Among the classic films that have been made about (although not by) Eskimos and Eskimo culture-Flaherty's Nanook of the North (1922), Van Dyke's Eskimo (1933) and Nick Ray's The Savage Innocents (1961)-Philip Kaufman's The White Dawn deserves a place. Shot on location at Baffin Island, 1800 miles north of Montreal, with Eskimos speaking their own language, the film is as authentic as Nanook and Eskimo (in the context of the narrative, many Eskimo customs are documented, from magic to igloo building and the hunting culture) and as powerful as Ray's in depicting the destructive impact of white "civilization" on Eskimo society. In the 1890s, three whalers (Warren Oates, Timothy Bottoms and Lou Gossett) are stranded in the Canadian Arctic: the film follows their interaction with the Eskimo band that saves their lives. They are taken into the tribe as part novelty, part family, but the threat they would seem to pose to the Eskimos-who have never seen a white man before and call them "Dog-children"-ultimately is turned against them.