Hatari!
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Movie Reviews of Hatari!
Movie Review: Hawks' African 'Buddy' Film a Wayne Classic!
Summary: 5 Stars
HATARI! may be the most enjoyable of the Howard Hawks/John Wayne collaborations (their other pairings produced the classics RED RIVER and RIO BRAVO, and the RIO BRAVO 'remakes' EL DORADO and RIO LOBO), and is exceptional in several ways; at 157 minutes (2 hours, 37 minutes), it may be one of the longest 'buddy' films ever made; nearly all of the animal 'chase and capture' sequences involved the actual cast members (professional handlers serving as stunt doubles were only rarely used); and the filming began with virtually no script (which was written based on the 'on location' footage in Africa, after the cast returned to California). At 65, director Hawks was still in top form, and the risks he took paid off...HATARI!, despite it's length, is never boring!
The story focuses on a season with a team of professional hunter/trappers, capturing animals for zoos and circuses. With a breathtaking opening scene of a rhino chase, costing them the use of veteran driver, 'Indian' (legendary actor Bruce Cabot), the 'family' dynamic is quickly established, with rugged Sean Mercer (Wayne) both boss and father-figure to the group. As he and the rest of the 'family' (Red Buttons, Hardy Krüger, Valentin de Vargas, and Michèle Girardon) meet 'Indian's' replacement, 'Chips' (Gérard Blain), Mercer has an even bigger headache to deal with; beautiful photographer Anna Maria 'Dallas' D'Allesandro (Elsa Martinelli) has arrived, to shoot a magazine spread. A 'traditional' Hawks leading lady, 'Dallas' is feisty, sultry, and attracted to Mercer, and the older man, uncomfortable with the ease by which she fits into the group, as well as his own stirrings, tries to make it clear that romance has no place on his agenda (in much the same manner as he did with Angie Dickinson in RIO BRAVO...and with the same results).
While some elements of the story are dated and politically incorrect (shooting a baby African elephant, even as a 'mercy killing', would be a major offense, today, as it is an endangered species), the combination of spectacular 'hunt' sequences, and the warmth and easy camaraderie of the cast in the subplots make HATARI! a rich, rewarding experience.
A major plus for the film is a very atypical Henry Mancini score, combining tense, African-influenced themes for the chases, and the very funny 'Baby Elephant Walk' to punctuate 'Dallas's' relationship with her adopted pachyderm 'children'. The baby elephant scenes are film highlights, as is the rocket capture of a tree filled with monkeys, and both rhino chases (which clearly shows Wayne in some real danger!)
From the opening rhino sequence to the closing 'Honeymoon' scene, HATARI! is a grand entertainment, and escapism at it's best!
Movie Review: Vintage Wayne, Excellent Entertainment
Summary: 5 Stars
There are at least four `African' films from the 50s and 60s that I've been enchanted with since I first saw them many years ago: King Solomon's Mines, with Deborah Kerr and Stewart Granger; The Naked Prey, with Cornel Wilde; most certainly Zulu, the entry by the youngish Michael Caine; and Hatari!, the John Wayne/African Travelogue vehicle par excellence from Howard Hawks.
John Wayne is going to be John Wayne, regardless of the film in which you find him; his range is not all that flexible. The quality any particular Wayne film is to be determined not only by allowing for his particular personality but by the quality of the script, and the skill and insight of the director. In Hartari! We have such an excellent combination.
The film is a bit dated (almost 45 years old at this writing!) but it wears well. We get an eclectic international cast. We see lots of African animals. We have battered Dodge and Mercedes trucks. We encounter various tribes of African Peoples. We're invited to enjoy some beautiful photography of an absolutely gorgeous country, including a shot or two of Mt Kilimanjaro.
It is incredible that these actors did most of the action sequences in capturing the animals. It is obvious that there was legitimate danger involved.
If I have any complaints at all, they're very minor. Pockets (Red Buttons) is a little overdone for my tastes, by about 12%. If we could reduce his antics by that amount and increase the screen time and dialogue from Brandy (Michele Girardon) proportionally, I believe the balance would be better for it. Besides, I prefer her shade of red hair.
I would like to have heard a little more from the Spaniard (Valentin de Vargas). And Dallas (Elsa Martinelli), once introduced as a sponsoring zoo's staff photographer, doesn't seem to be shooting too many pictures. The only other bit of nit-picking I have is that there is too much smoking: probably Camel Straights. I think everybody chain-smoked back then.
The Mancini Score, though considered somewhat quaint now, was thoughtfully considered and quite innovative for the time. I still enjoy the thematic jazz elements in the dancing sequences, the Great Ostrich Escape and, of course, the antics of the Baby Elephants.
