White Dog (1982) User Reviews (109)

How Cruel and Intolerant a Human Being Can Be

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 4 February 2012]

In Los Angeles, the unemployed young actress Julie Sawyer (Kristy McNichol) hits a white German Sheppard while driving though the hills during the night. She brings the dog to the veterinary and keeps the animal in her house on the hills. Julie takes a picture of the dog and distributes fliers with her boyfriend seeking out the owner.

When a burglar and rapist breaks in her house, the dog protects Julie and she decides to keep the animal with her. But sooner she learns the white dog is an animal trained by a racist to attack black people. However Julie has become attached to the dog and tries to find a trainer for "deprogramming" the dog. She goes to the Noah Ark, a place where the Afro-American trainer of wild animals Keys (Paul Winfield) accepts the challenge despite the difficulties of his task.

"White Dog" is among the most impressive films about racism ever made by the cinema history. The plot is very simple but touching and shows how cruel and intolerant a human being can be. The sick idea of using alcoholic or addicted black man to frequently beat up a puppy until it grows-up with hatred of black people is so despicable that it is hard to believe that it may happen.

I saw this film for the first time in the 80's and it has not aged. My vote is sight.

Title (Brazil): "Cão Branco" ("White Dog")

Not what you might think

[ghayes-2 · 7/10 · 13 March 2003]

If you get the chance, by all means see this movie, but try to leave your preconceptions aside.

Before this movie came out, it was roundly denounced by people who misunderstood what it is about. The story is not, as many feared, about a dog trained to attack black people. It is the story of a man (Paul Winfield) and his determination to do something that everyone says cannot be done - FREE the dog of its programming. Unfortunately, it seems that too few people were able to break THEIR programming and give this movie a chance.

Sometimes the harshest subjects require a no-holds-barred approach; whether you care to take the journey is your decision

[laszlo-11 · 8/10 · 15 July 2005]

As someone who was raised to abhor racism & any discrimination for that matter, maybe there is some truth to the idea that a person's beliefs (whether questionable or not) all begin with how they are raised. This could very well transfer to the animal kingdom if WHITE DOG is any indication.

Just from reading the synopsis of the film, I was prepared for a movie that would not be making its points subtly, but rather pulling no punches whatsoever. Director Samuel Fuller was always known for telling it like it is, as well as maintaining his independence from the Hollywood mainstream. At first, Paramount had intended to distribute this movie after owning the rights to Romain Gary's story for years. However, I can guess that the powers that be were still very afraid of the adverse reaction WHITE DOG was likely going to generate, mainly by people who either had not seen the movie, or had misunderstood it. That was why Paramount pulled out before the film's American release, and to this day, it has not been seen in our theaters.

It is thus easily understood why Fuller never made another American film (to which I say, good for him!) because even as liberal as we Americans often claim to be, sometimes a certain subject such as that portrayed in WHITE DOG hits a little too close to home. Fuller dared to talk about racism (a problem still alive & well even decades after the advent of civil rights) without any sugarcoating whatsoever, and it was this take-no-prisoners approach that meant curtains for the film even before it had a chance. No surprise, European audiences & critics loved WHITE DOG, and understood the movie for what it was: a statement against racism, not condoning it. Furthermore, Fuller dared to put forth the theory that racism can be taught to another person (or in this case, animal) by careful teaching. Whether or not deprogramming in the opposite direction can happen is unclear. WHITE DOG succeeds by not giving any clear-cut answers, and that is another reason why Americans probably would not have taken to it well: for every message picture we get, we expect to see some solutions for the problem. WHITE DOG does not do that.

To say WHITE DOG is a film ahead of its time would be an understatement because I do not think even today, a movie like this could be green-lighted by a major studio. Coalitions & interest groups would likely protest loudly enough to force WHITE DOG off the screen. Some would say the violence is to blame, and yes, it IS graphic. But the film does have a PG rating, so it is not gore of the highest order. Even when the film did make it on to American cable, cuts were made so that the dog merely bit its victims rather than killed them. Others would say the mere plot of the movie itself is hateful enough, but sometimes an unvarnished approach to a brutal subject is necessary to get the point across. All I can say is be prepared to have the film's message beat you over the head, for I highly doubt Fuller would have done it any other way. It will also cause heated debate & discussion, yet another result that Fuller (R.I.P.) would also have appreciated totally.

I thought I lived in the United States.

[rixrex · 30 July 2005]

Where are all the protesters who gather whenever some idiot tries to censor artwork or expression that is contrary to American culture? None of them seem to have shown up when this great work was put on the shelf, then later chopped up. Europeans, with an open eye to American society (only due to the benefit of being distant), were able to see this film with honesty. I say this because that's where it was shown uncut and critically acclaimed.

The truth is that it is a statement about and against racism, completely misunderstood by the civil rights groups and the others who opposed it. It is a good, hard look at the way racism is propagated in America, through the training of not only this one single dog, but of young people by racist adults and peers as the young people mature into adulthood. It tackles the subject with an honesty that is sadly missing in the statements of most anti-racist organizations.

