| The White Dawn | |
|---|---|
_poster.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Philip Kaufman |
| Screenplay by | |
| Adaptation by | Martin Ransohoff |
| Based on | The White Dawn: An Eskimo Saga by James Houston |
| Produced by | Martin Ransohoff |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Michael Chapman |
| Edited by | Douglas Stewart |
| Music by | Henry Mancini |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 110 minutes |
| Countries |
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The White Dawn is a 1974drama film directed byPhilip Kaufman and starringWarren Oates,Timothy Bottoms, andLouis Gossett Jr. It portrays the conflict between aboriginal peoples' traditional way of life and Europeans' eagerness to take advantage of them. The film employs authenticInuit language dialogue. It is based on the 1971 novelThe White Dawn: An Eskimo Saga byJames Archibald Houston, who co-wrote the screenplay.
When three whalers become stranded inNorthern Canada's Arctic in 1896, they are rescued byInuit. In the beginning, the Inuit accept the strangers' European ways, but as this increasingly influences and affects their customs, things slowly fall apart and cultural tension grows until the climax. The film was made by a "skeleton crew" and was filmed "entirely on location" onBaffin Island.[1] The three lead actors were the only ones with any film experience and the other performers were Inuit who were speaking their own language, which wassubtitled in the film.[1]
The film featured nudity of the female Inuit and scenes of hunting and was initially given anR rating in the United States, whichVincent Canby ofThe New York Times called absurd[2] and which baffled other people in the industry. The Movie Report, which advised young people and parents on the content of films, told its readers to ignore the rating.[3] After an initial appeal, theMPAA did not revise the rating[3] but later reduced it to aPG-Rating.[4]
In a generally negative review, Vincent Canby wrote, "As an Arctic travelogue, it is sometimes so striking that I spent much of the time wondering how certain scenes were photographed; long shots of men walking across ice-flows, the killing of a polar bear, a walrus hunt, the capsizing of a boat that sends the actors into icy water." Canby described the plot as "bland" and concluded that "It's the story of how the three sailors have the bad judgment to be so rude and boorish to their hosts that they invite a fate that they never understand."[2] In a 2004 review following the release of the DVD,David Sanjek wrote, "The White Dawn is episodic, devoid of a now familiar hyped-up velocity. As a consequence, some may find it slow, while others may appreciate its attention to ethnographic detail and refusal to succumb to stereotypes. Even if the voyage made by Billy, Daggett and Portagee ends in calamity, it remains a trip well worth making and a reminder of the diversity of Hollywood fare before focus groups."[1]
