Over Hawai'i Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Over Hawai'i Blu-ray Movie Review

Finding the "Lost" islands.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 16, 2012

The history of Hawai’i isn’t always an easy one to read or comprehend, but as troubled and disturbing as so many elements of this one time island nation’s past undoubtedly are, they make it all the more remarkable that its natives are such a lovely, loving and welcoming people. The spirit of “aloha” has become something of a cliché, a slogan on a tourism poster, but while Over Hawai’i may indeed fly above this magical chain of islands in the Pacific, the effulgent heart of its people is alive throughout the special, seen nationally on PBS stations. Several natives as well as a number of “transplants” discuss their love of the land and the sea, the yearning quest to connect with a divine being who has revealed so much in the natural beauties of these islands, and the oneness that is felt by most of the islands’ inhabitants. As with most productions in the Over series, Over Hawai’i is fairly brisk tour hitting a number of well known spots along with some that only natives might have heard about, but it offers a sumptuously gorgeous overview (pun intended) of one of the most remarkably wondrous locations in the world, let alone the United States. The special visits the islands of Hawai’i, Maui, Lana’i, Moloka’i, O’ahu and Kaua’i, visiting a number of high profile destinations like Waikiki and Pearl Harbor as well as hidden gems that are only accessible by flyover.

The first stop is Hawai’i, where a park ranger at Volcanoes National Park talks about this chain of islands being the most isolated land mass in the world. The islands rest some 2,000 miles away from both North and South America, and all but one of the islands are well over one million years old (some are several million years old). That exception is Hawai’i, which is a “mere” 800,000 or so years old, which is part why it still is actively erupting. The entire island chain is the result of volcanic activity, something that is mentioned in several guises throughout the special as various islands are visited.

Various conceptions of Pele, the goddess of volcanoes, are mentioned as we are also treated to the park ranger playing some ethnic music on a nose flute. The use of exhalation to produce music is then linked to the word aloha which is broken down into its constituent parts in the original Hawai’ian language, alo which means face or body and ha, which means breath of life. The ha is in fact the same root that is in the very word Hawai’i. (That final “I” that is in so many words in the language refers to the Divinity, according to this special.) One of the slightly humorous comments that is made in this sequence comes from a biologist who actually refers to Hawai’i’s volcanoes as among the “gentlest” of their kind.

Other nice sequences here focus on the island’s many large and graceful waterfalls, including one at Kohala. We also fly over Hilo, one of the larger cities on the island, and take a look at its inviting, cobalt blue bay. A native Hawai’ian talks about how seeing these vast expanses helps humans to understand that they are but a small puzzle piece in the whole scheme of things, which then leads into a nice underwater sequence where we get to see some of the diversity of sea life that surrounds the islands.

The next stop is Maui, where we’re treated to a nice song by a native name Napua Makua. The opening sequence also features some fantastic footage of absolutely gigantic rainbows arcing over vast forested peaks and valleys. We take a bird’s eye view of Haleakala National Park, including a fly by of the Haleakala Observatory. Haleakala is alternately translated as house of the sun, path to the sun or path to life. This segment also talks about how 93% of all of the volcanoes are under water, so that we are indeed only seeing the tip of a volcanic iceberg. One cool element here is a look at the twiting and turning Hana Highway, which retraces an ancient footpath which circumscribed part of the island. The town of Hana seems to simply emerge out of nothingness and it’s mentioned that when Captain Cook stumbled on the islands centuries ago he was amazed to find thousands of people living happily and healthily in the middle of nowhere. The aerial tour of this island comes to a close with a great sequence following a paraglider operator flying out over the ocean and a nice comment from a native stating how scenery like this demands our respect and protection.

Next up is Lana’i, which starts off with a brief discussion of how the volcanoes in Hawai’i are actually shaped differently than everywhere else in the world. The Hawai’ian volcanoes tend to be very gently shoped and are actually called shield volcanoes since they tend to spread out horizontally like a shield. People often ask where the volcanoes are when the come to Hawai’i and it’s joked here that tourists arrive at the volcanoes as soon as they land on any island, they’re simply not aware that they’re already on a volcano. The huge diversity of speices is also addressed in this segment with regard to non-native species. These species arrived at their new island home by what is called the “three W’s”, wind, water and the wings of birds. Lana’i seems to be a somewhat less densely forested island, a bit browner and dusty looking, at least in much of the footage shown here.

Moloka’i is the next destination and the spiky mountains that we fly over are likened to the dorsal fins of a fish, while underwater there’s “one big fish”, meaning one massive geologic structure that comprises the entire island chain. There’s a nice close up view of one of Moloka’i’s distinctive plant life species, a rare palm variety (see screencap 6). O’ahu is in some ways the best known of the islands, home to Honolulu and Pearl Harbor and of course those are featured here, with a nice stop by to visit one of the curators of the U.S.S. Missouri Memorial. We also fly by such icons as Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head. This sequence features some of the most disparate scenery, as we get the bustling cityscape of Honolulu contrasting with some gorgeous mist strewn shots of mountains covered in clouds and rain with nary a sign of civilization in sight.

The last stop is Kaua’i, the oldest of the island chain, clocking in at around six million years old. While a lot of this island is lush and green, there are some shots here of astounding rock formations that almost look like they’ve been transported over from “John Ford country” in Southern Utah from locations like Zion, Bryce or Canyonlands. The ever changing scenery is likened to seeing a painting that keeps getting touched up over time. The special ends with some beautiful shots of red hued sunsets, bringing the tour to a close.

Over Hawai'i Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Over Hawai'i is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Topics Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in 1.78:1. This is an excellent looking high definition presentation that offers good clarity and sharpness and some brilliantly suffused color. Contrast is very strong throughout the special and while fine detail isn't overwhelming due to the bulk of wide aerial shots, there's some amazing depth of field that helps to make up for it. The only real issue here is some minor shimmer that visits the lush foliage from time to time. Otherwise the aerial photography of Richard Brooks Burton and David Chevalier aided by the piloting of Chevalier and Darryl Evans looks great.

Over Hawai'i Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Over Hawai'i features a nice sounding lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 soundtrack which offers excellent fidelity and clarity. The soundtrack features a wealth of great music, including traditional Hawai'ian songs, and those sound just fine throughout the special. The rest of the soundtrack is comprised of talking heads and occasional ambient environmental sounds, with waves and wind being featured most prominently.

Over Hawai'i Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Over Hawai'i: A Pilot's Story (1080i; 6:17) has some of the astoundingly beautiful scenery featured in the main outing, as well as audio montages from the opening of the main feature disussing the etymology of the word "Haaai'i". Then we get some on screen guiding by David Chevalier, one of the helicopter pilots who flew over the islands for the video.

Over Hawai'i Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

According to this beautifully shot aerial special, Hawai'i breaks down etymologically into the following components: Ha, the breath of life; Wai, water; and I, the Supreme Creator. That seems to be an apt summation of the spirit that is palpable throughout this Over outing, one that seems a bit more transcendentally inclined than others in the series. The sights are undeniably gorgeous, but what may be most memorable are some of the comments by natives and transplants, almost all of whom mention the unity of being and how the sheer physical splendor of the islands informs their attitude and respect for all living beings. This is another sumptuously beautiful release in the Over series, and it also features a really nice soundtrack of great Hawai'ian music (in fact it would have been nice to have had a music only option in the audio choices). Recommended.