Hurricane

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.

I don' understand why most words written about this film have been negative. Just because it is a remake of a film people think is a classic? This version of Hurricane with Jason Robards and Mia Farrow is a very competantly told story with good special effects. I was involved. I was moved from beginning to end. I felt that the characters were a little more credible than in the John Ford film. A very good film but not a popular one. I had to tape it at 3AM.

In view of the disaster-movie cycle of the 1970s, somebody got the bright idea of remaking the John Ford classic THE HURRICANE (1937) – lavishing on it a considerable budget, a handful of stars, and the best that special effects wizardry could afford at the time; however, the end result was so dreadful (and old-fashioned) that the film proved a notorious flop!

The setting (adapted from a book by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall, best-known for another adventure with an exotic backdrop, "Mutiny On The Bounty") is a South Sea island run by the American Navy; the arrival of the Governor's daughter causes a commotion – the newly-crowned native King forsakes his local girl for the white woman's charms; this obviously creates problems between the two sets of inhabitants, who do not wish to have their blood mingle…but, before the situation can be resolved, the Forces of Nature contrive to mete out their own form of justice (via the titular catastrophe).

Jason Robards Jr. is the Governor, Mia Farrow his daughter, and Dayton Kane the young ruler; besides, Max von Sydow is a doctor, Trevor Howard a priest, Timothy Bottoms a Navy officer (with feelings for Farrow) and James Keach as Kane's hostile keeper (the latter having been convicted of his fiancé's death, who drowned after fleeing a ceremony in which her virginity was to be ascertained!). Despite enviable credentials – producer Dino De Laurentiis, acclaimed Swedish director Troell, cinematographer Sven Nykvist, composer Nino Rota (whose contribution is particularly notable) and production designer Danilo Donati – the film is something of a snoozer, with endless footage devoted to local color and the unconvincing central romance…until the spectacular climax (but which still isn't really enough to redress the balance)!

Having re-acquainted myself with this (I'd already watched it as a kid), I hope someday to get a fresh appraisal of the Oscar-winning original as well; it was available on DVD very early into the format, but hasn't been re-issued since going out-of-print!

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.

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.