Most groups prefer to gloss over the true causes of racism with platitudes, and a few often have a political agenda that promotes socialistic ideals, so they really don't give full attention to the true causes of racism. Everybody now is so afraid of offending anybody else, that everything becomes a watered-down, grayish, inoffensive litany no more bothersome than grouchiness. Sam Fuller stated in film what it really is, and that is that people learn from others throughout childhood, not always by overt indoctrination but by subtle methods, to think in stereotypical and racist terms. Not just whites thinking of blacks as uneducated gangster-rappers, but also those who think of Native Americans as lazy drinkers, Italians as loud-mouthed mob disciples, country folks as hillbilly trailer trash, and so on.

And Hollywood does little of significance to dispel this, because they mostly grind things down to these kind of stereotypes to fit into the 2-hr film story mode that they like, which is long on violence, sex and action, and short on character. It's easier that way. Thanks to Sam Fuller for his courage.

ADDENDUM: I had the opportunity to see this again recently after 25 years, and it is still as powerful as I remembered. It does have a B-movie quality to it, a roughness that actually makes it better than if it had been a polished film. The final sequence remains as terrifying as anything I've seen in any type of film, horror, suspense, Hitchcock, and so on. And it has a fabulous music score by Ennio Morricone. I'd confidently call this one a must-see!

WHITE DOG (Samuel Fuller, 1982) ***

[Bunuel1976 · 7/10 · 15 June 2007]

Adapted by Fuller and Curtis Hanson from the Romain Gary novel (to whom the picture is dedicated), WHITE DOG was the iconoclastic director's last Hollywood effort – and one of his most remarkable, in my opinion. However, due to accusations of racism, the film was never released to theaters in the U.S.; undaunted, Fuller took it to Europe instead!

Having watched it twice myself (first on Italian TV and now on DivX, both viewings compromised by the full-screen format – since it was originally filmed in Panavision – and the latter even more so by the VHS quality of the source!), I have to say that I really don't see it as a racist picture at all. On the contrary, the film deals extremely tactfully with its delicate subject matter, and nowhere does it condone such views! One perhaps tends to forget that, hand in hand with the racial angle, the film also tackles another very sensitive issue: animal cruelty. This is handled just as effectively, particularly in the scene towards the end where the dog's previous redneck owner appears out of the blue to reclaim it.

Despite the violence it commits, the dog is never portrayed as a 'monster' that should be destroyed like the ones we encounter in conventional horror films. However, it does carry undeniable connotations with the genre – notably Robert Louis Stevenson's perennial "Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde". Like the leading character of that story, the dog seems to register two diverse and entirely opposing personalities – docile, protective and even playful with its mistress (Kristy McNichol), then turning suddenly into an unstoppable beast out for blood whenever a colored person crosses its path!

The 'reconditioning' scenes with Paul Winfield are exceptional, and really give one an idea of what trained animals have to go through before they finally learn to 'perform'. The rather bleak final scene (so typical of Fuller) is especially powerful – and poignant. The film is accompanied by a simple yet tremendously effective score by the great Ennio Morricone. From the cast, both McNichol and Winfield are superb; Burl Ives is admirably cast against type; Jameson Parker (from the SIMON & SIMON TV series) appears as McNichol's boyfriend; and there are nice cameos by the likes of veterans Marshall Thompson and Dick Miller, director Paul Bartel and even Fuller himself (as McNichol's agent).

Twenty-five years after the fact, it seems that Paramount has had enough time to reconsider its position and accommodate this important motion picture with an official release, at long last – which is rumored to be coming via a Criterion DVD, no less! I truly hope that we will soon see this fascinating and thought-provoking film receive the exposure it so well deserves: if anything, it ought to be made available for its valid sociological aspects – which it doesn't exploit for sensationalistic value but rather aims for maximum eloquence with a direct, realistic style that really shouldn't offend anybody...

underrated and heartbreaking

[guigui-paul · 10/10 · 6 February 2005]

"white dog" is one of the best films of the 80's,it's a very very hard film but also a really clever and lucid film about racism,conditioning,hatred and the complex connections between people and animals. The acting (especially from Kristy McNichol and Paul Winfield) is great,Fuller's direction and his sense of editing and use of slow motion are really effective,the screenplay is brilliant and ennio Morricone's soundtrack is really beautiful and haunting. I have only an old VHS (with bad dubbing and full screen format)of "white dog"...this underrated masterpiece really deserves a beautiful edition on DVD!

The dog should have earned Academy Award nomination

[IlyaMauter · 6/10 · 4 April 2003]

Quite an interesting film about a hound trained to attack black people, and a black animal trainee, Keys, played by Paul Winfield, for whom it becomes a very personal matter to do a difficult job of deprogramming a dog. Misunderstood by many as a racist film at the time it came out, now it became sort of cult-classic. The most remarkable thing about this movie is certainly the most amazing performance from the main character - which is the dog itself. Only to see this dog acting is a sufficient reason to see this film. 6/10

The true horror of racism, told through a dog.

