Wolves see humans as gods

 WHITE FANG (1991)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

You can't go wrong with turning Jack London's fiercely (and justifiably) violent and human story, "White Fang," into a decent cinematic effort. This 1991 adaptation has the tropes of wilderness life in a log cabin and the customary dog fighting but it is not told from the wolf's point-of-view. There is a new character created out of whole cloth known as Jack Conroy (Ethan Hawke) and therein lies the limitations of London's anti-violence text in favor of a young man's journey into continuing his late father's dreams. 

Not to say that "White Fang" is not fine, richly scenic entertainment - it is - but its only partially in keeping with the roughly hewn themes of Jack London's book. Here, Jack Conroy has come to the brutal cold winter season in the Yukon territory to stake his father's claim in the Gold Rush. He desperately needs help to get there and insists on traveling with two prospectors, Clarence "Skunker" Thurston (Seymour Cassel) and Alex Larson (Klaus Maria Brandauer), both of whom are carrying a coffin! Yes, the coffin holds a corpse and they all travel with sled dogs to bury the coffin at a remote site through the dangerous territory. Unfortunately, snarling ravenous wolves are on their tail. There's also James Remar himself, the villain du jour during the 80's and 90's of cinematic offerings, as the vicious Beauty Smith who buys and uses White Fang, the half-wolf/half dog, in illegal dog fights. White Fang runs into Jack twice and Jack recognizes him as an older wolf dog when he only glanced at the animal as a former pup for two minutes (how, I can't say).

"White Fang" has some truly marvelous, captivating scenic shots (all shot in Haines and Skagway, Alaska) - you want to be in that icy cold, inviting environment and have your own log cabin facing a lake. It certainly feels lived-in and lends to its wholly realistic setting, especially the harshness of the cold and the mountainous regions and ice. "White Fang" does swing unevenly between Jack and White Fang and Alex Larson, the latter who turns out to be an illiterate prospector who learns to read thanks to Jack. I would have preferred more scenes of White Fang and his survival against mean, violent men and his developing relationship and trust with Jack. Still, it is a solid adventure and a genteel enough family picture that all kids above the age of 8 can enjoy. The classic book is essential as well.