The Call of the Wild: Dog of the Yukon (1997)
Jack London's classic story from 1903 about Buck, a dog kidnapped from his home in California and taken to the Yukon where he is mistreated until a prospector discovers him and relates to his situation. Although the two are bonded, Buck yearns to run free with the wild dogs in the wilderness.
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Powerful
In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.
When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.
Starring Rutger Hauer and Richard Dreyfuss ( Narrator).Written by Jack London ( Novel), Graham Ludlow ( Screenplay.) Directed by Peter Svatek.This is a case of a really good book being totally diluted.Jack London's classic was beautifully written from the dog's perspective and was an incredible read. Sadly everything that made the book great has been lost in this film adaptation. It just felt like I was watching a trailer for the actual book. The beauty of the book simply didn't come across and we are left with something that is threadbare. The narration was probably an honest attempt to see the movie through the ayes of Buck but it was quite irritating.Not great.6/10
Jack London's story about man and dog is very finely rendered in this cinema version. The book is usually found in the Children's section of the library, but the theme is hardly kid-stuff, and this movie version is true the book. London went to Skagway and soaked up the gold-rush fever that led thousands of desperate fortune-hunters to venture into the Arctic in 1898. The film recreates that historic setting. If you have never read the book, get it and read it before viewing this film. London wrote a lot of books set in the frozen north, but my favorite is his short "story" entitled "To Build a Fire". Start with that, if you can find it, as an introduction to this prolific and great American writer.
Having seen several versions of "Call of the Wild," I must say that this version is my favorite. It follows the book well and the narration by Richard Dreyfuss helps move the story along. One drawback is the dog that portrays Buck does not look like he should based on the description in the book. Overall though, this was an enjoyable movie. It has great scenery and a good cast. I used this movie for an English class that was reading Call of the Wild. We watched two versions of the movie, the Charleton Heston version and this one. All my students agreed that this version followed the book much better and was more enjoyable to watch.
I would have loved the movie if I was 15-18, but still liked it. I still like dogs. And if you like the dogs, and life in the wilderness, you'll like the movie. Bit similar to "White Fang".