WHITE DOG (includes trailer)
April 12th 2010 11:23
WHITE DOG
For as long as I have been a movie lover I have been trying to track down a copy of Sam Fuller’s White Dog. For many White Dog is one the lost treasures of cinema and it’s unavailability makes it one of the highest boot legged films out there, which all stemmed from unnecessary controversy over it’s subject matter. Fortunately the good people at Criterion Collection have finally released a DVD of the film. As usual the Criterion edition of White Dog will be ridiculously overpriced, but possibly worth it.
Sam Fuller made films for over 40 years. His films had all the tabloid sensationalism of the news’ headlines, filled with stark images of sexuality and violence. Fuller went straight for the jugular, when his films weren't tampered with they were consistently visceral, emotion filled and ahead of their time. His films were generally never seen as special during their time, but he has since been cited as one of the great voices of american film making, inspiring generations of film makers to pick up a camera and tell their story. White Dog was one of his last films ever. Fuller wrote the screenplay for it, alongside young director Curtis Hanson (L.A Confidential, 8 Mile). Roman Polanski was originally attached to direct it. When Polanski fled the States, Fuller filled his shoes.
Upon the finish of the film, the ratings boards claimed that the film was racist and the studio feared there would be a backlash. White Dog’s release date was continually delayed and eventually the studio buried it and until this day it's only had a limited VHS release. White Dog is an example of a misjudged film that was dealt a bad hand of luck by people who clearly weren’t interested in actually listening to what the film had to say. Apparently the ratings board were so narrow minded at the time that they seemed to think that a film about racism was condoning the very thing it portrayed, even though all the events in the film are completely factual.
White Dog, made in 1982, starring T.V. actress Kristy McNichol, Burl Ives (East Of Eden, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof) and Paul Winfield (The Wrath of Khan, The Terminator), tells the true story of a woman (who in real life was actually French actress Jean Seberg) who hits a beautiful German Shepard with her car at night. She takes the dog to a vet, looks after it and keeps it as her own. Her new friend comes in handy after it attacks a violent intruder one night who is trying to rape her. It turns out however that a case of man’s best friend coming to the rescue was simply a coincidence. This white German Shepard begins to attack other people also, and sometimes, when it runs away, it even kills them without the owners knowledge. The situation become even more troubling when she takes the dog to a trainer and is told that this is a ‘white dog’, a dog specifically trained to kill black people!
The alarming revelation can make for thrilling drama, but what was unexpected is how ‘anti-exploitation’ this film felt. It didn’t even feel like a typical genre film. White Dog, for the most part, is a story filled with sentiment and care. If it weren’t the films doomed release, you could easily imagine it being a regular rerun movie on T.V.. White Dog may be filled with sentiment but is never sentimental, it has teeth, as every Fuller film did and it is sprinkled with eccentric touches. When this animal attacks its frightening to watch, it has a terrifying and possessed look, it’s eyes have a black psychotic look in them and it’s gorgeous white fur becomes stained with victim’s blood, but each time this happens, your heart also breaks and ‘White Dog’s straight forward, from the heart storyline ultimately gives the movie a house broken feel. The movie will especially appeal to animal lovers, whose hearts will very possibly break during the journey.
The dog is definitely the star of the film, you still care about him as you see it’s flashes of warmth and tenderness in between it’s bouts of murderousness. During the film an animal trainer named Keys (Paul Winfield), who is a black man and at constant risk, becomes obsessed with reprogramming the racial hatred in this dog. Many scenes have a violent eeriness and visual flare, but still feel tame compared to fuller’s other films.
Fuller more than most of his contemporaries understood the psychic strength of an image. By this point he had forty years of experience in making films and for someone who was never famous for subtlety, the film feels quite restrained. There is the occasional touch of horror thrown in as well as some poetic touches too, but never anything major. It remains a surprisingly tame film with a morally upstanding attitude which comes as an anti-climax in light of how controversial it once was. Much of the film is spent with the animal trainer trying to reprogram the dog, this violence towards black people is the clear cut problem in the film and I along with many others have agreed that the so-called contentiousness of the film is baffling and incomprehensible compared to the morality tale that the story plays out.
Fuller was also a great actors director. His actors performed with the same fervour as he did in his story telling. It’s clear that the actors really cared about this film and it leaves you with a warmth long after it has ended. It’s sad that this well made drama won’t ever be seen by most people, it’s message of tolerance and understanding stays with you. At the end of the day White Dog is a simple story of a dog and it’s owner, it’s got an edge to it, but mostly it has a ton of feeling replacing what could have been just another 'animal attacks man' exploitation film. Watch the trailer below and then do whatever you can to see it.
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Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Hell I cry in Benji!
Still I know I need to see it.
Comment by ShaunK
Screen Adventure