Hawaii Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Hawaii Blu-ray Movie Review

Lei, lady, lei.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 19, 2016

Despite having quite a few friends and at least one family member who make Hawaii their home, I have never traveled to our 50th state. I have nonetheless made regular “visits” of a sort for many years courtesy of Hawaii, though it's a film I didn’t originally see until decades after its 1966-67 theatrical exhibition release. It had nevertheless permanently entered my consciousness due to the luscious music of Elmer Bernstein, which had been gracing first my turntable and then my CD player courtesy of various releases of the original soundtrack music since I was a very young boy. Due to the vagaries of various home video releases, the version of Hawaii with which I first became acquainted was the original roadshow iteration, one which included typical blandishments like an Overture and Entr’Acte, but which nonetheless also included well over twenty minutes of additional narrative that helped to artfully establish some of the backstory of Abner Hale (Max Von Sydow), a kind of officious but generally well meaning Calvinist missionary who is among the first Caucasians to settle on the islands in the 18th and 19th centuries. That fact was a rather “educational” experience in a way, for once I saw the trimmed down general release version, I was actually a little shocked at just how much content which I personally had enjoyed and which I felt added measurably to the understanding of the characters had been excised from the film. I was so shocked that when MGM announced a DVD version in 2005, I took the rare (for me) step of writing everyone I could in their home video division urging them to release the full roadshow version rather than the truncated general release version. Alas, that did not come to pass, though as I recall, MGM, evidently having received missives from more than just one curmudgeonly type, put out a press release stating that the quality of the elements of the roadshow version would not suffice for a DVD release. At the time I found this statement at least a little odd, as on the VHS version (I never owned the laserdisc), there was not a huge quality discrepancy between the elements. That said, the key term may be VHS and what was considered state of the art back in the day, for in now revisiting what looks like that old VHS version of the roadshow version presented on this Blu-ray as a standard definition supplement, video quality is pretty ragged looking. MGM evidently continues to believe the roadshow version’s elements would not stand up to the requirements of a high definition presentation, and so this new Blu-ray release offers the general release version in high definition and the roadshow version in standard definition. It’s not a perfect solution, and I for one wouldn’t mind if some boutique label with scads of money to spend would at least investigate the possibility of preparing a high definition master of the roadshow version, but until that probably impossible dream comes to pass, it’s now possible to “visit” much if not all of Hawaii in high definition.

James A. Michener’s 1959 source novel is a huge, sprawling affair that contains even more backstory than even the original roadshow version of the film, including swaths of characters and historical incidents which are simply not part of the trimmed down adaptive screenplay’s narrative by Daniel Taradash and Dalton Trumbo. The film in fact dramatizes only a very small portion of Michener’s multi-generational saga, concentrating on the clash of cultures between the native Hawaiians and the new Christian interlopers who are hoping to “civilize” the supposed savages.

The general release version of the film skips over a bit of developmental content, including some of the angst Abner Hale experiences when he is urged to marry before attempting to matriculate to Hawaii as a missionary. That ultimately brings him into contact with Jerusha Bromley (Julie Andrews), a lovely young woman who seems to be the polar opposite of Hale in both attractiveness and general temperament. Despite that “oil and water” ambience, the two do marry and set off on a somewhat harrowing boat journey to the islands.

The bulk of the film then takes place in an island setting, as Abner and Jerusha attempt to forge relationships with the natives, including the lovably blustery Malama Kanakoa (a superb Jocelyne LaGarde, Golden Globe winner and the only cast member nominated for an Academy Award). Malama is what’s known as the Aliʻi nui, the hereditary ruler who is also viewed as a quasi-religious figure. That aspect of course runs afoul of Abner’s fairly rigorous Christian tendencies, something that in turn often spills out in some martinet behavior. Jerusha, however, immediately captures the fancy of Malama, and the ebullient priestess insists that Jerusha school her in various areas, including how to write. Abner is also less than pleased with a number of other native Hawaiian customs, including plans by his kind of "sponsor," Prince Keoki Kanakoa (Manu Tupou), Malama's son, to marry his own sister.

Despite the fact that Hawaii only offers a mere sliver of Michener’s novel, it’s fascinating to see how carefully Taradash and Trumbo construct the story, carefully preparing building blocks that pay off with some visceral emotional dividends later in the film. One of these elements concerns a baby Abner and Jerusha save from being killed by its parents (due to a rather minor birth defect), but there are other, perhaps less nuanced but no less effective, moments scattered throughout the film, which is still kind of lengthy even in its general release version. One of those elements is the arrival of strapping Rafer Hoxworth (Richard Harris), a seafaring adventurer who has a bit of a romantic past with Jerusha. By the time Hoxworth arrives in Hawaii, the film has already capably documented Abner’s almost maddening disregard for Jerusha’s feelings, and when Hoxworth literally takes matters into his own hands (and/or fists), there’s a palpable feeling of catharsis. What's rather effective, though, is the feeling of the Hales' marriage enduring through this and other traumas, and both the screenplay and director George Roy Hill are careful to portray Abner as basically a flawed would be hero, rather than an out and out fool or (even worse) an unabashed villain.

