Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

The Hawaiians Blu-ray Movie Review

"You really don't know whether your old man's a son of a bitch or not, do you, son?"

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown April 30, 2024

A sequel to 1966's Hawaii, The Hawaiians adapts yet another snapshot from famed long-winded author James Michener's 1959 massive tome of a novel, itself far too broad and expansive to feasibly film in whole. But whereas Hawaii earned accolades and a swath of fans (despite its excision of much of its source material), The Hawaiians plays on screen more like a spiritual sequel than another part of a cohesive whole. With different characters, actors, themes and even eras, it barely forges a connection, other than through its lush islands and indigenous people. None of which would be a problem, mind you, if it brought with it the same beating heart of its predecessor. Instead, The Hawaiians is more of a ceremonial affair, wobbling between history and historical fiction without much purpose or cause. Its most successful moments are between the titular Hawaiians themselves, some immigrating, some already in place. But the bulk of its focus isn't the group of people we meet crowded in the belly of an indentured servant ship but rather their at-times abusive, um, owner? Proprietor? Employer? However you see him, Charlton Heston's Whip Hoxworth is a tricky lead, even forcing one immigrant woman into marriage, which is history through and through but doesn't exactly make for a comfortable watch or a man-of-the-people to root for. It comes together by film's end I suppose. At what cost... that's another matter.

"Our people? A little Hawaiian blood doesn't make us natives."

Our 2016 review's film synopsis: The fact that James Michener's original source novel of Hawaii dealt in huge geological time spans may indicate one reason why the 1966 film was based largely on just part of one chapter of the book. While The Hawaiians broadens that scope perhaps just a little, there's a somewhat odd feeling running through the film that introductions have been left by the wayside, with a kind of understanding that the audience is either going to know something about at least some fhe characters going in, or at least will be able to quickly figure out what's going on. Whip Hoxworth (Charlton Heston) is the black sheep grandson of Hawaii's strapping Rafer Hoxworth (Richard Harris), who, in the film's alarming first scene, is shown bringing a passel of Chinese indentured servants to the islands. Those include Mun Ki (Mako) and Nyuk Tsin (Tina Chen), who come to work for Hoxworth and whom Hoxworth more or less forces into a marriage. Hoxworth's return delivers the news that Rafer has died and left his considerable estate not to Whip, but to Micah Hale (Alec McGowan). It's here that those with an acquaintance with the first film's dynamics between the Hales and Rafer Hoxworth will probably have a bit of a subtextual leg up on proceedings.

Click here to read the rest of Jeffrey Kauffman's thoughts on The Hawaiians, which he calls "gorgeously scenic and as well-intended in a kind of uppity moral way (meaning politically correct) as the first film was." Countering, "but it never really works up the emotional heft that the Julie Andrews and Max von Sydow original does. Taking place a couple of generations after the events depicted in Hawaii, The Hawaiians will probably have more resonance for folks who recognize names like Hale and Hoxworth, though the film manages to function well enough as a standalone entry, even if it ends up playing like a tired retread at various points."

The Hawaiians Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

After a somewhat rough opening plagued with softness and generic print wear-and-tear, the film's 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer begins to impress on the regular. Lucien Ballard's warm, often beautiful photography is brimming with natural colors, vibrant primaries and lifelike skintones, and the presentation follows suit. Contrast is dialed in nicely and black levels remain deep and inky, though it should be noted the palette frequently will be a tad muddy one minute and slightly over-saturated the next. Darker nighttime sequences are also rather impenetrable, making for a few murky low points in the film. Thankfully, grain is present and largely consistent, despite a bit of chunkiness in select scenes and dips in clarity that trace back to the original source, and, other than a few specks and nicks, the print appears to be in good shape. Detail is crisp and revealing for the most part as well, with plenty of standout fine textures and nuances. Intermittent edge enhancement and a few visible halos will distract the eagle-eyed among you, but otherwise there aren't any anomalies to report; certainly nothing in the way of macroblocking, banding or the like. All in all, it's a solid transfer that only a complete from-the-ground-up restoration could best.

The Hawaiians Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Hawaiians' DTS-HD Master Audio two-channel mono track is quite pleasing, with perfectly prioritized and intelligible dialogue, clean sound effects, and a rich, faithful representation of Henry Mancini's original score. The soundscape is a bit canned at artificial at times, but blame the era rather than the Blu-ray mix, as it does a fine job with all it's given.

The Hawaiians Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Like the 2016 Twilight Time Limited Edition Blu-ray release before it, the Sandpiper Pictures BD doesn't include any substantial special features about the making of the film, the story or the original novel. Ah well. Isolated scores are always a nice touch.

The Hawaiians Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Hawaiians is an odd bird, attempting to walk a fine line between accurate and offensive and more accessible and heartfelt, at a time when Hollywood was itself struggling with the same lines. It never quite finds itself, focusing too much on Heston's weirdly likable yet wholly unlikeable Whip and not nearly enough on the plight of the immigrants at the core of its tale (though admittedly a good deal of time is devoted to their stories). Hawaii is a better film, with more to offer and a deeper cast with which to work its magic. The Hawaiians, though, struggles, hobbled by an inability to rise above its old Hollywood trappings. Sandpiper's Blu-ray release at least offers a solid AV presentation, with flawed but above average video and a strong mono audio track. Additional special features would have given the release far more value, but so it goes.