Giles

White Dog

interesting, heard this is quite controversial.

Question: the reviewer in Amazon's listing says it's not a legit release, even though both Amazon and TLA have it for preorder (TLA doesn't release the more ambiguous/sometimes non-region 1 discs that Amazon sells) The reviewer also makes a reference that Criterion is working on a special edition, is that really true?

d2cheer

interesting, heard this is quite controversial.




Unfortunately that does not make it a good film...barely watchable...

domino harvey

Criterion does own the rights, so it's widely assumed that this is a VHS-sourced bootleg or a release not unlike those found from NYFA

man*machine

Televista is the same company as Jef Films (and also known as Substance).

It is the biggest DVD bootleg operation out there. Most of their transfers are taken from old VHS releases and look worse than the original VHS. Amazon is aware that Jef/Televista/Substance is a bootleg operation, but continue to allow their product to be sold there. I guess they are all just making way too much money and don't care about the legality or morality of it. Capitalism at its finest.

Giles

who knew? I didn't...

Matthew Ackerly

I wrote Criterion an email not too long ago and they said they had no plans to release this.

mickey65

I guess I'll hang on to the DVD-R I made from the VHS I taped off of HBO a few years back.

Nice to see a few Kristy McNichol fans here!

CSM126

Funny. Someone over at Criterionforum.org posted an e-mail from Criterion recently that said they ARE going to release White Dog, they just haven't begun work on it yet.

salamander2

Maybe because of this bootleg release, they scrapped their plan??

CSM126

Why would a bootleg stop them? They know they'll provide a better product with wider appeal. After all, they've released public domain films that were available from multiple DVD houses (My Man Godfrey, Mr. Arkadin, and Carnival of Souls being fine examples), so I doubt a bootleg would matter much to them.

mickey65

Doesn't TLA mostly gear towards Gay/lesbian films? I used to get their catalogs in the mail all the time.

Giles

yes, but just looking at their website reveals they are as mainstream as Amazon, they unlike Amazon can sell porn (their cash cow).

domino harvey

maybe TLA thought they were releasing White Doggystyle

Matthew Ackerly

Spiral Staircase

Criterion confirmed that they will be releasing White Dog next year.

From the 8/27/07 newsletter:

"In 2008 Criterion will release a Samuel Fuller movie that was deemed too controversial to release by its studio—and that was allegedly based on the true story of a pet once owned by Breathless star Jean Seberg."

slowcloud

This movie sounds so delightfully politically incorrect! I've never heard of it, but I can't wait to see it. White man's prejudice reduced to a savage, psychotic dog. Brilliant and perfectly timely in today's self-righteous times.

CSM126

Actually, by extension it's about hate in general, not just white man's. Fuller was a little deeper than that, dude.

And yes it is politically incorrect. No shock for a Sam Fuller movie.

slowcloud

Actually ... sir ... by generalizing and reducing the film's statement to simple hate, you are draining power away from the symbol that is the white dog. You are exactly giving voice to the desensitized, ignorant bias (disguised as pious) world we live in today by saying it's just hate in general-- so vague and amorphous it becomes less threatening.

CSM126

No, dude, trust me. The movie is about how all hate is wrong. That is pounded home undeniably by the end of the film. The point isn't that it hates black people, it's that it is unacceptable that it hates any people or anything.

slowcloud

OK, sir, to be continued until I see this movie, but I think that would be a cop out, if the director ends it on such a note.

CSM126

Well, until then...

Personally, I don't see it as a cop out. It's handled in a way that delivers quite a punch.

And can I ask why you think denouncing hate in general is a cop-out? What, is white man's hate the only one that counts?

slowcloud

I'm still curious about the film. All good art is open to interpretation, so we may continue to disagree.

I do not think white man's hate is the only hate that counts, but, on a microscopic level, the closer you can humanize hate and specify it, the sharper the mirror you can present to the audience. I'm talkign here about a spcific work, in this case a movie. It's simple semiotics. Defining a symbol, in this case to represent a specific type of prejudice, one that will never die: prejudice of the Other. So, yes, hate in general hate is bad, but if you can but a microscope on it you can hit a deeper chord, and, let's face it, the dwindling majority of the white man, as righteous as it is, will always draw the line, no matter how deep in his subconcious he thinks himself not to be prejudice, on the Other, by the simple definition of Otherness. We all have something like a "white dog" within us (Jung calls it the shadow). How we act on it, though, defines us, and frankly, I've seen some pretty hypcritical shit in the 21st Century we live in.

slowcloud

OK, finally saw the movie, CSM126. I wasn't too impressed with it. Some real moments of weak acting and some over-the-top dialog that I found myself inadvertantly laughing at. But, beyond that, you have to admire the story's intent. You are right, though, CSM126. The end certainly hammers the point of how hate can be a deeply seeded trait. Still, the film deals specifically with racism, though the ending really does raise the message to a higher level.