very poor and can not afford a pet; also, his father is a firm believer that, abused or not, the dog has an owner and he must be returned. They give the dog back but Shiloh escapes again, and when he turns up outside the Preston home, Marty hides him up a hill behind their house. If you've never read the novel by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, I suppose you might like this movie; however, I'm a fan of the book and I've read it a few times with my language arts classes, and in comparison, the movie is terrible. The family does not appear to be poor, an integral part of the story, and the main character, Marty, is often disrespectful, something he never is in the book. Both of these aspects are important to the story, because they help you to understand why the family can not keep a dog, why Marty has some difficulty in standing up for himself, etc. And then there's the ending: horrible! The novel has a complex, beautiful ending, one in which you begin to understand the mean dog owner, Judd, and why he is abusive. He and the main character's hostile relationship evolves into something almost like friendship, and it is so well written, it is believable. In the movie, instead of us seeing that, we see instead what some idiot director must have thought of as a more suspenseful ending. If you truly want a family treat, read the novel aloud to your kids! May 14, 2007

Great family movie

My mother really enjoyed this movie. It was heart warming and a great movie for the whole family. January 16, 2007

a vary good movie

This is one of my top 5 dog movies, this movie delivers action and a vary good story, I suggest you buy this movie you will not regret it. January 13, 2007

GOOD FAMILY MOVIE

SHILOH is an entertaining movie the whole family can enjoy. It especially stresses the importance of children taking responsibility for their pets, and the movie also has a warm family relationship. While it's pacing is rather slow, the story of how a young boy rescues a beagle from an abusive owner should keep even the smaller kids involved. The cast does well in their roles: Blake Heron shines as little Marty, determined to provide a good home for the mistreated Shiloh; Scott Wilson is appropriately evil as the dog's abusive owner; Michael Moriarty and Ann Dowd do well as the parents; and Rod Steiger and Bonnie Bartlett are fine as the elderly couple who befriend the young boy.
SHILOH is refreshing entertainment for the whole family. October 8, 2006

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