[The_Void · 9/10 · 27 June 2006]

White Dog is often mentioned on lists of all-time most controversial films, and there's a good reason for that. Samuel Fuller's film is controversial because it confronts the theme of racism head on, and succeeds where modern films such as 'Crash' fail in that it actually makes you think. Rather than actually being 'about' racism, White Dog tells a story and lets the themes flow; thus meaning that the audience is allowed to see the themes shining through, rather than being beaten over the head with them. The film is really clever and is based on a premise that isn't immediately obvious. In fact, if it wasn't for a series of little niggles; this film would be an absolute masterpiece. The problems with the film are largely down to the execution, as Samuel Fuller uses too many close-up shots; and the scenes where the title animal attacks in particular suffer from poor editing, which means that it's sometimes difficult to tell exactly what's going on and most of the time gave me a headache. Furthermore, the plot doesn't move particularly well and the film can seem like it isn't going anywhere at times.

It's a good job, then, that Fuller utilises his themes so well. Racism isn't a subject that interests me generally (mostly because of tacky, sentimental dross like Crash), but the plot here is used in such a way that it's impossible not to be taken in by it. We follow a young aspiring actress that accidentally runs a dog over. After becoming attached to it, she decides to take it in; but pretty soon the dog attacks someone, and she finds out that aside from being a white dog, it's also a 'White Dog'; a dog used by white people to kill blacks. The main reason why this film is so good is down to the title animal. Here we have an entity that is entirely innocent of its crimes; the guilty party being the racist that trained him. By letting us see what the dog is capable of, but making sure we know that the dog is only doing what it has been programmed to do ensures that the true horror of racism is allowed to shine through; as well as the futility of hatred down to skin colour. Films like White Dog are few and far between; here we have a movie that dares to tell a story despite its implications, and a movie that forces its audience to think about their own prejudices. It's just sad that we live in a world where films like Crash win Oscars while films like White Dog are banished into obscurity. Highly recommended!

Tragic beauty...

[moonspinner55 · 7/10 · 18 January 2001]

Meandering at times, but sensitive thriller about a white-colored, racist dog trained to attack African-Americans. Kristy McNichol nurses him back to health after hitting him with her car, soon learning his true nature and dedicating herself to curing the gorgeous but brainwashed creature. The random scenes of attack on black characters--one in slow-motion--are probably what doomed this film's chances at getting a theatrical release (it played Mexico, but only "preview performances" in the US). True, they are upsetting, but deliberately so. They are necessary in showing the reasoning of what happens next, but that certainly doesn't erase the controversial undermining. McNichol has a difficult time getting a grip on her character (we don't get a good idea of who she is either), but the actress's mere presence is reassuring--she's like a lovely ray. Paul Winfield gives his best performance ever as the black man who attempts to retrain the dog, knowing how slim his chances are. Some shots are repetitive, and Ennio Morricone's music is as well--though I found the passages lovely and melancholic. The slow motion taxed my patience, however all is nearly redeemed by that final shot. What tragic beauty there is in it, what a loss of innocence for all concerned. **1/2 from ****

Blunt, unflinching B-movie film-making

[tomgillespie2002 · 9/10 · 12 September 2016]

Deemed too controversial by Paramount in 1982, Samuel Fuller's bare- knuckled study of the psychology of racism went virtually unseen for over two decades, playing sporadically at film festivals and private screenings until Criterion remastered and re-released it on DVD in 2008. Fuller was understandably devastated and perplexed by the decision, as it was incredibly well received in the countries that actually saw a limited released, but it was made in a time when serious and unblinking social commentary was favoured less than greased-up man-mountains wielding dual machine guns.

From the very start, Fuller's movie is an exercise in resourceful simplicity, as young actress Julie Sawyer (Kristy McNichol) hits a white German Shepherd with her car, and takes the injured and seemingly innocent animal to the vets for a check-up. The dog's ferocity rears its head early on, as it takes down a rapist that breaks in Julie's house and restrains him until the police arrive. Its eagerness to attack is interpreted as protection of its owner, but when the hound starts savagely attacking black people, it soon becomes clear that this is no ordinary dog. Despite her boyfriend's pleas to put it down before it kills somebody, Julie believes that it can be cured of the affliction it was taught from a young age.

The first third of the movie plays out like exploitation with the subtlest of satire running through the story, almost like the type of movie Larry Cohen used to make only without a flying serpent or mutant baby. The attacks are brutal and well-made despite its low budget, and the movie proceeds almost like a slasher (gnasher?) as the beast bares its teeth with its coat festooned with blood. The animal is truly terrifying, and makes for a chilling movie 'monster'. Yet you see a glimmer of redemption in those sad eyes, and Julie does too, taking it to animal trainer Carruthers (Burl Ives) who, like everybody else, warns her to kill the beast before it kills somebody. One of his workers, dog trainer Keys (Paul Winfield), recognises it as a 'white dog' - one conditioned from a pup to hate black people.

It is a this point that White Dog becomes an enthralling and intelligent expose of racism, posing far more questions that it quite wisely fails to answer. The pure hatred bred into the animal rings true with humans; the kind of ignorant, confused and misdirected fury so prevalent in America. The film also asks whether or not this kind of conditioning is curable. Keys certainly tries, exposing more and more of his black skin to the dog as they gradually form a bond, but the German Shepherd remains unpredictable, managing one night to escape its confines and commit an act of pure savagery in the holiest of locations. The film highly suggests that you may remove the racism, but the hatred will remain, and it's a sobering thought. This is blunt, unflinching B-movie film-making that will have you on the edge of your seat as you watch, and reflect heavily on its themes afterwards.

Painful but powerful

[Polaris_DiB · 7/10 · 18 January 2009]

Ugh. Yet again, a movie controversial for its apparent "racism" obviously wasn't watched by the people who criticized it, because this is about as anti-racist as it gets. In fact, White Dog is the exact opposite of that terrible 2004 movie Crash: actually anti-racist instead of stereotypical, craftily allegorical instead of manipulative, and SINCERE. It's perfect for the time-period in which it came out, when it became clear that racism was not going to just go away because of 60s Civil Rights movements, but instead was an inbred horror of the American experience.

Definitely there is some unintentional kitsch in this. Samuel Fuller is a versatile director (how different is this from Pickup on South Street and The Big Red One? Very.) and there were a lot of different creative minds going into this, so some things did not work out quite as well as others. On one hand, this is a pure, exploitational horror movie with a very scary beast. On the other hand, it's a Greek tragedy. And also there's bits of melancholia and pessimism thrown in. People wanting a cute furry creature feature are going to be devastated. People expecting a horror movie are going to have to sit through drama. People expecting a drama are going to have to sit through some blood-letting. It is not an easy movie to watch, and also it's, uh, kinda 80s.

However, it is definitely a powerful statement and done with real intelligence instead of what has now become painful self-indulgence. They just don't make movies like this any more.

--PolarisDiB

Misunderstood at release time then Fuller leaves America to live in France !!!

[elo-equipamentos · 8/10 · 13 September 2019]

Misunderstood at time release and attacked as racism picture, unhappy Samuel Fuller leaves the America to live in France, offered to Fuller it wasn't his project, however he accepts and make the screenplay and directed the movie, made a fabulous job, also brings actors as Burl Ives and Paul Winfield, in fact the picture display the racism thru the dog, many white people trained them to attack black people, unfortunately wasn't well received by the critics in this period, the time goes by and today Samuel Fuller has his final redemption on "White Dog" at last, exorcizing it for good!!!

Resume:

First watch: 1996 / How many: 2 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 8

Not Racist

[chuckabuck91 · 7/10 · 20 December 2010]

White Dog should not have been banned for the reason of being racist! As an African American, I saw no sign of racism in this movie. Actually, I wish this movie had made the big screen for all Americans to see. The truth of how bigots actually train their pets and children to be racist should be shown around the world.

Coming from the south east I can understand to great details on how this works! As professor Carrasco pointed out that the final turning point for the dog is turning on his master and then on the owner of the zoo because he smelled his previous owner. A dog's sense of smell (mainly German Sheppards) and taste contributed to his old user's tactics of attacking black people. Once a German Sheppard taste blood, he/ she will crave it, especially from anything or anyone whom it consider a threat!

Just as all racist people, because they fear what they do not understand, animals and children are subjected to attack things they do not understand for fear of disappointing their masters or parents. How do we stop this form of terrorism in our country? As much as it makes me sick to watch movies like this and Rosewood, it keeps me sound as to the truth of how racism started and how it is still permeated!!

Good message but weak in other areas.

[kwitty · 4/10 · 14 June 2009]

This film demonstrates how racism is a learned behavior. The man who taught the dog to attack blacks will pass his hate onto his two young daughters. The daughters will most likely pass this onto their children and the cycle will continue. It will require a strong minded individual to recognize this ignorance and end the cycle, however the dog's behavior after being reconditioned by Keys implies that the director believes the hate will just be redirected. While I do not agree with the directors final implications, I feel this film had a great message. However in my opinion, the editing choices were very poor. There was FAR too much slow motion in this film. I laughed to myself at several scenes in which slow motion was used seemingly just to use slow motion. The extreme unrealistic intelligence of the dog was very frustrating to watch as well as seeing the dog leap heights and distances that were in no way possible. The film was made cheesy by these points and overall I felt was ruined by them. While the message was obvious, the rest of the film was lacking to me. I would not recommend this film to others.

Unseen Masterpiece

[ryanlangerud · 8 September 2004]

I can't let this be the only comment for White Dog.

