White Dog

White Dog (1982)

  • 90% of critics liked it
    (10 reviews)

  • 71% of users liked it
    (1,829 ratings)

A powerful saga about racism. Julie Sawyer (Kristy McNichol) hits a handsome white dog with her car one night and then nurses it back to health. One day, the theretofore mild-mannered dog saves her life by viciously attacking and killing a rapist who breaks into her home. Lucy discovers that the dog… More

PG, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By
Samuel Fuller
Written By
Samuel Fuller, Curtis Hanson
Genres
Drama
In Theaters
Jan 1, 1982 Wide
On DVD
Dec 2, 2008

Critic Reviews

  • Brian Juergens, CampBlood.org

    A misunderstood masterpiece - not just a poignant movie about racism, but also a stellar example of how genre film can be effectively used to address a society's ills.

  • Paul Brenner, Filmcritic.com

    one film that will never make it into the Animal Planet lineup.

  • Fernando F. Croce, Slant Magazine

    Fuller's hound from hell chews Crash's can't-we-get-along platitudes and spits them out.

  • Fernando F. Croce, Slant Magazine

    Hate is a dog from hell in White Dog, Samuel Fuller's abused and abandoned late-career masterpiece about homegrown racism.

  • Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com

    A simply told story that says more about racism than many NAACP-approved films.

Read all 10 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Randy T


    What Sam Fuller lacks in finance and technology he <i>almost</i> makes up for in style and intent. <i>White Dog</i> is 5 star social commentary on a 2 star budget.

  • Graham J


    Sam Fuller's late masterpiece and in my opinion his best film. Looking at it on Blu-Ray, this film feels incredibly fresh.

  • Cynthia S


    A lost gem?? uh, I think not. As good as the storyline might be, I couldn't get past the poor acting (made for TV quality, circa 1980), and the ridiculous dialogue. I was very dissapointed.

  • Stella D


    fuller's famous 'lost' film was pulled from circulation in the u.s. by cowardly studio heads who feared a boycott. the film makes a powerful statement about racism altho some of the acting is cheesy. a 'white' dog is a dog that's been trained to attack… More

  • Drew S


    The least you can say for it is that it presents its ideas in a more interesting fashion than Crash. Who could resist the allure of this film's premise? A dog that attacks black people? It's just bizarre enough to get the mind racing. Why confine an idea like racism to… More

Read all 13 featured audience ratings

Cast

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