White Dog

"White Dog" sounds like a no-good racist film. But in the hands of Samuel Fuller, the film is so much more, and offers great insight and thought into the manipulation of man on beast. In this case, the devastating horrors of racism. "White Dog" is unafraid to be blunt, and sometimes exploitive, in its delivery; but its topic, still relevant today, comes through as loud and clear as a dog's growl.

Yep, that's the best performance I've ever seen a dog give. A great performance can force you to reevaluate the way you perceive the world. Take for instance my policy of not eating Paul Winfield. Well it's not so much a policy as a default courtesy. Still, I'm now wondering how he would taste with a nice demi glace...

A great concept elevated by Fuller's B-movie insanity and the main tragic figure: a dog that might as well have been directed like a human. I have never seen a film that had such a believable animal actor.

Some hammy acting and a slightly awkward script slightly drag down what otherwise would be just about the best race-focussed movie I've seen. Several set-pieces (tease of a black child coming into contact with the dog e.g.) were utterly brilliant. If you can look past some of the made-for-TV-esque stuff, it's actually great. The dog's acting is absolutely incredible... :|

A moving film with something to say about racism. Also . . . this is best performance by a dog that I've seen.

Heartbreaking story of a girl and a racist dog (for real). Typically of Fuller, he aims for social criticism, but he aims through the scope of an M249 SAW. Not all of his movies were masterpieces (this one certainly isn't), but the world of cinema is a poorer (and less ballsy) place without him.

Another overrated Fuller movie. Made-for-TV level quality, especially with performances from television actors Kristy McNichol and Jameson Parker (plus B-movie mainstays Paul Bartel and Dick Miller) and horrible, horrible dialogue. The racism metaphor is so blunt that I hesitate to even call it a metaphor. I guess there's a certain campy appeal, but I don't understand how anyone could honestly call it a good film or an important film or a valuable film. I suppose I just don't "get" Sam Fuller.

Fuller cinema reaching the peak of ridiculousness (or as much as The Naked Kiss will let it). But, as with most everything this man does, there's something oddly compelling in its perverse disregard of even a shred of subtlety.

Right on the cusp between good and mediocre. It's an interesting take on race relations, and the story is compelling, but the entire production has a very amateurish quality. The pacing is bizarre, the acting bush-league, and several scenes are so emotionally overwrought they're embarrassing. Overall, the concept is much better than the execution.

A strong film about a racist dog but more so about addressing the root of the problem. Very excellent camera work. Would have liked to see more involvement from Kristy McNichol's character considering she's the one insisting on not killing the dog. Very tense in the middle of the film. Fav scene: camera showing a young black boy seemingly about to become the next victim but then gets snatched away coincidentally by his mother.

It is kind of uneven. At some points it's very feral, sometimes touching, but mostly it keeps on middling on a 'made for TV' -quality movie. In the end I'm not even sure if it gets the message across and I mostly came out with a message of 'humans are assholes to both animals and people' than feeling like actual racial issues had been addressed.

I ardently agree with the anti-racist aspect of the film's message, but I disagree very much with the implication that racism is futile to try to cure. Worse, the film is just dull and boring. Keys is interesting, but everything else in the film is just beige, both in appearance and personality. Neither the directing or the editing really seemed like a professional-level job, which in itself is strange when you consider Fuller's decades of experience.

Crazy premise. Haunting theme music. Scariest dog performance in film history.

Sometimes dark and sometimes melodramatic and corny, but always thought provoking. Sam Fuller gives us a story about race that, to some people, may seem ham-fisted but, in the end, still left me thinking.

bad movie

It dares to advance the liberal Hollywood tradition, but in true Fuller style, it also bites the hand that takes it for granted.

Reeeeeemake! So much potential.

aka the most obvious metaphor of all-time. But it works because Fuller doesn't pull any punches and I think he realizes how silly it potentially comes off; and if he doesn't, he clearly has so much belief in the importance of his allegory that certain scenes are packed with power. I'm not sure whether it's a great film or just an oddly fascinating one, but it is certainly worth a look.

Very crude and uncompromising in its depiction of racism and frighteningly bleak outlook on the study of it, White Dog is a thought-provoking film that would have worked better had it not been for the poor acting from the human cast or the poor dialogue. The atmosphere and the score however, is absolutely brilliant and the message is strong if a little bit dubious. I fully agree with this unsubtle message but the film enthusiast in me must also say that it isn't as good as people say.

Very effective anti-racial film.

Simplistic but effective parable on racism and learned prejudice.

Watched last year. The ideas work much better than the execution.

8+

Not really horror, but a damn fine film anyway. Sam Fuller, unlike so many other filmmakers, really went out with a bang with this one. A movie in which the tragic hero is... a dog. Yes, a dog

A tad campy at times, at least partially due to McNichol's merely passable acting, but otherwise a very tense ride. Fuller's direction here is excellent, establishing the dog's inner conflicts well and really building up the tension in vital scenes. A strong, if blunt, message too about the interplay of violence and hate

The TV-quality, goofy dialog and bowling-pin bluntness keep this movie from being great, although it is still a very good movie.

Fuller was always direct but rarely blunt; this I find to be pure bluntness, sharpened only by the power of Fuller's images. I wish I liked it more.

White dog is, frame by frame, a masterful and inventive examination of fear and hate, one that dares to put a white dog, trained to kill black people, in the uncommon position of the white man imprisoned. What is more impressive is the way Fuller cares about what he's framing -- nervous close-ups, zoom-ins borrowed from exploitation movies, but used for thoughtful purposes, and a mesmerizing balance between an uncompromised horror film and a serious racial drama.

From the downright silly text to the uniformly weak acting, this movie is just abysmally awful. It's not that Sam Fuller hadn't made his share of bad and overrated movies, but this is just mind-numbingly amateurish for a seasoned director. Apparently it stays afloat due to the common delusion that it has something profound to say about race relations. Its only real saving grace is that the dog is adorably cute, but that really doesn't seem to have been the intention.

White dog: 8 // 8 // 8 // 10 // 9 // 7 // 9

Fuller utilizes striking imagery and tense, ominous atmosphere (thanks in part to Morricone's score), and clever parallels to create a viscerally candid depiction of racism and its ramifications.

The metaphor is so on the nose it's hard to take seriously. Is it a joke? I definitely laughed a lot. Let's be honest, there's only so much you can do with a film about a white dog that's hellbent on attacking black people. Then again, there are some stand out scenes that helps it rise above the camp, and much of the imagery is relevant and compelling. The main question seems to be: Is racism a learned behavior and if so can it be unlearned? The answer is predictably unclear.

Perfect thriller with Morricone's very familiar film score. I've heard this tune before but I can't remember what movie is this. edit: Yeah, I found that: Another Morricone score! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw-Lwboh6gU White Dog piano: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBdPeHn046g

Its bluntness, even crassness you might say, on top of its quasi-controversial reputation, raises hopes that its anti-racism might be a little outside the box. Ultimately it ends up the same old neoliberal thing, though.

Garlanded with overstated claims of being Sam Fuller's late masterpiece, White Dog plays more like a bad tv-movie --stilted performances, lots of slo-mo footage of a snarling dog, and a blunt central metaphor. I can't see what was (or is) so controversial about the movie. The idea that racism is drummed into people when they're young and nigh impossible to extricate later? Stop the presses! Chalk this up to collective wish fulfillment from Fuller fanboys, eager to throw the old master a bone.