The best film about racism and hatred I've ever seen, with the basic message that hatred isn't something a child is born with, it's something they have been taught. And the question is raised, can you un-teach them?

A black animal trainer (Paul Winfield) attempts to re-train an attack dog taught to kill people with black skin.

Paramount tucked it's tail between it's legs when protesters who had never seen the film claimed it was the work of racists.

Fuller moved to France and never made another American movie. (He made one in France)

PS: to the lady above me, that annoying piano is Ennio Morricone and he has forgotten more about music than you will ever know.

Terrrific intentions about racism and attack dogs, but clumsy and sensationalist

[secondtake · 6/10 · 29 August 2010]

White Dog (1982)

As usual, the sensationalist Sam Fuller pulls off a riveting film, and its message about racism is blunt. And the filming is strong, the editing tight. Much of the acting (the three main people at least) is also good.

But the writing is forced, which causes some of the lesser actors to fumble, and the better actors to strain a bit. It's not a subtle film, and the main theme, about racist dogs (attack dogs trained to attack blacks) is interesting but not really enough, by itself to be satisfying. And there many times when people just don't do quite the right thing--where the main woman would try to stop her dog from attacking another actress, for one example. The dog training aspects are fanciful in general, and a bit nerve wracking.

However, there are some great animal rights implications here, a little ahead of the curve in movies. These in turn are meant to raise issues of human racism, and the analogy is great. I just with the movie had more substance, and better construction, as a movie.

A tough film on a difficult subject

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 9 July 2019]

Struggling actress Julie Sawyer (a fine and sympathetic performance by Kristy McNichol) adopts a beautiful big white German shepherd that she discovers much to her horror has been trained to attack black people. Determined animal trainer Keys (a superb portrayal by Paul Winfield) decides to try to make the dog unlearn this terrible conditioning.

Director Samuel Fuller, who also co-wrote the searing script with Curtis Hanson, relates the gripping story at a constant pace, maintains a bold and confrontational tone throughout, and brings a palpable sense of anger and sadness to the grim premise. Moreover, Fuller does a remarkably convincing job of presenting the dog as a pitiable victim instead of a fearsome monster; the poor canine is clearly the toxic product of a cruel upbringing, which in turn makes the potent and provocative point that racism is a learned trait that's ingrained in one's psyche at an early age.

McNichol and especially Winfield both do sterling work in their roles. Burl Ives plays heart cigar-chomping animal sanctuary owner Carruthers with delightfully lip-smacking gusto. Popping up in nifty bits are such familiar faces as Bob Minor, Dick Miller, Paul Bartel, and even Fuller himself as Julie's agent. Kudos are also in order for Ennio Morricone's haunting melancholy score and the polished cinematography by Bruce Surtees. The five dogs who portray the titular canine all deserve props for their exceptional work. The tragic ending packs a devastating punch. By no means a comforting film, but an undeniably powerful and unsettling one.

Interesting... to say the least.

[jivefishter · 7/10 · 16 December 2010]

When I first watched White Dog, I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. I understood that it was a film about racism and that it questions whether or not racism is a treatable or incurable condition. At the time, I felt like I needed to just let it soak in, to just absorb it all and wrap my thoughts around it.

It starts like this: a young actress, Julie, is driving along a dark road and accidentally hits a white German Shepherd dog. After she gets the dog treated at a vet, she takes him home whilst trying to find the owners. The dog protects her one night and she decides to adopt it, not knowing that the dog was trained to attack African Americans. After realizing that there's something not quite right with the dog, she brings him to a dog trainer, Carruthers, whom, at first, tells to kill the dog. But another trainer, Keys (who is African American), undergoes the task of retraining the dog.

So can the dog be retrained or not? To be completely honest, I couldn't completely buy into the story. Yes, I find it believable that a dog can be trained in such a way, but at the same time, the reactions from the characters just threw me off. Take Julie, for instance, she's rather defensive of a dog that just attacked her coworker. I get that she has an emotional attachment to the dog, especially since he protects her from a rapist. But I don't really understand why it doesn't seem to strike her as odd when the dog comes back one night, covered in dirt and blood. Don't you think if your dog came home looking like that, wouldn't alarm bells start going off in your head? Truthfully, I found the film interesting. I wouldn't put it up there with my favorites, but at the same time, I wouldn't knock it down either. I just wish the characters were a little more developed. But other than that, I would suggest it just for the question of whether or not learned hatred can be cured.

Quintessential Sam Fuller: Excellent

[Jared X · 9/10 · 23 April 1999]

I thoroughly enjoyed this powerful film, particularly for its witty writing, great camera work, and editing. It is on par with To Kill a Mockingbird in terms of its comprehensive treatment of prejudice. My favorite scene is McNichol's chance encounter with the dog's original owner. Throwing tranquilizing darts at R2D2 was a brilliant metaphor for the story, i.e., (1) the futility of suppressing someone's lifetime of a robotic knee jerk reactions to the world with "treatment". On another level, Fuller seems to seek the termination the animal as a sidekick (and criticizing the absence of animal at all in cinema) and while longing for a return to depictions of animals (including the human animal) as a genuine menace. I appreciated the characters' mixed motives and questionable methodology.

