Hurricane

Although this is a remake of the famous and far superior John Ford masterpiece, HURRICANE manages to be one of MIA FARROW's least impressive jobs as an actress--not entirely her fault since the script, based this time on the Nordhoff-Hall novel, is a mess. It's really not the same storyline used in the Ford film.

The only similarity to the original is that it ends with a furious hurricane that cost $22 million to recreate but doesn't save the disastrously weak story from being anything but an unmitigated bore. The love interest is practically non-existent, consisting of close-up stares between Mia and her island sweetheart. Whenever there is any dialog, it's about as clumsy as can be. (Example: When he proposes that they elope, he says: "Come to the altar with the white flower--I will be there with the red.") Somebody should of been there with some directorial talent. Jan Troell falls far short of John Ford, as does the script. Usually, it's worth it to sit through a boring romance to see the howler of a hurricane. In this case, not so.

HURRICANE is not a great film, but it sure IS entertaining. Some of the scenes and situations are ludicrous (Jason Robards has the hots for his daughter, Mia Farrow) and the dialogue is often hilarious. But if you stick around, you'll find that the production values are astonishing. Among the talents behind the camera are Jan Troell (THE EMIGRANTS, THE NEW LAND), who directed; Sven Nykvist (cinematographer for many of Ingmar Berman's later films) who filmed on location in the South Pacific; and Nino Rota, who wrote a lovely, haunting musical theme. The performances aren't so bad (considering the dialogue) and the special effects at the end show you why this was one of the most expensive films of its day.

The much maligned remake of John Ford's 1937 film (or at least the second adaptation of the novel, which came out in 1936) is not as bad as its reputation, but it doesn't really work. They change things up a bit to make it about an interracial romance. Mary Astor's character (now played by Mia Farrow) is now the daughter of the governor character (played here by Jason Robards), and the lead native character (played by newcomer Dayton Ka'ne) falls in love with her. This being the 1920s, their romance is looked down upon (by both races). The initial premise change isn't too bad, but it weakens the rest of the plot, which plays out pretty similarly to the original film. Ka'ne's crime is far less sympathetic than it was; there he was arrested for assaulting a racist who insulted him. Here, he, as chief of his people, allows a custom of checking for a bride's virginity before she's married - the girl is so upset about it she drowns herself. Farrow helps Ka'ne escape, but their plans, and everyone's lives, are disrupted by the hurricane. Jon Hall was kind of the weak link in Ford's film, but Ka'ne is far worse. Even besides his more detestable crime, he's just not that likable an actor. Farrow's infatuation with him never comes off as real love, so there's no romance to latch onto. Farrow herself isn't too bad, but she's ten years older than the character should be at least. Robards is the best thing about it. Trevor Howard plays the priest and Max von Sydow the doctor. Both are fine, but the roles probably should have been reversed. It doesn't really matter, though, since both characters get short shafted by the script. Timothy Bottoms is pretty good as Farrow's initial love interest (he doesn't really have an analogue in the original). The actual hurricane is still pretty good, but the ending is lame. The film looks great, thanks to Sven Nykvist and, you know, Bora Bora just being beautiful in general.

I have also heard negative feedback about this movie. This is one of the greatest examples of romance in any movie I have ever seen. Only unromantic men usually don't like it, movie critics for one. Luckily I don't base watching a movie on what a critic has to say. I could care less about what they think. Hurricane is a beautiful and moving story of the cost of love and what love can do. The special effects are also excellent as far as they go in 1980 or now. See it and then see the original which is also excellent and moving. Beware young lovers !!!

One of the worst movies ever made. It's a remake of a 1937 disaster epic, which I haven't seen, and it's so impossibly dull, so lifeless and enervated that my guess is, if you ever start watching it, you won't finish it through. The climactic hurricane sequences are OK, but not really spectacular by today's standards - and how many viewers will have survived the 90 minutes that the movie takes to get there? Lots of good actors (Farrow, Von Sydow, Timothy Bottoms) are pitifully wasted. Don't say you weren't warned.