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Hidalgo (2004)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - America - Touchstone Home Entertainment/Buena Vista Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Jari Kovalainen (17th April 2008). |
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The Film
 American Frank T. Hopkins was a legendary distance/endurance horse rider in the late 19th century, riding with Mustang horses and eventually helping to preserve their breed. “Legendary” also has its downsides. Hopkins has been said to have competed in over 400 long-distance races during his heyday (he won most of them) and even took part in “Buffalo Bill's Wild West” tour at some point in time. Many of these stories have now been questioned among historians and various critics. Based on a few web sites, the debate is quite a bitter one and strong words like “hoax” has been brought up. The legend of the endurance ride across the Arabian Desert in 1890 has caused the strongest controversy, especially after the Hollywood movie “Hidalgo” came out in 2004. Since the movie has “based on the life of Frank T. Hopkins”-tag (shows when you activate subtitles), people tend to take it more seriously. It seems that perhaps too seriously. After all, this is a motion picture, clearly done in the old fashion “adventure” way. In the film, Hopkins is played by Viggo Mortensen and the first part of the film focuses on his background. From one of his cross-country races (which he wins, of course), the film moves to the more serious territory and the aftermath of “Wounded Knee Massacre” in 1890 (where over 150 Sioux Indians were killed by the army). Since Hopkins has some Indian-blood in his veins, these images upset him badly, driving him to drink more heavily. While doing some stunt riding for Buffalo Bill, he hears about the peculiar “Ocean Of Fire” horse race from an Arabic man called Aziz (Adam Alexi-Malle - e.g. “Bowfinger (1999)”). Now Hopkins and his horse Hidalgo have the unique chance to participate in this race, being the first westerner allowed to do so. This 3,000 mile (roughly 4,800 km) race will span across the Arabian desert, along with the Persian Gulf and Iraq, and finally across the sands of Syria to Damascus. Hopkins eventually accepts and the unknown, foreign land awaits him. After a long journey across the sea, Hopkins is greeted by Sheikh Riyadh (Omar Sharif - Oscar nomination for “Lawrence of Arabia (1962)”), the mastermind and sponsor of the annual race. Sheikh´s only daughter Jazira (Zuleikha Robinson - e.g. “The Merchant of Venice (2004)”) also notices the handsome “cowboy”. Hopkins has already met the English Lady Anne (Louise Lombard - e.g. “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2004-2007)” TV-series), owning one horse in the race (her husband Major Davenport is played by Malcolm McDowell in a “uncredited” role) and soon also his real competitors are introduced, some of the finest and experienced Bedouin riders like Sakr (Adoni Maropis - e.g. “24 (2007)” TV-series) and Prince Bin Al Reeh (Saïd Taghmaoui - e.g. “Hate AKA La Haine (1995)”). The gruelling race (which has claimed many lives in the past) will be the real test of durance for Hidalgo and Hopkins, since they´ll have to ride in extreme heat and often at the verge of exhaustion, facing sandstorms and armies of locusts, along with quick sands and waterless areas. If these nature's obstacles weren´t enough, there are also hatred against the “rough-riding Hopkins” and plenty of scheming in the shadows to stop his race for good. The winning is now up to one, tough Mustang horse and his clever rider. Viggo Mortensen got his big break with “The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003”-trilogy (and recently an Oscar nomination from “Eastern Promises (2007)”) and although “Hidalgo” is not as “huge” and “epic”, there´s still one strong connection; horses. Being an accomplished horseman, working with these animals seems to be quite enjoyable for the actor and it shows on the screen. In “Hidalgo”, the actor is not doing a typical “Indiana Jones”-character, but slightly a deeper one (with connections to the spiritual world of the Indians). Granted, this approach can slow the film down in places, but adds more depth to the (film!) character of Frank T. Hopkins. Although some sections of the film falls a bit short, the story should have enough “adventure” and “action” to satisfy the genre-fans and certain “vintage”-feel is present. The film is not purely “for kids”, since there are a few shoot-outs or just sinister guys ready to kill people. Mortensen is a versatile actor, also in “Hidalgo” and Omar Sharif is back and full of charisma. He fits quite perfectly in his role. Director Joe Johnston (e.g. upcoming “The Wolf Man (2009)”) won (shared) Oscar for “Best Visual Effects” from “Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)” and he knows how to handle visual images. Some sequences probably lack a bit of “punch” (and few weak CGI-effects are raising its head), but the package stays tight to the end. Now comes the authenticity of the story, I find it puzzling that so much noise has been raised about it in the first place (there even has been some odd “political agenda” accusations). I´ll admit, that the “based on the life of…”-tag was probably a mistake to add and unnecessary marketing gimmick, but it´s not that the film is trying to teach history here. Everyone should be able to see that the whole “Ocean Of Fire” race is purely “cinematic” in the film. It´s not believable, that the 100% American cowboy could win the race in these conditions, against the riders that know the land and its quirks. It´s not meant to be “real” after all. Screenwriter John Fusco (who´s also a Spanish Mustang preservationist) probably receiver the biggest heat for the film and has also stepped out to defend the screenplay. He has wisely pointed out, that he mainly took the story that had fascinated him for a long time and turned it into an “action-adventure celebration”. That “Hidalgo” truly is, entertainment-wise cinema, it comes very much recommended.