I was delighted to see Curtis Hanson was a co-writer.

Criticisms? It should have been shot in black and white. The allusions to brain surgery were weak, and the animal experimentation implications could have been more subtle. The motive(s) of the Burl Ives character is unclear. Kristy McNichol's attachment to the dog is inexplicable and unconvincing, although her performance is very good. Her devotion might have been demonstrated in other (in varying degrees of cheesy) ways, i.e., photographs of her beloved pet, saying outright "but I love him!" or perhaps showing the dog's reflection in her sunglasses. But why strain the story with her waiting by the phone for the news that the dog is cured? I was much more convinced by the trainer's passion.

It's a great film nonetheless.

a counterintuitive portrayal of racism

[graceism22 · 7/10 · 21 December 2010]

White Dog is not a racist film. Samuel Fuller's (the director) intention was not to make a racist film. So why was this movie deemed racist? It was banned in the US and only recently released on DVD. Fuller, accustomed to making B-movies with not much of a "good reputation" thought he could get away with his "radical" messages because he had more freedom to do so. I think the people who thought of this movie as racist only thought so because it's about a white dog attacking black people. However, that's just a tag line; really it's about a racist trainer who brainwashes a dog to attack black people and how a black trainer tries to re-teach the dog not to. In the end the trainer is victorious. Some, who still think the film is racist, might interpret the ending as confirming racism. For a dog, race is just black and white, but the movie said a lot about racism in human society, and the possibilities of re-conditioning. Fuller's movie might not be the greatest film about racism but it very cleverly portrays racism through the medium of a dog—neutral in thought.

A tremendously blunt commentary on racism

[StevePulaski · 9/10 · 3 September 2013]

White Dog is a polarizing, criminally underrated commentary on racism as a curable way of thinking. The most dehumanizing thing you could do to a race is view them as stereotypical caricatures and writer-director Samuel Fuller recognized this when he made this film. Therefore, to tell his unconventional story, he utilizes characters as metaphors and events as psychiatric tests, beautifully articulating the theory that a racist can be "rebirthed," so to speak, as someone who holds no judgments.

One of the many reasons to appreciate this film is - unlike so many pictures today - this one possesses the courage and gumption to take an idea and gleefully run with it. Samuel Fuller holds up a magnifying glass to his audience, questioning their prejudices and tests their understanding and belief in racist behavior - can it be "cured" or is it there to stay after initial implementation? Fuller uses a beautiful, healthy white German Sheppard as the main character - or device - to try and give substance and justification to these questions. The dog is of an older age and is struck by Julie Sawyer (Kristy McNichol), a young, starving actress in search of work. She takes the dog to a vet where it is seen suffering minor injuries. Not long after Julie takes it home with her - as all other options seem to be unfulfilling - she learns her nameless dog is an attack dog, specifically trained to viciously maul black people. Frustrated and low on options, she takes the dog to a black man named Keys (Paul Winfield), who specializes in training animals, particularly dogs. He knows all about "white dogs" and informs Julie that at the age of a puppy this dog may have been beaten and mistreated by a black man (as directed by a white owner) in order to make the dog "attack black before black can attack hit." Julie is disgusted and angry. Her boyfriend believes the dog should be put down, while Julie (who represents the optimistic side of the "learned racism" debate) believes that it isn't the dog's fault that it was trained to hate. Another elderly white trainer named Carruthers (Burl Ives) also believes the dog is untrainable and, on that notion, should be put down.

Julie decides to let Keys do his best to try and make the dog relearn. What follows is terrific and lengthy sequences of Keys trying to retrain the dog and overwrite its memory. All the while, we, the viewer, are put in a position where numerous questions have already been quietly communicated to us and we have to come up with answers in our head. White Dog challenges the viewer in a mystifying way that is equal parts subtle, manipulative, and brilliant. The film plays with your emotions, but never shamelessly milks the material as sentimental bait.

The only thing that will likely serve as a distraction to viewers are the film's production values, which are obviously cheap and of an independent film budget. However, when a film is this crowded with blunt social commentary and heavy themes, questioning a person's true beliefs and ethics, production values have little importance whatsoever. Few will complain because the film provides such a smooth conversation on racism that the way it is presented doesn't need to be very polished. I'd rather have a low-budget piece of valuable commentary than a glossy, good-looking film with no brain in its head whatsoever.

Racism is a tough subject to tackle in film, and with directors like Paul Haggis unintentionally cheapening the material for easy-consumption and others like Spike Lee clearly passionate about making it believable, a film like White Dog is a true miracle. Fuller's approach to racism and the blunt question it asks a person shouldn't be ignored. We're told in the film that dogs can only see in two colors; what happens when one of them is viewed as an evil color?

