1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Michener come alive, July 26 2002
By A Customer
I own the VHS widescreen version of Hawaii. This is the uncut version with I think about 180 minutes. The film truly brings to life the characters in the first part of Michener's novels. Self-righteous missionary Abner Hale (Max von Sydow) is like I pictured him when I read the book. Julie Andrews also does a good job as wife Jerusha.
I am a native of Hawai'i, and I can suspend disbelief when looking at these fictional missionaries. Abner may be stereotyped, but he does come out as multi-dimensional and able to change over time. This helps to make him believable.
The second part of the novel was made into The Hawaiians, starring Charlton Heston, Geraldine Chaplin, Tina Chen and Mako. This film is more believable in some ways. Chen and Mako depict the Chinese immigrant couple in an authentic way. This film is often shown on TV, but it has NEVER been on commercial VHS, not to mention DVD.
I am waiting for DVD editions of both Hawaii and The Hawaiians: in a nice boxed set if possible. And I think the novel has enough material for one or two or three more films. But that is not as much a priority as trying to get DVDs of the ones already made.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE RIGHT AND WRONG WAYS TO EVANGELIZE CHRIST!, April 5 2002
"Hawaii" is a sprawling and episodic retelling of the mammoth book by James Michener. It is the story of the early Congregationalist missionaries to the Hawaiian islands. It is a story of fundamentalist intolerance, greed, abuse of power, yet is also a story of love, mercy and forgiveness. The beginning of the film is a bit uneven, but once the ship reaches the islands, all's well with the movie. Jocelyn LaGarde as the Malama, the Hawaiian matriarch is the cast standout. She is natural, funny and heartbreaking. I would count this film as one of the great religious movies of all time, since it deals with true dilemmas of faith: how religious faith can foster intolerance and contempt of others, and how missionaries must first accept their people as people, and not see them as potential converts. The last scene with the student and Max Von Sydow is a tear-jerker, and a great example of God's providential nature at work. The score by Elmer Bernstein is memorable as well.
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