Video
“Hidalgo” is presented in 2.40:1 widescreen (1080p 24fps) and uses AVC MPEG-4 compression. The transfer is mostly in a good level, capturing the colder tones in the opening and “Wounded Knee Massacre”-scenes, along with the warmer tones later on during the race in the desert. Colors and black levels are usually quite strong (but not perfect). By closer examination there are still a few minor bumps on the road, since the image is not always that sharp and “deep” as expected. Some grain can be present. It could be said, that the film can look very good, but never reaching that “reference” status. It´s still hard to say (I never saw the film in theatres) how much of this is due just from the original look of the film, since the film tends to have many scenes that happen in the shadows and shades, are dark or just shot in tough conditions (against the light, etc). Contrasts are heavy. Even when the film takes place in “exotic lands”, it feels that filmmakers were trying to capture the harsh realism of the nature, rather than creating endless stream of “beauty shots”. Granted, the film often looks very beautiful, but that´s not the dominating factor. The film is using “BD-50”-disc and there are 18 chapters. The film runs 136:24 minutes. Note, that the disc is confirmed to be "R0" (packaging also states “Region A, B, C”). Review equipment: Sony Bravia KDL-40W2000 LCD (1080p) + Playstation 3, via HDMI cable.
Audio
The disc includes several audio tracks; English PCM 5.1 (48kHz/24-Bit - 4.6 Mbps), English Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 Kbps), French Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 Kbps), Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 Kbps), Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 Kbps) and Thai Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 Kbps). Optional English HoH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Thai, Bahasa, Malay, and Korean subtitles are included. Do note, that for some reason only “English, French, and Spanish” audio tracks/subtitles are listed on the back cover (proper list is confirmed by me). My receiver doesn´t support HDMI yet (it will next month, when I upgrade my receiver to HDMI 1.3) and Playstation 3 lacks “Analog Out”, so I chose the Dolby Digital 5.1-option. You can get the PCM-track out from the disc with non-HDMI receivers also, but in that case it´s limited to uncompressed PCM 2.0. Based on a few samples, the PCM 2.0 actually sounds quite equal to Dolby Digital 5.1-track (or at least is not very far behind), if you choose “Pro Logic” from your receiver (2.0 surround). English audio is excellent, with nice use of directional channels and plenty of surround activity. Whether it´s the train coming, crowd cheering, horses racing or the sandstorm approaching (bringing also subwoofer to life), the audio is lively and dynamic. The music score by composer James Newton Howard (seven Oscar nominations) has also clarity and power. Not bad at all. For the more serious Viggo-fans, the disc includes curious alternate choice. Since Mortensen is fluent in Spanish, he has dubbed his own dialogue for the Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1-track. To still balance the situation with a minor gripe, the original English “burned-in” captions for the Lakota (Sioux language) and Arabic languages are replaced with the plain player-generated subtitles (the subtitles ONLY for the Lakota/Arabic languages include; English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Thai).
Extras
The Blu-ray-release ports all the extras from the R1 SD DVD-release, also “America's First Horse”-featurette, which was originally included on the DVD-ROM section only. That still isn´t saying much. All extras (expect “Bonus trailers”) include optional English HoH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese and Korean subtitles and are in 480p standard definition. -“Sand & Celluloid” -featurette runs 9:02 minutes and is the closest of “Making of”-piece that you´re going to get in this release. It starts by recapping some of the history behind the story (mainly endurance horse racing), along with the controversial “Ocean Of Fire” race (which allegedly took 68 days from Hopkins, while the shooting of the film took 119 days). From the production´s point of view, the featurette focuses on the stunts (e.g. chase scene in the kasbah), horses (many were brought to Amsterdam to Morocco, where the big race was shot, and eventually over 800 horses was used, from which 5 horses “played” Hidalgo) and the difficulties on the set (some horses were afraid of the camels, and wind, sand and dust caused some obvious obstacles). You´ll also learn, that custom made (edible) locusts were created, as well as the plastic ones. Several members from the cast & crew are being interviewed, including Mortensen and director Johnston. -“America's First Horse - Hidalgo And The Spanish Mustang” -featurette runs 21:34 minutes, telling history of the Mustang horse and what the horses meant from the Native Americans. Horses have always been an integral part of the Indians' culture and that bond has been carried to the modern times. It also shows some modern endurance racing and points out how some parties are trying to re-establish the cultural connection with the horses, also for the younger generation. Some excerpts from Frank T. Hopkins are included, read by Viggo Mortensen, and screenwriter John Fusco also gives some of his views about horses. -One Easter Egg is included; Go to the “Bonus Features” menu, highlight “America's First Horse” and press “Down”. Horse-icon is now highlighted. Press “Enter”: “The Horse Is Good” -featurette runs 3:01 minutes, including a few stories from some of the Native Americans and also Viggo Mortensen is making appearance. You´ll also see some of his photos at the end (photography is one of his hobby). Bonus trailers (in 1080p HD) run before the “Main menu”, but can be skipped; “Blu-ray promo”, “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)”, and “National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007)”. They run together at 7:17 minutes. The disc is packaged in a standard Blu-ray case.
Overall
I´ve once been on the horse and that experience was more scary than pleasant for me (blame is purely on me). I´ll still admit that horses are animals that hold my respect and it´s quite easy to see why they have so special meaning for many people. “Hidalgo” celebrates the endurance and strength of the horses, but does it with entertaining and adventurous ways. Since also the actors are capable and the technical aspect of the Blu-ray disc are in pretty good level, it´s easy to say; “buckle up” and to pop this disc to your player. For more info, please visit the homepage of Buena Vista Home Entertainment (Blu-ray).
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