Starring: Kristy McNichol, Paul Winfield, Burl Ives, and Jameson Parker. Directed by: Samuel Fuller.

review

[tim-haha · 6/10 · 14 June 2009]

This movie left a mixture of tastes in my mouth. Personally I judge what a good movie is by asking myself if it is a movie I would pay to watch for two hours. This movie is not something I would consider good or even tasteful for its overly dramatic exposition of a White Dog viciously attacking black people. But this movie should not entirely be dismissed for audiences inability to digest racist embodied by a white dog. Watching this movie for the first time, I did not think that the title White Dog had anything to do with racism. I'm glad Sam Fuller expresses his view on racism where more filmmakers are no where to be found. Yes, we all know racism is bad, but Fuller personifies people's racist behavior into a dog who finds his way into a young actress's life after getting hit by said woman's car. The dog is rushed to a vet and given treatment to its wounds. The night of the dog staying at the woman's house, a Hispanic burglar breaks in and begins assaulting her. The dog rescues her and chases the man our through the window and into the back yard. The police come and take the man away. The next day, the dog escapes due to his curious interest in a dark brown bunny rabbit. The young actress looks for hours where the dog might have wondered off to. The following scene is at night time with an African American driving a street-sweeper down the road. The dog viciously attacks the man, who immediately afterward crashes into a strip mall. At this moment I still have the naive assumption that the dog is frightened and lost and acted on instinct. The most shocking thing I found the actress's oblivious expression to her dog returning home covered in blood. Later, the actress takes her dog along with her to shoot a scene to a movie she is acting in and the movie became as clear to me as it did to her: the dog is a White Dog.... meaning racist. The scene is arranged with the protagonist and a similar woman who happens to be African American. The dog leaps into the shot and proceeds to bite the crap out of her shoulder. Watching this movie, I couldn't help but think Fuller dwells on people's inability to do what is right when it is needed. After two African Americans get brutally attacked, our protagonist finally decides to seek help. This is not due to her intelligence, but her pity for poor dog. Fuller is quick to make sure our protagonist absolutely wants to keep this dog alive to cause as much possible pain to all the African Americans in this movie. She takes the dog to an animal trainer for Hollywood movies to see if she can UN-do what has been done to this dog. Again, she is determined to avoid everyone's advice, including the animal trainer's, to kill the dog. Beyond unbelievable, unforeseeable and unfortunate events, the dog escapes from the trainers cage to kill another African American in a church no less. At this point in the movie, character's roles switch. The protagonist wants to put the dog down, but the damn animal trainer is determined that he can recondition the dog to become a living example that his method works. So three African Americans were brutally attacked that didn't deserve it and one killed, AND no consequences followed. Even a police officer confronts the trainer and he fails to mention they are holding a wild dog who just killed a man. I should mention that the trainer's motivation is based upon his own skin color: black. He is so determined to prove the system wrong that he will neglect the death of a man to prove to the world that a black man cured a white dog. What seems like months that go by, the animal trainer finally gains the dogs trust and obedience to the point that the dog realizes that his owner was bad, and anyone who looks like his former owner must die. Fortunately for the dog and the plot of the story, the animal trainer's friend bares a great resemblance to the supposed owner that we are introduced to at the end of the film, justifying why the animal trainer finally decided to kill the damn dog. The film explores the idea of racism due to our conditioning and social construct. I want to believe that, but I can't help feel that this theory falls flat. If we were asked to follow the blame trail all the way up to the people who started hating people, we would be considered racist. People find racist thing to say and think from the people they are being racist towards. No one can claim that Hispanics are lazy or always late unless it happens enough to develop into a stereotype. I don't want to believe that humans do this on purpose but we do naturally. Any time we learn something or try and commit information to memory, we create categories to put said information. If we have a good or bad experience from someone or a group of people, we quickly, but naively, learn that all people of that group share that quality. That is my main complaint with this film; it didn't try to solve the problem it set out to solve.

Fuller's most unintentionally funny film, perhaps, because he goes for broke in exploitive thrills and dialog

[Quinoa1984 · 8/10 · 20 February 2007]

I'm not sure White Dog would qualify in the pantheon of great films from the B-movie legend Samuel Fuller, maybe because it lacks the austere polish of Pickup on South Street or the perfectly outrageous execution of Shock Corridor. But as a work of full-bodied entertainment, it does its job far exceeding expectations. I wouldn't say I was going into White Dog looking for great art, however, as its premise- about a white dog that's been trained since it was a puppy to attack black people based on visual association- is one that invites a lot of immediate guffaws and possible gasps. It even got banned for a short while in some areas, including the United States, where it's not even on video. Luckily, it played a theater recently in New York, and seeing it with an audience is even a greater thrill, as Fuller's direction and timing with the characters, as well as his and Curtis Hanson's ear for great dialog that balances tongue-in-cheek and sincerity brilliantly, make it a really a good time with the sensationalism of taboos and liberal idealism, where a world of black and white is all that's for a dog, but what about humans?

