White Dog (1982)

Directed by

Samuel Fuller

Genre

drama film, horror film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 30m

Rated

PG

Rating

6.6 of 10 from 300 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A young actress adopts a stray dog that is actually a white dog trained to attack Black people. A Black dog trainer tries to retrain the animal while the film examines whether racism can be cured.

tensedisturbingunsettlingbleakprovocativethought-provokinggrittyserious

What happens

White Dog is a 1982 American drama horror film directed by Samuel Fuller and written by Fuller and Curtis Hanson, based on Romain Gary's 1970 novel of the same title. Executive Producers were Edgar J. Scherick and Nick Vanoff. The film depicts the struggle of a dog trainer named Keys (Paul Winfield), who is black, trying to retrain a stray dog found by a young actress (Kristy McNichol), that is a "white dog"—a dog trained to make vicious attacks upon, and to kill, any black person. Fuller uses the film as a platform to deliver a message against racism as it examines the question of whether racism is a treatable problem or an incurable condition. The film's theatrical release was suppressed for a week in the United States by Paramount Pictures out of concern over negative press after rumors began circulating that the film was racist. Prior to the date, it was released internationally in France in July 1982. Its first official American home video release came in December 2008 when The Criterion Collection released the original uncut film to DVD. Critics praised the film's hard-line look at racism and Fuller's use of melodrama and metaphors to present his argument, and its somewhat disheartening ending that leaves the impression that once racism is learned, it cannot be cured. Reviewers consistently questioned the film's lack of wide release in the United States when it was completed and applauded its belated release by Criterion. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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