White Dog
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I haven't been able to get it out of my mind since seeing it Monday night; I dearly hope these rumors of a DVD release are true--it truly is a must-see film.Precious Doll wrote:FilmFan720 wrote:I caught up with it on Wednesday, and it is quite a remarkable film. It is one of those films that still haunts the back of my mind, two days later. I hope it is out on DVD soon so you all can catch up with it.
I saw White Dog about three times in the early 80's and it still haunts me.
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
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I saw White Dog about three times in the early 80's and it still haunts me.FilmFan720 wrote:I caught up with it on Wednesday, and it is quite a remarkable film. It is one of those films that still haunts the back of my mind, two days later. I hope it is out on DVD soon so you all can catch up with it.
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
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I caught up with it on Wednesday, and it is quite a remarkable film. It is one of those films that still haunts the back of my mind, two days later. I hope it is out on DVD soon so you all can catch up with it.
"Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good."
- Minor Myers, Jr.
- Minor Myers, Jr.
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But it is playing Saturday June 9 at 4pm at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, NY....
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
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They only have this weeks schedule up, and it is only scheduled for Tues and Wed. However, many times they will carry their films over into the smaller space the following week, so it may be there still next week.
"Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good."
- Minor Myers, Jr.
- Minor Myers, Jr.
Better do it quick; if I'm not wrong, the Music Box is showing it only 2 more days: today (Tuesday) and Wednesday.FilmFan720 wrote:I've been hoping to catch this sometime this week...glad it is worth seeing.
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
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Glad to hear you admired White Dog Penelope. It was one of the best films released during the 1980's.
It also has an interesting history. At one time Roman Polanski was slated to direct the film.
Aside from not releasing the film in the U.S., Paramount didn't release the film theatrically in overseas markets either.
Thankfully the did allow independent distributors pick the film up instead which is how I saw it during 1982/1983. I recall it getting very good reviews but tanked at the box office.
However Paramount did release the film on video in Australia later in the 80's. The cover was terrible, a white dog with blood around it's muzzle. I think they were trying to capture the horror market. I know there is also a pirated DVD version around on the net for sale which is taken from a video release of the film with German subtitles.
However I will wait for the DVD release. White Dog is around the top of my DVD wish list.
It also has an interesting history. At one time Roman Polanski was slated to direct the film.
Aside from not releasing the film in the U.S., Paramount didn't release the film theatrically in overseas markets either.
Thankfully the did allow independent distributors pick the film up instead which is how I saw it during 1982/1983. I recall it getting very good reviews but tanked at the box office.
However Paramount did release the film on video in Australia later in the 80's. The cover was terrible, a white dog with blood around it's muzzle. I think they were trying to capture the horror market. I know there is also a pirated DVD version around on the net for sale which is taken from a video release of the film with German subtitles.
However I will wait for the DVD release. White Dog is around the top of my DVD wish list.
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
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Just got back from seeing Samuel Fuller's White Dog (1982), blessedly on the big screen.
Kristy McNichol is an actress who hits a white German Shepard one night driving in the Hollywood Hills; she takes the dog in, and he saves her life when a rapist (a white man, it should be pointed out) invades her home. But the dog's attack sensibility is clearly demonstrated when he attacks a fellow actress (Lynne Moody) on a commercial set. McNichol takes the dog to an animal trainer (Burl Ives), who advises her to put the dog down when he realizes the dog has been trained to specifically attack black people. But a maverick trainer (Paul Winfield) is determined to "cure" the animal, believing that no matter how "carefully taught" racism is, it can be erased from the mind.
In a way, it's easy to see why Paramount executives panicked when they saw the final result: this is a deeply unsettling and ultimately pessimisstic parable about racism, and which bluntly (but brilliantly) makes its points in the thriller genre. Apparently, the movie never received a U.S. theatrical release (tho it was released to great acclaim in Europe), only popping up briefly on HBO sometime in 1983 or 1984 (I seem to recall seeing it listed in the HBO guide around the same time as another barely released McNichol film, 1982's The Pirate Movie, was in regular rotation on the channel, but I never got the chance to see the Fuller film at the time). As far as I know, there was never a VHS release in the states, either; but rumor has it that Criterion is working on a release--which is perhaps why this newly refurbished print has been shown lately, first in New York and now here in Chicago.
White Dog is clearly a movie designed to push the audience's buttons, and, in fact, it reminded me--if only through intent--of another film I saw recently for the first time, Michael Heneke's Funny Games: both movies set up a traditional scenario, but the audience's hopeful expectations are consistantly--and horrifyingly--dashed. The attack sequences are disturbing on so many levels--the basic thrill of horror mingled with the disturbing realisation of racist intent, as well the technical prowess on display combined with a distinctly dark humor (the attack on the commercial set--stunningly edited and photographed--for example). Even in the film's quieter scenes, the script (co-written by Fuller and Curtis Hanson) offers up throw-away lines amid thought-provoking set-pieces (such as the scene in which the dog threatens McNichol's erstwhile lover [Jameson Parker] during an argument). Definitely aiding in the effectiveness of the film is Ennio Morricone's exquisitely haunting score.
I do hope that White Dog will soon be available on DVD (hopefully with Hanson providing some commentary) so that this neglected work of art can finally be appreciated; at the very least, I'm glad that I finally got to see it, especially on the big screen.
Kristy McNichol is an actress who hits a white German Shepard one night driving in the Hollywood Hills; she takes the dog in, and he saves her life when a rapist (a white man, it should be pointed out) invades her home. But the dog's attack sensibility is clearly demonstrated when he attacks a fellow actress (Lynne Moody) on a commercial set. McNichol takes the dog to an animal trainer (Burl Ives), who advises her to put the dog down when he realizes the dog has been trained to specifically attack black people. But a maverick trainer (Paul Winfield) is determined to "cure" the animal, believing that no matter how "carefully taught" racism is, it can be erased from the mind.
In a way, it's easy to see why Paramount executives panicked when they saw the final result: this is a deeply unsettling and ultimately pessimisstic parable about racism, and which bluntly (but brilliantly) makes its points in the thriller genre. Apparently, the movie never received a U.S. theatrical release (tho it was released to great acclaim in Europe), only popping up briefly on HBO sometime in 1983 or 1984 (I seem to recall seeing it listed in the HBO guide around the same time as another barely released McNichol film, 1982's The Pirate Movie, was in regular rotation on the channel, but I never got the chance to see the Fuller film at the time). As far as I know, there was never a VHS release in the states, either; but rumor has it that Criterion is working on a release--which is perhaps why this newly refurbished print has been shown lately, first in New York and now here in Chicago.
White Dog is clearly a movie designed to push the audience's buttons, and, in fact, it reminded me--if only through intent--of another film I saw recently for the first time, Michael Heneke's Funny Games: both movies set up a traditional scenario, but the audience's hopeful expectations are consistantly--and horrifyingly--dashed. The attack sequences are disturbing on so many levels--the basic thrill of horror mingled with the disturbing realisation of racist intent, as well the technical prowess on display combined with a distinctly dark humor (the attack on the commercial set--stunningly edited and photographed--for example). Even in the film's quieter scenes, the script (co-written by Fuller and Curtis Hanson) offers up throw-away lines amid thought-provoking set-pieces (such as the scene in which the dog threatens McNichol's erstwhile lover [Jameson Parker] during an argument). Definitely aiding in the effectiveness of the film is Ennio Morricone's exquisitely haunting score.
I do hope that White Dog will soon be available on DVD (hopefully with Hanson providing some commentary) so that this neglected work of art can finally be appreciated; at the very least, I'm glad that I finally got to see it, especially on the big screen.
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster