SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

one of my absolute favorites!

Absolutely Fantastic

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Seems like Marlon Brando should have been in this film. I don't know what part he could have played, but maybe a part (only a major part for my Marlon) could have been made up for Marlon. At any rate, I would not have wanted him to portray Abner Hale or any of those other stodgy, uptight ministers, lol. Maybe Marlon's character could have gone for Julie Andrews, then killed Hale the ignorant preacher-man. I have read the enormous novel upon which this film is based. This movie seems long, but the novel is gigantic. The beginning of this book goes on forever in describing the history of Hawai'i, before the white man ever arrived. It also tells lengthy litanies about the origins of the native gods and indigenous beliefs. The missionaries wanted to claim these islands for their religion. This film goes to great lengths to illustrate that. I have been to Hawai'i. I saw their beautiful beaches and exotic plants. The weather is breathtaking. I visited Honolulu, and toured a beautiful museum wherein were displayed artifacts from the lives of late 19th-century Hawai'ian royalty. It seems that by that time, in real life, the royal family of Hawai'i had intermarried with white business and political figures. The white people were building agricultural empires there, for example enormous pineapple production (famous canned pineapple brand names you have heard of). The British also were interlopers in the islands. The Hawai'ian royal family seemed to like the British 19th Victorian fashions and polite manners more than they liked the Americans and their less elegant ways, but the island nation eventually became an American state. The last queen of Hawai'i had been forced to abdicate. She had been married to a white man. I also saw a display there of a life-size figure of James Michener, sitting in a white tent and typing the novel "Hawaii" on his manual typewriter. Did white people ruin Hawai'i? I hope not. It is a beautiful place. I hope to visit there again soon. Observations: Malama (Alii Nui) stole the show, in this film. 10/10

Turgid, overlong epic has a story with possibilities-organized religion's arrogant assumption that what it believes is right even if it destroys a civilization. While it conveys that in many ways something is ultimately missing from the overall film that keeps the viewer at a distance making it less involving then it needs to be. Von Sydow is a fine actor but his Reverend Hale is such a pompous, small minded autocrat that spending over 2 1/2 hours with him is a trial. Julie Andrews is wasted, surely they could have found a way for her to sing more, although she does have one good scene near the end. The location filming is breath taking but that only will carry a film so far and this doesn't have enough else to make it worth seeking out.

Outstanding version of the James Michener novel.There is a monumental non-Oscar nominated performance by Max Von Sydow as a minister, who brings his wife (Julie Andrews) Jerusha Bromley to Hawaii in an attempt to convert the natives there.This is a story of social mores. Cold and seemingly uncaring to the needs of the people, Von Sydow, as Abner, etched an unforgettable character. He comes to Hawaii hell-bent on converting the natives. He doesn't understand or refuses to understand their customs and traditions as he tries to impose Christianity on them. He is quick to condemn cultural traditions in his never ending devotion to the Lord.Julie Andrews is wonderful as Jerusha, his long-suffering wife. She comes to realize that the goodness of people counts more than the religious life itself.The irony in the movie is that the church, that institution that Von Sydow would fight for, literally turns its back on him at film's end.Jocelyne LaGarde, as the queen, was nominated for best supporting actress. Firm in her beliefs, but unwilling to accept cultural changes, her performance was simplistic but truly memorable and believable.A great film.

I first saw this movie (in snatches) when I was about 10 years old. I was totally captivated by the love story, because I could really relate to Max Von Sydow's performance as the stern, lonely Puritan Minister Hale. I got his anguish, his conflicting feelings, and his total inability to share. When Mrs. Hale (a prim but fetching Julie Andrews) gives birth and he starts sobbing and admits that he loves her more than God, I felt it like a punch in the stomach.On the other hand, I couldn't help admiring the bold whaling captain played by Richard Harris too. When the minister falls in the water and the devilish whaler shouts, "shark! go get him, boy!" that really tickled my funny bone. I was ten years old, of course, but I totally understood what an amazing love triangle this was.Well, the other day I finally got this movie on videotape, and after nearly forty years I was really curious to see if it would live up to my memories. I have to admit that there are some very, very long dull patches in this movie. Richard Harris never really cuts loose. Julie Andrews keeps slipping away just when she most needs to shine! So much of the movie is like a costume party, or a drinking game. Guess which famous character actor will bop in next wearing whiskers and a frock coat? There's Lou Antonio -- he played Coco in Cool Hand Luke! There's John Cullum! There's Gene Hackman! There's Carroll O'Connor! All these guys have major, major stories that have nothing to do with Abner and Jerusha. And the love story totally gets lost for about two thirds of the movie.On the other hand, now that I'm grown up, I really appreciate what a classic American hero Abner Hale is, and how authentic Max Von Sydow makes him. You could teach a whole college course on American literature just with his influences! One moment he's Ahab, forging ahead with ruthless fury. Then he's Ephraim Cabot in Eugene O'Neill's Desire Under The Elms, mixing Puritan rage with burning lust. Then he's the young doctor in Hawthorne's story The Birthmark, shutting out happiness and totally ignoring his angelic, suffering wife. And then at the very end (this is spoiler territory) he finally gets his act together -- and suddenly he's doing a letter-perfect Mr. Scrooge.It's amazing the way Hale's character evolves. When you watch him calling down God's wrath on the Hawaiians, it's almost dreamlike, like a silent film showing an Old Testament prophet. And you hate him so much. Yet at the end, when he *finally* gets how wise his wife really is, and how much she means to him, you want to stand up and cheer. And the fact that it's really too late only makes it more poignant.You can't really call this movie a masterpiece -- but it's much more than just another overblown dud.