The White Dawn (1974)

Rating: 3 Stars (out of 4)

Eskimo Sigh

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy The White Dawn on DVD.

For his second professional feature film, director Philip Kaufman took a small crew thousands of miles north of Alaska to shoot this leisurely but intense film, a kind of Nanook of the North with a plot. In the 19th century, three sailors from a whaling ship (Warren Oates, Louis Gossett Jr., and Timothy Bottoms) are stranded and rescued by Eskimos. Dubbed the "dog children," the Eskimos take them in and treat them as family. They live in igloos, learn to hunt and sleep with other men's wives (with permission). Things fall apart when the abrasive Oates begins feeling restless.

The White Dawn is definitely a film of the 1970s, with a kind of hippie message that Dances With Wolves would years later carry to Oscar gold. It suggests that the savages are really gentle and wonderful and we civilized folks are really savages. Timothy Bottoms' wide-eyed peace-n-love performance only underlines this. Otherwise, the film concentrates on the rituals of day-to-day Eskimo life, punctured -- deliciously -- by Oates' crusty grumbling.

The film feels completely authentic, and we really get a flavor for the chilly life of the Eskimos. After this Kaufman stayed home in San Francisco for his great Invasion of the Body Snatchers remake.

DVD Details: Paramount's new DVD ­ released in conjunction with Kaufman's new film Twisted -- comes with a director commentary track, plus a video "introduction" and a new "making of" featurette. An additional featurette talks about the lives of the Eskimos.

Starring: Warren Oates, Timothy Bottoms, Louis Gossett Jr. (credited as Lou Gossett)
Written by: James Houston, Thomas Rickman, adapted by Martin Ransohoff, based on the novel by James Houston
Directed by: Philip Kaufman
MPAA Rating: PG
Running Time: 109 minutes
Date: September 28, 2004