Hawaii [DVD]

A true classic with great actors and amazing setting

Arrived quickly and intact. Pkgd well. Great movie and quality of film great.

The DVD of George Roy Hill's "Hawaii" is long overdue. It tackles a subject that has always bothered me; that the good, well-intentioned fundamentalist Christians would invade native territory. Those simple natives never died of anything but age until the white man invaded their simple territory. The DVD is fine, with rich colors brought out of the magnificent panoramas (quite washed out on the VHS). An informative extra is about the making of the film, and you can compare the color restoration. That, and the theatrical trailer, are the only extras. A wonderful widescreen transfer gives justice to Russell Harlan's cinematography. "Hawaii" was nominated for 7 Oscars, and definitely should've won for Elmer Bernstein's great score. Cinematography, too (since it lost to "A Man For All Seasons", which was really just a filmed play.) Interesting was the nomination of Jocelyn Lagarde as Malama; she was certainly a strong character, and was quite good; she learned the whole script phonetically, since she knew no English. The acting was very good. Max von Sydow, fresh off his performance as Jesus in "The Greatest Story Ever Told"was solid. Julie Andrews was best of all, really carrying this film. Everyone forgets that her first film was "The Americanization of Emily", and it's later that she gave the candy-coated performances for which she's best known.She is really a stabilizing factor in the goings-on, and her discovery of this new, magic land is much more profound. There's a wonderful insight here, much overlooked. She also gets a very brief moment to sing, but the song is only minimally presented; still, "My Wishing Doll" was nominated for Best Song. (I remember Jackie de Shannon singing it at the Oscars back then). I'd like to hear the whole song sometime. Heather Menzies, who played one of the von Trapp children, has a small role as her little sister. A lot of things could be cut, but overall, this is a fine film. It has power and conviction, and Mischner approved.It's interesting to note that there's a spiritual touch to the beliefs of the native Hawaiians that belies the Christian ethic. When Malama (the Ali'i nui) dies, a terrific storm happens, as predicted, though von Sydow's character thinks it's just superstition. He is regularly taken over by these people, something that Jerusha (Andrews) knew all along. It is a fine film, and one that I'm glad to have in my collection.

Never underestimate the power of VHS. Nor the stupidity of MGM DVD's packaging decisions-- for instance: making classic widescreen musicals like "West Side Story" and "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" available only in full-screen versions, and releasing on DVD not the uncut roadshow version, but the horribly edited short version of the 1966 near-masterpiece "Hawaii." My estimation of "Hawaii" as a masterpiece might seem like a bit of an overreaction, but I recently watched the full version again on videotape and it was so magnificent and so touching I was immediately swept away. This-- offered in this particular edition as a widescreen video from 1996 with the full 189-minute release-- is the movie I fell in love with years ago (though it was in full-screen then). Julie Andrews gives her most believable performance as the sweet, all-embracing, life-affirming wife of gritty, awkward, judgmental, hypocritical Reverend Abner Hale, in this full-blown epic classic adapted from the most cinematic of the gargantuan mini-sagas in James Michener's book. The fact that it's only based on part of the book is null. The novel stands exceptional on its own merits, but they certainly chose the right part to film, just as Elia Kazan did with "East of Eden." Visually, no film set in the tropics is so beautiful. Musically, the film is perfect. Elmer Bernstein wrote what is, in my opinion, #2 on the list of the Greatest Film Scores of All Time. It'll move you to tears. The problem with the edited version is, of course, that it lacks so many of the film's finest moments-- including Julie Andrews' best scene, her most emotionally intense (with the exception of that heart-rending childbirth scene, better than even the one in "Gone With the Wind"), when she stands up to Abner on the boat as they approach Hawaii. Without that scene in particular, her performance has no real emotional depth and it's hard to believe she belongs in a foreign land with such a repulsive husband. Thereby one short scene makes the difference between her character being the dutiful wife and the independent, fully rounded woman. Shame on MGM for its DVDs, but it's got a great track record with VHS. With my discovery of a letterbox version of the full movie on video, I realize there's no excuse not to immediately reissue "Hawaii" on DVD and possibly even Blu-ray in its complete form, as it was meant to be seen.

DVD arrived in good condition. Widescreen, 161 min. Making of featurette and trailer. Not rated, but it features some topless "natives" nothing gratuitous, some natives have sexual relationships with siblings, which is acceptable in their culture. This seems to be the focal point of the film. The Europeans, especially the reverend, frown upon this practice. Good movie, perpetually sad, fantastic scenery.

Good Old Movies is always at heart. Great Movie and Price

What an incredible adaptation of James Michener's fiction masterpiece Hawaii with the star studded cast of Max Von Sydow, Julie Andrews, Gene Hackman, Richard Harris and the delightful Jocelyne LaGarde. She played Queen Malama who ruled Maui and was one of the reasons why the movie was entertaining. The characters were engaging and we cared for them. Overall, 3-hour historical epic was fantastic and is geared for PG-13 audiences.

A great story

Wonderful story of religious fever in the newly discovered Hawaii Islands. Thank goodness for sensible Julie Andrews who eventual tempered the extreme Max von Sidow's fire and brimstone approach to his beliefs. Wonderful story and cast.

Ce film est à mettre au même niveau qu'un autre film co-écrit lui aussi par Dalton Trumbo, à savoir "Papillon" de Schaffner avec Steve McQueen. Dans les deux cas, ce sont des fresques historiques admirable autant que des drames intimes puissants. L'histoire qui se déroule sur de nombreuses années est incroyablement limpide et efficace. Du très grand art. Concernant le dvd USA Zone 1 avec une jaquette jaunasse pas très belle, la version que j'ai acheté, je confirme qu'il y a bien des sous-titres français. Et la copie est très bonne.

......purchase having watched documentary about Julie Andrews on TV recently. Unaware of some of her films. Very interesting movie, Julie Andrews character well acted.

El producto es de excelente calidad, yo recomendaré a mis familiares que usen éste sitio para adquirir una gran variedad de productos.