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Released by: Twilight Time
Released on: February 16, 2016
Director: Tom Gries
Cast: Charlton Heston, Geraldine Chaplin, John Phillip Law, Tina Chen, Alec McCowen, Mako, Don Knight, Miko Mayama, Virginia Ann Lee, Naomi Stevens
Year: 1970
Purchase From Screen Archives Entertainment
The Movie:
Tom Gries's The Hawaiians (1970) is a sequel to George Roy Hill's Hawaii (1966), a big-screen epic that starred Julie Andrews, Richard Harris, Max von Sydow, and Gene Hackman. Hawaii was based on James A. Michener's sprawling novel of the same name and became a huge hit with audiences both on page and on screen. With The Hawaiians, Gries and screenwriter James R. Webb reportedly adapted unused portions of the Michener book and compressed them into 134-minute feature. In a role similar to the one Harris occupied in Hawaii, Charlton Heston plays Captain Whip Hoxworth, a stubborn land baron who has grand ambitions to build a large pineapple plantation. Aboard Howorth's ship are many Chinese indentured servants, including Nyuk Tsin (Tina Chen) and Mun Ki (Mako). Nyuk and Mun are the two pillars of the movie but their screen time is truncated by subplots involving Hoxworth's estranged wife Purity (Geraldine Chapline) and his Geisha-like companion, Fumiko (Miko Mayama).
The Hawaiians features beautiful scenery and wonderful cinematography by Lucien Ballard and Philip Lathrop across three different Hawaiian islands. Henry Mancini's authentic and flavorful score, which contains lovely melodies and ethnic percussion, is a pure delight.
As a narrative, though, The Hawaiians delivers a flat and uninspiring tale. The structure feels episodic and would have been benefited from tighter editing and a better script with more fleshed-out characters. There are too many characters and subplots to juggle in the two-plus hours. Chaplin's role is rather short-changed and Heston's chemistry with Chen is interrupted by the Fumiko character. The story fails to gather momentum, which is surprising given that an actor of Heston's stature couldn't have carried it more.
Another problem is that the two actors who play Heston's son lack any dynamic qualities. The film seems to want to say a lot but can't deliver all the goods. Indeed, The Hawaiians is less than the sum of its parts.
Video/Audio/Extras:
MGM apparently gave Twilight Time a very good master to work with and this shows on the Blu-ray. The film is presented in 2.35:1, which nicely reproduces how it likely appeared during its theatrical run. There is a nice layer of grain in the outdoor scenes and the colors look mostly fabulous. There is some dirt and print defects but these are thankfully not recurring anomalies. I did notice a moire effect on one of Heston's vests that could have been removed. But all in all, this is a very pleasing transfer for a film over three decades old.
Dialogue, music, and sound effects are rendered well on the DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 track. Mancini's score sounds warm and vibrant on the mono track. TT have provided English SDH.
The only extras are Mancini's music on an isolated, alternate soundtrack (a TT specialty), a hazy theatrical trailer framed in 1.85:1, and Julie Kirgo's customary liner notes in the accompanying leaflet.
The Final Word:
The Hawaiians is only recommended for experiencing Mancini's music and for enjoying the rapturous images of the islands. As a wannabe paradisaical epic, it fails due to structural problems in the script and vanilla acting from some of the supporting players. With a hefty price tag, I would suggest holding off on a purchase unless a used copy surfaces at a lesser cost on the collector's market.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