Hawaii is an unusually intimate “epic”, one that plays out on a vast canvas of incredibly gorgeous scenery and a fascinating recreation of a compelling but ultimately disturbing historical milieu. Performances are stellar across the board, with Von Sydow really anchoring the film with a surprisingly varied accounting of an at times less than likable character. If Andrews’ Jerusha is forced to be everything pure and holy in this formulation, she manages to bring real, honest emotion to several key scenes with Von Sydow and, later, Harris. Harris himself is typically brash and commanding, but has moments of true vulnerability and tenderness. The huge supporting cast, which includes the likes of Gene Hackman and Carroll O’Connor, is colorful and real feeling, especially with regard to several actors portraying the Hawaiian natives. "Before they were stars" cameo aficionados should keep an eye peeled at circa 28:36 on the general release version and circa 34:04 on the roadshow version for a glimpse of a certain Divine Miss M (then a young girl) as one of the unfortunate seasick souls on their way to paradise.

Hawaii Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Hawaii is presented on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p in 2.35:1. While this is certainly light years ahead of the standard definition presentation of the roadshow version of the film also included on this Blu-ray, some fans of the film may be wishing for a more resplendent accounting of the film's luscious Academy Award nominated cinematography by Russell Harlan. Tangential issues like some signs of sharpening and image instability (there's quite a bit of wobble on display) may indicate an older master. Elements have a few issues, most of which tend to be fairly minor (look at the tiny scratch to the right of Van Sydow's face in screenshot 1 or the somewhat more noticeable nick penetrating the nose of Elizabeth Cole in screenshot 8). Colors look best in the brightly lit outdoor sequences, where blues and greens still radiate quite well. Flesh tones often tip toward the brown side of things, though (and this is with regard to the Caucasian actors, not the natives). Grain is natural looking, albeit a bit coarse at times, something that adds a kind of muddy look to some of the darker sequences. Some of the process photography, notably during the sea storm sequence, shows its seams pretty readily. There are moments of softness on display (note the early scene between Abner and Jerusha in the Bromley parlor for one example), and shadow detail can be anemic in some nighttime scenes, something that's exacerbated by some murky contrast. For these and similar reasons, my score is probably more accurately weighted somewhere between 3.0 and 3.5.

Hawaii Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Hawaii features a nice sounding DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track (evidently even in 70mm blowup roadshow presentations, this had mono sound), one which may not provide scads of width for Elmer Bernstein's towering score, but which offers surprising depth and power nonetheless. (Some of the width is restored in the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 isolated score tracks.) Warning, rant ahead: in some other reviews I have mentioned what I have long felt to be the almost embarrassing Oscar Elmer Bernstein was awarded for Thoroughly Modern Millie in 1967, an award ostensibly for "Original Score," despite the fact that Bernstein hardly wrote an original note for the film, instead devoting much of the underscore to either source cues or versions of songs written for the film itself. This seemed to be the very definition of a "career award," one perhaps meant to make up for the equally shocking loss Bernstein suffered in 1966 for Hawaii as part of the Born Free musical juggernaut. Bernstein's score is one of the glories of this era of film, a sweeping onslaught of "watery" strings (seemingly modeled on Ravel's equally "wet" sounding score for Daphnis et Chloe) and impressive batteries of percussion. Another kind of odd Oscar anomaly was the nomination "My Wishing Doll" received for Best Song that year. The tune is barely even sung in the film, a mere snippet in fact playing out as part of an early scene with Jerusha and her sisters. It's an especially odd nomination considering Mack David's kind of bizarre lyric, which includes such timeless lines as "a raggedy, taggedy, little old scraggedy wishing doll." This probably tangential sidebar aside, the track on this Blu-ray offers a good accounting of Bernstein's score, as well as the film's dialogue and sound effects like the storm at sea or the huge windstorm that almost brings ruin to Abner's beloved chapel. Things can occasionally sound slightly boxy, especially with regard to some of the sound effects.

Hawaii Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Original Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 3:04)


• MGM 90th Anniversary Trailer (1080p; 2:06)


• Isolated Score Track is available on both versions in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0.


• Original Roadshow Version (480i; 3:08:56). Oh, the horror. Did my old 2 VHS set really look this horrible? One has to assume so, for this has the look of having been taken directly off of an old video master. It's window boxed (i.e., it's not anamorphically enhanced) and there are recurrent video anomalies like aliasing and pixellation in abundance. Still, for completists (like yours truly), it's nice to be able to at least see some of the excised material, as well as to hear even more of Elmer Bernstein's gorgeous score.

Hawaii Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There are very few films that can push me into weepy territory as easily as Hawaii typically does. I've joked with my wife that it was just so sad that two so obviously mismatched people stayed together for so long, but what really resonates in Hawaii is that very breadth of time unfolding, with the requisite changes in several key characters. The clash of cultures between the sweetly loving Hawaiians and the "straight and narrow" Calvinists is fascinating, if discomfiting. Despite its fairly unwieldy length, Hawaii is never less than completely compelling, helmed with assurance by George Roy Hill and supported by an ace cast and top flight technical crew. This is not a perfect presentation, but it's wonderful to have both versions on one release, even if neither is completely optimal (and the roadshow version's video quality barely achieving acceptable quality). With reservations duly noted, Hawaii comes Recommended.