Challenge of the White Fang – Colosseo Film (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy/West Germany/France, 1974
Director: Lucio Fulci
Writers: Lucio Fulci, Roberto Gianviti, Alberto Silvestri
Cast: Franco Nero, Virna Lisi, John Steiner, Raimund Harmstorf, Yanti Somer, Harry Carey Jr., Renato Cestiè, Werner Pochath, Hannelore Elsner, Renato De Carmine, John Bartha

Release Date: April 3rd, 2020
Approximate Running Time: 98 Minutes 13 seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English, DTS-HD Mono Italian, DTS-HD Mono German
Subtitles: German, Italian
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: 12,61 EUR

"Writer Jason Scott (Franco Nero) has great success with his adventure novel "Wolfsblut" and is celebrated by the fine society of San Francisco. But life and struggle for survival at the Klondike is missing him, and he longs for new adventures. Dawson City is now abandoned, but a new gold digger town has emerged miles further. There, Sister Evangelina (Virna Lisi) operates a hospital ward and meets an old and deadly enemy: Beauty Smith (John Steiner). But he claims to be another, and the local police chief confirms this.

Jason Scott and his friend Kurt Janson (Raimund Harmstorf) come to the aid of Sister Evangelina and are looking to finally transfer Beauty Smith. And they meet an old friend: the dog Wolfsblut, who has now become friends with the boy Bill (Renato Cestiè). But ultimately, the Klondike is all about gold, and a murderous sleigh race will decide who luck and wealth waves to and who the cold death awaits in the inhospitable snowy landscape." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, “Uncut version in new 4k transfer.”

Challenge of the White Fang comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 22.5 GB

Feature: 21.1 GB

The source looks excellent; fleshy tones and colors look correct, image clarity is solid, black levels are strong, and there are no issues with compression or digital noise reduction.

Audio: 4/5 (DTS-HD Mono English)

This release comes with three audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in English, a DTS-HD mono mix in Italian, and a DTS-HD mono mix in German. Since there are no English subtitles for the entire Italian language track, for this review I only focused on the English language track. The track sounds clear and balanced, with well-presented ambient sounds. When watching the English-language track, there is a brief dialogue exchange in Italian with English subtitles. Included with this release are removable German and Italian subtitles.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an image gallery with music from the film playing in the background (36 images—posters/stills), a Italian theatrical trailer (3 minutes 38 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Italian, no subtitles), an English-language theatrical trailer (3 minutes 37 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an interview with actor Franco Nero (19 minutes 7 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with German voiceover narration), reversible cover art without the ratings logo, a slipcase, and a 16-page booklet with an essay in German titled Goldrausch im Kino “Gold rush in the cinema” written by Gerald Kuklinski.

Summary:

Challenge of the White Fang was directed by Lucio Fulci, a versatile filmmaker who left his mark in every genre. Notable films directed by Lucio Fulci include Beatrice Cenci, A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin, Don’t Torture a Duckling, Zombie, City of the Living Dead, The Beyond, The House by the Cemetery, and The New York Ripper. A year before Challenge of the White Fang, Lucio Fulci directed White Fang, and the latter film is a loose adaptation of Jack London’s novel White Fang.

Author Jason Scott goes back to the Yukon looking for inspiration for his next book. Shortly after his arrival, he uncovers corruption connected to the gold mines.

Challenge of the White Fang picks up where its predecessor, White Fang, left off. In many ways, Challenge of the White Fang feels like a recycled version of its predecessor. And nowhere is this clearer than in Challenge of the White Fang, which carries over most of the characters, most notably White Fang’s villain, Beauty Smith. That said, despite these overlapping similarities, Challenge of the White Fang ultimately succeeds because of its flourishes that are undeniably Lucio Fulci.

Although Challenge of the White Fang seems like a film intended for a younger audience, its opening sequence reveals a much darker narrative than one typically associates with children's films. The setup focuses on the violent slaughter of three Indigenous people, including a child.

Content-wise, Challenge of the White Fang is best described as an adventure film. Also, there are many elements in Challenge of the White Fang that can be traced back to the spaghetti Western genre. There’s a ruthless businessman who has a corrupt lawman in his pocket.

When it comes to the performances, the cast all deliver, especially the ever-so-reliable Franco Nero (Django) in the role of an author named Jason Scott. Besides Franco Nero reprising his role from White Fang, other returning cast members are John Steiner (Tenebrae) in the role of a cold-blooded portrayal of Beauty Smith and Virna Lisi (The Possessed) in the role of Sister Evangelina. Another performance of note is Renato Cestiè in the role of Bill Tarwater, a little boy who befriends White Fang.

Visually, Challenge of the White Fang does not disappoint; it takes full advantage of the snow-covered landscapes. Standout visual moments include a barroom brawl sequence with slapstick elements and a scene in which a man, freezing to death, desperately tries to get the attention of a passerby. The finale features a dog sledding race that will determine the owner of the gold mine.

From a production standpoint, Challenge of the White Fang operates like a well-oiled machine, running smoothly on all cylinders. The narrative is well-crafted and effectively builds tension; key moments are allowed sufficient time to resonate, and the solid production design gives this period-set film a polished appearance. Ultimately viewers of all ages can enjoy Challenge of the White Fang, a solid adventure film.

Challenge of the White Fang gets a strong audio/video presentation from Colosseo Film. Recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer