Customer Reviews

White Fang

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This is an absolutely incredible story that touches your soul and warms your heart. The development of the relationship between a younger and an older man, compliments and mirrors in many ways the development of the relationship between the young man and the wolf/dog. Compassion, trust, love, pain...all of these abound in this movie. In addition to the touching story is the awesome Alaskan landcape and sceenery. We own this movie and have watched it many times, yet we never tire of it's honesty. A highly recommended movie...You won't be dissapointed!!!

Disney's White Fang is one of my all-time favorite films. Many don't see it as much of a cut above the average, but few films are as touching or as beautiful to me as this one is. A heart-warming story with good performances and photography that captures all the epic majesty of the Alaskan landscape.

So why does it only get three stars? Well, that's Disney's fault for releasing it only in full-frame format. A film of such awe-inspiring scenery and photographic grandure deserves to be seen in it's original widescreen aspect ratio. And if they can release the inferior and ridiculously useless sequel in anamorphic widescreen, one can only wonder why they wouldn't give this film the same treatment. I realize that sometimes pan-and-scan prints are the only ones available, but this film is not that old, and in any case the German DVD (the title over there is "Wolfsblut") was released in widescreen with an English audio track, so Disney must have a widescreen print in their possession.

Special features could have saved this release another star, but there's nothing here except a Spanish audio track. And with no extra content, Disney could have easily fit both widescreen and fullscreen versions on one disc.

To those who either don't have a widescreen preference or don't like this film enough to care, the subject of this rant will seem a minor quibble. If that is the case, then by all means rent (or buy) this film, as I still fully endorse it on its own merits. But for my own part I won't be touching this one until Disney wakes up and puts out a widescreen reissue.

This was such a magical movie, and yet totally realistic! The relationships feel real, the characters seem genuine, everything about it was perfect. This is a great movie for everyone! It teaches about compassion, friendship, perseverence, and kindness in the tale of a boy who heads to the gold rush to make his fortune, and makes some lifelong friends along the way. I also recommend Iron Will if you like this one!

Lush panoramic visuals, a great story, compelling acting (by humans and animals alike) and an absolutely superb musical score add up to one of Disney's finest live-action movies ever. I love the sweeping shots of the Alaskan and Yukon landscapes and the wildlife photography is terrific. A young Ethan Hawke was a first-rate choice for this film and he is complemented fantastically by Klaus Maria Brandauer. It's unbelievable to me that this DVD is in a full-frame pan and scan format, which cost it a full star in my rating. With the quality of this film's cinematography, the DVD deserves to have the best digital transfer and widescreen treatment. I also wish there was a soundtrack available, as the score is one of my all-time favorites, but that's a whole other subject!

Fun Ethan Hawke movie about a wolf, yet a miserable Jack London adaptation. I can never understand why movie script writers believe that they are better at telling a story than a great author . . like Jack London! White Fang could have been adapted to a movie by simply following London's book. Why make up a whole different story and refer to it as an adaptation? Again, this is just a silly Disneyism.

I think this is a very dramatic film.

It is about the friendship between a wolf and a human being. It shows that wolves are not as bad as people think.

Ethan Hawke is an excellent actor. The scenery shows how hard it was to survive in the wilderness of Canada. This film also gives you a little impression about the goldrush and the cruelty and carelessness of some gold diggers.

I like this film because it isn't just a story that Jack London has made up in his mind. It is a story that could really have happened some time ago. It shows the problems that people had to manage during the goldrush.

Disney does a commendable job with Jack London's novel White Fang. One of the best aspects of this film is just the great scenery itself, with the cold, icy backdrop of Alaska as part of the story. They do a commendable job of telling the story while toning down the amount of violence presented in the novel. Because of this, this movie really can be considered a children's movie that still keeps the story of London's work intact.

Ethan Hawke plays Jack Conroy, who sets out in Alaska to search for gold after the passing of his father. There he meets Klaus, who teaches him about the possibilities of gold and also about the nature of wolves. They both go through their struggles and learn to finally become friends. Eventually Jack and White Fang, half wolf and half dog, cross paths, and there is a linking between the two later on in the film.

The story really is one that exemplifies trust, and we see this as Jack and the wolf gradually form a bond (this after the many harsh moments that White Fang has had to endure, such as learning to fight to the death with other wolves). As one reviewer mentioned, there are not only great performances by the actors, but also the animals in the film.

Some of the scenes are simulated (such as the fighting between the wolves), but they may still be seemingly too graphic for the young children. Still, overall, this a fantastic telling of this story.

This Disney version of White Fang, starring Ethan Hawke, Jed the wolf, and Bart the grizzly is my favorite movie. The film has breathtaking, sweeping views of the Alaskan wilderness with a swelling score to accompany the cinematography. And that's just the beginning. Fresh-faced and innocent Ethan Hawke plays a wonderful Jack, a young man trying to find his father's Yukon claim during the Gold Rush of the 1800's. Klaus Maria Brandauer brings realism as the man who grudgingly befriends the boy. Jack takes a journey from boy to young man as he encounters death, violence, cruelty, ignorance, friendship, and love in this beautiful movie for anyone of any age.

There is no sex, bad language, or nudity, but make no mistake: this is a violent and scary film. Scenes of dogfights are so realistic you cannot believe the animals are just acting. There is the death of a mother wolf in front of her cub, vicious dogfights, a grizzly attack, implied killing of a man by a pack of ravenous wolves, and an implied sensuous relationship between Brandauer and his lovely girlfriend.

Native Americans and wolves get the treatment they deserve in this movie, bringing a new perspective to viewers without being preachy or maudlin.

Warning: When the grizzly makes his appearance, it is when you least expect, and it will make your heart jump. And it is the biggest grizzly I have ever seen in my life. My hat goes off to the animal trainers in this film.

It is "ridiculous" not being able to get this film in widescreen--
Whoever was behind the decision to mangle this movie should be fired
The beauty and scope of this White Fang as it is meant to be--and then not to be able to see-a-h-h-what else can I say.
I dearly love this movie,but I will not watch it or buy it unless it is in widesceen

I think this is the movie that makes my heart warm up. This movie touches my heart in ways no other movie has. I think this is one of Disney's best works though the sequel was kind of bad. I highly recommend this movie to everyone.