White Dog - Criterion Collection (1982)

Samuel Fuller's throat-grabbing exposé on American racism was misunderstood and withheld from release when it was made in the early eighties; today, the notorious film is lauded for its daring metaphor and gripping pulp filmmaking. Kristy McNichol stars as a young actress who adopts a lost German Shepherd, only to discover through a series of horrifying incidents that the dog has been trained to attack black people, and Paul Winfield plays the animal trainer who tries to cure him. A snarling, uncompromising vision, White Dog is a tragic portrait of the evil done by that most corruptible of animals: the human being.

SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES:
New, restored high-definition digital transfer of the uncut version, approved by producer Jon Davison
New video interviews with producer Davison, co-writer Curtis Hanson, and Sam Fuller s widow, Christa Lang-Fuller
An interview with dog trainer Karl Lewis-Miller
Rare photos from the film s production

PLUS: A booklet featuring new essays by critics J. Hoberman and Armond White, plus a rare 1982 interview in which Fuller interviews the canine star of the film Product Description

BITE ME

Horrible, tedious, and shallow. It fails on every level. The dialog is insipid, and the acting never leaves the ground. It's not the actors' fault, though. You can tell they weren't getting any direction. The script drops the lead character (who is flatly drawn to begin with) 30 minutes into the film. The premise of the movie, the central metaphor, has a lot of potential, but the director/writer failed to take advantage of it. When you take on a subject as controversial as racism, you should do it justice by delving into the material, showing how racism works in the lives of the characters. Instead, the characters in this film all express sanitized, politically correct points of view--they are all untouched by the reality of racism. The film coyly situates itself as dealing with "controversial subject matter" but it is in fact very superficial. There is nothing at stake here, the characters go through no significant changes. I give it two paws down. December 3, 2008

White Dog: When Man Becomes His Own Worst Enemy.

Samuel Fuller's name is synonymous with his 1980 film The Big Red One and with his more controversial films Shock Corridor (1963), The Naked Kiss (1964), and White Dog (1982), which the studio (Paramount) refused to release until 1991 because of its subject: racism. Based on a 1970 semi-autobiographical novel by Romain Gary involving a stray German shepherd, White Dog stars Paul Winfield, Kristy McNichol, Jameson Parker and Burl Ives. It tells the story of an unmarried young actress, Julie Sawyer (McNichol), who takes in a stray white German shepherd for her protection, after accidentally hitting the dog with her car. Unbeknownst to her, the innocent dog has been trained by an extreme racist to attack black people on sight. After discovering the dog will brutally kill any dark-skinned person it sees, Julie takes the dog to a sympathetic Black dog trainer, Keys (Winfield), who obsessively attempts to re-educate the dog to stop attacking blacks. The re-training has an unexpected side-effect, and I won't spoil the plot. Paul Winfield carries the film with his didactic re-education scenes. Fuller's film is ultimately about the realities of human hatred, and the film's final scenes carry its message home. It is unlikely that this film would offend anyone today.

The new Criterion edition of White Dog features a newly restored high-definition digital transfer of the uncut version, approved by producer Jon Davison; new video interviews with producer Davison, co-writer Curtis Hanson, and Sam Fuller's widow, Christa Lang-Fuller; an interview with dog trainer Karl Lewis-Miller; rare photos from the film's production; and a booklet featuring new essays by critics J. Hoberman and Armond White, plus a rare 1982 interview in which Fuller interviews the canine star of the film.

G. Merritt November 27, 2008

THIS DOG STILL BITES!

In 1982, Samuel Fuller's "WHITE DOG" created a storm of controversy that resulted in a limited theatrical release with no follow-up video until now.

What was falsely labeled an incendiary racist film that could provoke real life violence is instead a bold anti-racist parable about how racism is learned or taught. In the movie the metaphor is a dog that has been trained to attack people with dark skin.

The origin of the story is a harrowing true incident Romain Gary wrote about in Life magazine.

The movie story is simple. Julie Sawyer (Kristy McNichol in her first adult role) is a young actress who, while driving one night, accidentally hits a white German shepherd on a mountain road. She takes it to a vet and tries to find the owner. In the meantime, Julie grows attached to the dog. One night it saves her from a intruder who attempts to rape her. Later, the dog runs away and comes home bloody. On a movie set with Julie, the dog attacks a black actress. Julie realizes the dog has been trained as an attack dog so she takes it to "Noah's Ark" an animal shelter and training facility hoping the dog can be deprogrammed in some way. She is told that the dog is a "white dog," one trained to attack black people. At the facility, Keys (Paul Winfield), a dog expert sees this as an opportunity to see if racial prejudice can be unlearned.

This low-budget film is sometimes heavy-handed but is immensely watchable and the restored uncut widescreen transfer is, as with all Criterion editions, made from the best elements available and is very crisp and clean.

Kristy McNichol has a natural, winning charisma on screen. Her top billing is justified and she has an easy, believable chemistry with the dog (actually five dogs were used).

Paul Winfield dominates the latter half of the film. His performance is focused and intense. I was reminded of a superb dog story in which he starred, 1972's "Sounder."

The great Burl Ives has a small part as the co-owner of "Noah's Ark." It is great to hear that singular voice even if it is only in spoken words.

Director Sam Fuller had a reputation as a tough, cigar-chomping sometimes over-the-top, story-teller. He has been called "the tabloid poet." Fuller did not shy away from controversial issues and in fact helmed other films with racial conflict as a theme. He died in 1997 at the age of 85. This was his last film.

There's a wonderful featurette containing new interviews with producer Jon Davison, co-writer Curtis Hanson ("L.A. Confidential") and Fuller's widow Krista Lang. November 26, 2008

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