elegant-63098 Because you don't see things through buck"s point of view much of the character development is missing. If you're looking for the best movie version though, this one would win

oscar-35 *Spoiler/plot- Call of the Wild, 1972. Two miners go to the North West territories during the gold strike there to get rich quick off the miners.*Special Stars- Charlton Heston.*Theme- Hard work is it's own best reward.*Trivia/location/goofs- TV show drama, Black & White.*Emotion- A rather slow version of the normally exciting tale about two guys and their special dog team in the frozen North country.*Based on- Jack London's story of the struggle to survive in snow North.

happipuppi13 Have you ever gotten one of those inexpensive DVD collections of movies? The kind with about 4 DVD's to the box and most of the movies included are just really bad or so bad they make you laugh? In the case of "The Call Of The Wild",it's hard to say which category it falls in of those two. A fair amount of this movie is is just plain dull. In terms of (as someone mentioned) the endless outdoor snow & dog sled scenes. I think there was nearly a half hour of this,or at least it felt like it. The almost non-stop barking of the dogs and just gosh-awful music playing over the scenes, got to be annoying as well.I found the kidnapping of the dog to be completely senseless. It's taken from a California family and I asked myself, "Did they not have pet stores to buy a dog back then?" The dog-napper could have bought a dog and sold it for more.I understand from the beginning that the main character is the German Shepard. Even more so when the ,all too real looking, abusive scenes of animal cruelty are shown. To make it more obvious of the Shepard being the main character, a good idea would have been to get a lesser known actor than Heston. He's always been larger than life on screen no matter what he's been in,so of course,people think that he's the main character.Interseting to see Heston so devoted to the dog and it's well being,much like it's a better friend to him than the humans he knows and hunts for gold with. In reference to those characters,they are the kind I've seen in many films before,more so Westerns. You have the drunken mobs,either in the saloon or the street and of course the big chested female who is the entertainment but pretty much runs the place. She even gives Heston a bath!Then there's the guy who hates the dog and Heston and wants the dog killed because of being (deservedly) bitten by the dog. Heston's buddy talks the man into a wager that if the dog call pull 500 pounds via dog sled,on his own,for 100 yards,then the dog gets to live. Of course the dog pulls it successfully,after the initial struggle.Near the end is a very senseless Indian attack on Heston and his one remaining partner who've finally discovered gold. Killing them both and Heston winds face up underwater.with the dog looking down at him helplessly. The overall point here,is "what's the point of this film?" Maybe if the look and sound were all restored to a better quality I could understand it and enjoy it better? If the acting and direction had not been so bland? Probably not. I can only say that,seeing Heston work with the Shepard , the German Shepard's "acting" and the incredible scene of the thundering,circling herd were the most interesting things shown here. I can,for these 3 things only,give the movie two stars. (END)

stalinsrepublic I saw this movie when I was about 11 years old. I didn't expect anything from it and was very happily surprised. Obviously low budget, this is offset by the authentic looking town, beautiful locations, Hestons great acting and Jack Londons timeless classic. It for me is one of my favorites, and I would recommend it to anyone. Even though the dialogue seems to be dubbed here and there I didn't have a problem with it. How Buck ends up in Alaska and is saved by Heston sets the tone for their unique friendship! Heston must decide which path to take, as Buck must decide as well! This is definitely a story of fate and of personal choices ending with a desperate and dramatic climax! I read some of the other reviews ans it seems most people don't like this film. I don't care, I was able to overlook the dubbing and the other flaws mentioned simply because this movie looks like the Yukon in the latter half of the 19th century. The story is touching and excuse me, but i like it. When you have Heston it makes up for a lot............