Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Hatari! 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 5, 2025

Howard Hawks' "Hatari!" (1962) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by critics Julie Kirgo and Peter Hankoff and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Somewhere in Africa

A lot has been written about Howard Hawks’ film Hatari!, some of it by folks who enjoy it, some of it by folks who do not. Interestingly, despite their different takes on the film, they tend to agree on plenty. For example, there is a consensus among them that Hatari! is longer than it should be. Also, they agree that Leigh Brackett’s screenplay is far from ideal. All of them acknowledge that a lot of the hunting footage Hawks shot is impressive. Virtually everyone likes Henry Mancini’s score.

What pushes these folks apart? They disagree on whether Hatari! meets the high expectations any reunion between Hawks and John Wayne should. Some like the cast that was assembled for it, while some argue that it looks right only on paper. Some enthusiastically defend its story, insisting that its shaky relationships are not as damaging as claimed, and some insist that the strength of the former is as crucial as that of the latter. Some find the light humor that permeates Hatari! effective, while some note that it irreversibly erodes its integrity. Some accept the romance that flourishes between a few of the stars, while some reject it with a passion.

Which of the two sides has the better arguments? Hatari! is a very long film, so there is a lot of material in it that can be used to support the arguments of its fans and detractors. However, regardless of how these arguments are stacked and rationalized, a few things can be written about Hatari! whose accuracy cannot be questioned.

When Hatari! was greenlighted, Hawks and Wayne’s best years were behind them, so it should have been clear that their next collaboration would not match the quality of Red River and Rio Bravo. It should have been even clearer that it would be so, given that the original material from Harry Kurnitz’s story that inspired Hatari! was very different, too. (Hawks and Wayne made five films together, and only Hatari! is not a conventional western).

The other stars around Wayne are perpetually starstruck. While it can be argued whether this is the primary reason why the evolution of their relationships, and especially the romance that flourishes in them, becomes problematic, it is an undeniable fact that Wayne intimidates them. Excluding some hunting footage where the wild animals and action interfere with Wayne’s dominance, the rest frequently leaves the impression that the stars around him do things to earn his approval. When Wayne attempts to tune into their game, Hatari! just about evolves into a parody. A great example of this terrible switch and its disastrous effects is the famous sequence in which Elsa Martinelli gathers the courage to ask Wayne how he likes to be kissed.

Hatari! mismanages its story. Unsurprisingly, too. It is too big of a project for it. In East Africa, Wayne leads a team of hunters who capture exotic animals and dispatch them to zoos around the world. When a foreign beauty (Martinelli) with a misleading last name appears, their work ethic is shaken and later permanently altered. This is the entire story. To expand it, Hawks allows Wayne to lead as he does in the other four westerns the two made, and even though he does, the end result this time is very, very different. For this reason, the abundance of impressive hunting footage is only a beautiful distraction.

What is the final verdict on Hatari!? It was a film that Hawks had a great time making, and, despite some wild incidents, so did many of the stars he worked with. It was essentially one big, very well-funded safari for Hollywood and international stars that did not evolve into a great film. If one keeps this description in mind, one is likely to find it enjoyable in some way. However, if one approaches it expecting it to be a good or great film, a disappointing viewing experience is guaranteed.

Hatari! 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Kino Lorber's release of Hatari! is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray is Region-A "locked".

Please note that some of the screencaptures included with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.

Screencaptures #1-31 are from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #35-39 are taken from the 4K Blu-ray.

The release introduces an exclusive new 4K makeover of Hatari! prepared at Paramount Pictures. In native 4K, the 4K makeover can be viewed with Dolby Vision and HDR grades. I chose to view it with Dolby Vision and later spent time with the 1080p presentation on the Blu-ray.

The new 4K makeover represents a pretty dramatic upgrade in quality. Because the improvements are so big and in so many different areas, I think that any comparisons with the original Blu-ray release of Hatari from 2014, which is sourced from a weak master that was likely finalized early into the DVD era, are meaningless. Simply put, the entire film now looks much, much better, boasting visuals with stable organic qualities. There is a lot more to see everywhere as well. However, this film produces visuals with many and quite diverse fluctuations, introduced by the original cinematography, not problematic digital tinkering, so you should expect to see many inconsistencies, affecting delineation, clarity, and depth. The same can be written about color balance. You will see many quick shifts in the temperature of various visuals, sometimes just seconds apart, some emphasizing natural blues, some warmer yellows. It is hard to tell if every single one of these shifts is one hundred percent accurately reproduced on the 4K makeover, but they have always been part of the film. I thought that on my system the film look very good, and while I think that a few spots could have been made to appear slightly warmer, slightly more natural, emphasizing more of the blues, the overall color balance was fine. Image stability is excellent. The Dolby Vision grade is gentle and effective, handing darker areas well, and further enhancing the strength of some of the best outdoor panoramic sequences.

The 1080p presentation of the 4K makeover is very good, too. In fact, I prefer the brighter appearance of several outdoor sequences where the natural blues are prominent. However, the superior density of the visuals on the native 4K presentation makes many of the density fluctuations more even. Naturally, if you have a very large screen, I think that the native 4K presentation becomes the obvious choice to view the film. My score for both presentations is 4.25/5.00.

Hatari! 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this release: English DTS-HD Mater Audio 2.0 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I chose the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track and had the volume of my system turned up quite a bit. All exchanges, even the ones during the busy hunting footage, are clear and very easy to follow. Yes, there is some unevenness here and there, but considering how this hunting footage was shot, this is to be expected. The dynamic intensity of the same footage is really good. However, even the best, like the one with the angered rhino, has its limitations. I thought that Henry Mancini's music sounded great.

Hatari! 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Julie Kirgo and Peter Hankoff.

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for Hatari!. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Julie Kirgo and Peter Hankoff.

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for Hatari!. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

Hatari! 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Howard Hawks, John Wayne, several international stars, dangerous hunts shot on the stunning terrains of East Africa. On paper, Hatari! sounds like a grand spectacle that should not be missed. There are some impressive visuals in Hatari!, but it is a mismanaged, bloated film that is impossible to place next to the likes of Red River and Rio Bravo. Is it worth seeing? Yes, but only after you have spent time with the other four westerns Hawks and Wayne made together. Kino Lorber's combo pack introduces a good exclusive new 4K makeover of Hatari! prepared at Paramount Pictures. RECOMMENDED (only to the fans).