This movie is an excellent choice for Family Movie Night - even the ninth time around. Five Stars, please.
Russell de Ville
15 April 2006
Movie Review: Rhinos and Other Horny Beasts in Africa
Summary: 5 Stars
There's not much this movie doesn't have. Action? Got it. Romance? Yep. Comedy? Check. Wild animals? Naturally. Punching, gunplay, explosions, and rocket blasts? Yes, yes, yes, and yes. Hyena bathing and slapstick elephant chases? But of course. Shape-shifting space aliens? Okay, it doesn't have that, but it has everything else and a cast that works well together and isn't overscripted.The story follows a season in the lives of a team of big game hunters (a catch-and-release group that works for zoos and circuses). A couple outsiders come in and the group dynamic changes; the young girl of the group is suddenly all grown up and a love triangle (later a quadrangle) forms and resolves itself; the group's leader has to choose between letting go of the past or missing the relationship of a lifetime; and then there's the horrible rhino curse that must be broken. In lesser hands, it would all be a "very special episode" of Little House on the Savanna, but Howard Hawks masterfully directs his cast and winds up with some incredible footage of the African plains and its wildlife as well. Add in an excellent score by Henry Mancini, and you are really drawn into the action; the whimsical "Baby Elephant Walk" provides a nice break from the tension - you know nothing bad can happen once the calliope starts up, so just sit back and enjoy the fun.
John Wayne keeps his swagger and drawl mostly in check, but Buttons' physical comedy is a little overeager. Still, the remaining 98% of the film is on target in tone and balance. The scenes between lovelorn Martinelli and Buttons feel genuine, the animal herding and capture scenes feel dangerous, the rhino goring and dislocated shoulder repair feel painful, and your arteries begin to clog at the mention of codfish cakes deep-fried in antelope fat.
This is a great movie to lose yourself in. Just make sure you have a full two-and-a-half hours to spend; once you begin you won't want the action, romance, and comedy to stop for even a minute.
Movie Review: How times have changed!
Summary: 5 Stars
I ran across this movie by accident on late nite TV -- and I loved it! Hatari is East Africa 40 years ago. There's no plot to speak of. John Wayne heads a team that chases down and catches animals to sell to zoos. They carry guns -- but they don't shoot anything; they smoke and drink to excess and eat lots of fatty foods (crab cakes fried in antelope fat!); they drive old beat-up jeeps and land rovers and they don't wear seatbelts -- and when they roll a jeep they pick everybody up and dust them off instead of calling a doctor (or a lawyer); the men are dumb and tough and lovable and honest and the women are smart and competent and sexy and honest -- and they don't have to prove anything to anybody. There's no way you could make this movie now. These guys lasso real animals -- giraffes and rhinos and zebras -- and wrestle them to the ground and put them in cages. The animals were probably not amused. But Hatari was politically correct in its day. Wayne's team includes a German, a Frenchman, an American Indian, a Spaniard, and an Italian femme fatale and they all get along pretty well. The Africans in the movie are called boys and there's not a hint that they might prefer to be called something else, like Mr. or Sir.
The scenery is marvelous, the photography fabulous, the music cute, the comedy stupid, the love scenes corny, and the animal capture scenes are fascinating. So this is how zoos get their animals....
Hatari is an idealized Africa of Bwanas and boys. Today, I suppose we're safer, happier, healthier, etc., but living in the shadow of Kilimanjaro and chasing animals around sure looks like a lot of fun.
Movie Review: John Wayne's best film!
Summary: 5 Stars
Well, a LOT of people would argue with my heading on this one and they'd probably be right -- but it's MY favorite John Wayne film. *.*
Here, a (non-cowboy) John Wayne earns his living in Africa rounding up wild critters (often at the risk of human life) for zoos. The film is all about the close-knit team who carries out this now-dubious endeavor. A beautiful lady photographer throws a monkey wrench into the works when Wayne is forced to take her along during his expeditions.
What do I love about the film?
The cinematography is simply incredible... none of the wild animal footage looks at all hokey like it does in so many other African-adventure films. The color saturation is just great and the scenery is spectacular.
The movie is bulging with cool old vehicles and other nostalgic impedimenta that one loves to see in this genre.
My favorite aspect of this flick is the filmscore, composed and rendered by whom? Henry Mancini, the old Master. Most of the background music is contemporary to the early 60s themes that one might hear from Alex North ("Cleopatra") or from Les Baxter ("Voodoo Island"). Wonderful stuff!
The casting is near-perfect and I suppose they had to include Red Buttons in this one, who plays a character named "Pockets" -- to me, he's the one hokey facet of the production although I cannot argue that many folks love him in this, and many other movies as well.
In any event, Hatari is one of my top films (see my listmania lists for movies) and it gets my highest recommendation.