The story is, like in other Fuller films, sort of ripped off the headlines, with a basic set of characters, albeit here based on a true Hollywood case. A naive would-be actress, Julie (Kristy McNichol) accidentally hits a dog on the road. When she takes it to the vet, they're almost ready to put it down, but she takes him in until the real owner comes forward to the lost & found signs. The dog's friendly, and even a good bet at first as it attacks a burglar/rapist that enters in Julie's home (while the dog is, of course, distracted by a war movie on TV). But soon a startling pattern seems to occur with the dog- it wanders off and attacks a man driving a truck (who then proceeds to drive it, headlong and totally, into a department store), and also Julie's co-star in her bit part in a movie...and both are black people. She doesn't want the dog put down, however, because she thinks attacking people can be cured. So she takes him to gruff and tough Paul Winfield's Keys, who doesn't want to experiment on the dogs he has to end up killing, and takes on this dog as his possible chance to show he can make a dog trained to attack based on black skin un-trained.

This then ensues, in its short running time, many juicy, memorable, and just shamelessly funny moments. And Fuller had to have known some of this had to be comedic material as opposed to the straight down the line thrillers of his heyday. Not that there aren't ones that are downright manipulative in thrills, like when the dog, roaming around randomly in the garbage on one side, doesn't seem to see a black kid walk out of the building on the other side, and just before the dog turns the corner the mother gets her child back inside (it's almost Hitchcockian). Or the cheap symbolism of the dog attacking the guy in the church, and then the shot of the dog in the religious iconography. Or just the 'training' sessions themselves, which involve white castle burgers and many extra pads. Fuller even casts in funny ways, like the guy who runs the training-zoo with Keys, who claims to fame his hand as being crucial to the movie True Grit. Or just simple, stupendous lines involving bagels and nothingness. And what is one meant to take seriously when Julie sees her dog come home *covered in blood* and doesn't think too much of it?

Apparently, being in the theater, I wasn't the only one who got some big kicks out of this stuff too. It's humor that comes out of the earnestness of the material, but that doesn't make it a wrong thing to do. And in all actuality I like it better in this manner, where it is clear where the filmmakers lie in their message- that racial hatred, in a matter of speaking here at least though in general, is not an absolute. In fact, I respond more to a film like White Dog with its sense of daring with making such chancy material into an escapade of horror, especially because in the hands of a master like Fuller it's never an unprofessional feat either, as opposed to an overbearing and redundant film like Crash. By the end, one doesn't feel that it's been a trashy attempt at making a crazy and well-meaning film, and its one of the rarities of exploitation not being whacked out (well, there is SOME trashy stuff here, but all in good fun in the gritty, no-punches-pulled Fuller vein). There are even some specific images and shots that are quite memorable in the cannon of the director (the lights of the background in the film scene within the film, the second to last shot of the film with the aerial view of the dog), and, contrary to some other reviews on the film, an excellent, melodramatic Ennio Morricone score. An underground, underrated early (very) 80s classic. A-

"White Dog"

[Lucero22290 · 7/10 · 18 December 2010]

Samuel Fuller directs this film to reflect racism through a dog's perspective. Not at all is the film racist, on the contrary Fuller's main objective is to communicate a point across during that era. I think that this film portrays what was and is still occurring. The movie is not about "ohh look how cute is that dog". it's about a dog that has been mislead and taught to do the wrong thing. The white dog has been taught to attack black people. As a puppy the dog learned that because he had a bad experience with black person every other black person was the same. However, he was just poisoned by the very owner that had a hate for black people. Julie Sawyer one of the main actresses confronts the dog's ex- owner and speaks out her mind about how he had done such a hard to the dog. Racist people that spoil the rest of the bunch should be put a stop to because categorizing people according to their skin color isn't fair. This movie raises suspense but at times the music is too over the top, overall this film contains a greater meaning.

Unjustified reputation - cheap and trashy

[grahamclarke · 3/10 · 7 June 2005]

Sam Fuller's reputation as an important film maker is something of a mystery to me. The movies of his that I've seen have all had a cheap, distinct trashiness about them. This in itself can hold a certain appeal, but there's an overriding sense of an amateur at work, rather than the serious director he is purported to be.

"White Dog" is no exception. Roman Gary's story is powerful and in the hands of a truly talented director, the result could have been explosive. While Gary and Curits Hanson are credited as co-writers, the stilted dialog has Fuller's stamp on it. The lines have a lame quality, associated with extreme B movies, if not the filler dialog of porn movies.

Kristy McNchol, Burl Ives and Paul Winfield are fine enough actors, so it's to Fuller's discredit that the film should be so shoddy.

The attack scenes are handled well, and as some reviewers have mentioned the dog out acts them all. Fortunately he has no dialog.