White Dog (1982 film)

White Dog
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Samuel Fuller
Screenplay by	Samuel Fuller Curtis Hanson
Based on	White Dog by Romain Gary
Produced by	Jon Davison
Starring	Kristy McNichol Paul Winfield Burl Ives Jameson Parker Parley Baer
Cinematography	Bruce Surtees
Edited by	Bernard Gribble
Music by	Ennio Morricone
Production company	Paramount Pictures
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release dates	July 7, 1982 (1982-07-07) (France) November 12, 1982 (1982-11-12) (United States)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$7,000,000 (estimated)
Box office	$46,509 (United States)

White Dog is a 1982 American drama horror film, which Samuel Fuller directed from a screenplay he and Curtis Hanson had dramatized, which, in turn, they based on Romain Gary's 1970 novel of the same title. 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.^[1][2]

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 while 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.