If you are craving an animal film, may I recommend Randal Kleiser's White Fang? It is based very loosely from the famous Jack London novel as the filmmakers took certain liberties which may have been for the best. The source material was mainly a comparison between dogs and humans with humans falling short of our favorite four-legged friends. This movie, on the other hand, is more of a human story. A story about the friendship of man and dog. It is a heartwarming thing watching this young man and this wolf-dog develop a deep relationship. This is the best part of the movie, watching the two creatures save each other. When the dog saves the human from a massive bear attack, I actually believed the dog could take on the bear. Look at the size of those massive fangs! The story itself is fairly predictable. I knew what was going to happen and how the film was going to end. The script could have been better. Thankfully the film works because of Kleiser's confident direction and the wonderful Ethan Hawke performance. And gosh, let's not forget about the breathtaking cinematography. Tony Pierce-Roberts uses his cameras effectively to capture incredible, vast Alaskan wilderness.
If you need a break from the never-ending glut of violent action films or mind-bending thrillers, this story is one the entire family can enjoy (because Disney!). As an animal lover who used to have a husky for the majority of my life, I needed to see this seemingly undervalued film. It's 1898, and Jack Conroy (Ethan Hawke) is a young prospector who travels the Yukon to find gold that his father promised. He joins two older prospectors (Klaus Maria Brandauer and Seymour Cassel) in the hunt for gold. He saves a wolf-dog from a cruel trainer thus the beginning of a friendship. His name, White Fang, was given to him because of his sharp teeth. White Fang was taken from Jack and trained to be an animal that viciously kills other dogs. Jack is going to have to save the dog before it is too late.
Ethan Hawke impressed me in 1989's Dead Poets Society. He uses that same charisma to make a believable character, one who matures as the movie goes on. Jed, of course is an animal actor, but he is a thing of beauty. A very majestic creature! Klaus Maria Brandauer does well in a supporting performance. He is a veteran prospector, a dreamer but also a hardened man. James Remar, folks, is my favorite villainous performance. He is not around often, but steals the show when he appears.
It's hard to believe Disney dumped White Fang in the dead of January. It is better than the credit it has been given. I had to do some digging to give the movie a proper watch. It's your typical human/animal relationship and admittedly does nothing new with the material, but it still manages to tug at the heartstrings...especially those who love animals (such as myself). There are some thrilling and surprisingly vicious moments (that bear attack and the dogfighting scenes). A good, old-fashioned picture about the friendship between a human and an animal.
My Grade: B.
If you need a break from the never-ending glut of violent action films or mind-bending thrillers, this story is one the entire family can enjoy (because Disney!). As an animal lover who used to have a husky for the majority of my life, I needed to see this seemingly undervalued film. It's 1898, and Jack Conroy (Ethan Hawke) is a young prospector who travels the Yukon to find gold that his father promised. He joins two older prospectors (Klaus Maria Brandauer and Seymour Cassel) in the hunt for gold. He saves a wolf-dog from a cruel trainer thus the beginning of a friendship. His name, White Fang, was given to him because of his sharp teeth. White Fang was taken from Jack and trained to be an animal that viciously kills other dogs. Jack is going to have to save the dog before it is too late.
Ethan Hawke impressed me in 1989's Dead Poets Society. He uses that same charisma to make a believable character, one who matures as the movie goes on. Jed, of course is an animal actor, but he is a thing of beauty. A very majestic creature! Klaus Maria Brandauer does well in a supporting performance. He is a veteran prospector, a dreamer but also a hardened man. James Remar, folks, is my favorite villainous performance. He is not around often, but steals the show when he appears.
It's hard to believe Disney dumped White Fang in the dead of January. It is better than the credit it has been given. I had to do some digging to give the movie a proper watch. It's your typical human/animal relationship and admittedly does nothing new with the material, but it still manages to tug at the heartstrings...especially those who love animals (such as myself). There are some thrilling and surprisingly vicious moments (that bear attack and the dogfighting scenes). A good, old-fashioned picture about the friendship between a human and an animal.
My Grade: B.
