Review of Hatari!

Introduction

If you have ever seen Jurassic Park: The Lost World, you`ll probably remember a scene where a bunch of big game hunters mount up on a convoy of jeeps and ride down a bunch of dinosaurs in a massive stampede. With some pretty impressive use of digital effects and technical wizardry, Spielberg manages to create a memorable moment in cinema. What if I told you that in 1961, Howard Hawks did the same thing for real, with the animals of the African plains? A couple of jeeps, real animals and real actors are the ingredients in Hatari! (Swahili for Danger!), and the end result is pretty appetizing.

Sean Mercer leads a group of professional hunters in Africa, though they don`t hunt for sport. The animals they track are caught alive for sale to zoos and similar institutions worldwide. Each year they have a quota to fill, and this year doesn`t get off to a particularly good start when a rhino gores Little Wolf a.k.a. The Indian. While he`s being treated in hospital, a rather arrogant and enigmatic Frenchman is already applying for the job, which Mercer`s team think is in bad taste, though it turns out to be serendipitous that he is the same blood type as The Indian. Still, as The Indian is soon out of danger, a night of celebration is interrupted when Mercer arrives back at his compound to find a strange woman in his bed. Anna Maria D`Allesandro has arrived on behalf of Basle Zoo to observe and photograph the animals that are caught, much to the consternation of Sean Mercer, who believes that the Savannah is no place for a woman.

Video

The picture for Hatari! is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen according to the DVD sleeve. Made in 1961, you won`t be surprised to read that it hasn`t held up too well. There is grain and some print damage, as you would expect, also occasional scenes to tend to be a little soft, especially darker ones. It`s a combination of the age of the film and the technology used 42 years ago. Once you get past that, you`re left with a visually stunning film, showing the wildlife of Africa as well as the spectacular landscapes. The action scenes may be 40 years old but they are as exciting and edge of the seat as anything made today, maybe even more so. There`s no CGI or animatronics, they had to do this stuff for real.

Audio

The sound is a simple DD 2.0 mono English track, with French, German, Italian and Spanish tracks thrown in for variety. The dialogue is clear throughout and Henry Mancini`s music comes across well, including one particular piece that most people will recognise. There are subtitle tracks in 20 languages, not Esperanto though.

Features

Trailer.

Conclusion

Hatari! is one of those action films of yore, the ones that will have you sighing, "They don`t make `em like they used to." Action, adventure, excitement, romance, a little music, a whole lot of comedy and the sort of great dialogue that only John Wayne can deliver, all go together in a 2½ hour package that is unbridled entertainment from beginning to end.

Yet, I approached Hatari! with a little trepidation. I have never been impressed with films about `The Great White Hunter`, especially those that were produced before or around the same era as this film. Some upper class twit would inevitably stride of into the jungle to bag some game, whilst being waited on hand and foot by the ignorant natives. However, Hatari! came as a pleasant surprise, despite the 1961 production date. In fact even in today`s society the film is halfway politically correct. These animals aren`t hunted for sport, rather they are captured alive as exhibits for zoos. While such a practice can`t be condoned today, and I doubt the film will get a Humane Society Seal of approval, it does show a remarkable degree of enlightenment for it`s own age, both in the treatment of animals, and the way the principle characters interact with the native population. If there is any one thing that would draw the ire of today`s moral establishment, it would be the sight of most of the characters chain-smoking their way through the film.

When all is said and done, the plot comes across as thin to say the least. A group of hunters must fill their quota of animals before the end of the season, but this is simply an excuse for a wonderful National Geographic tour of the wilderness of eastern Africa, with wildlife in amazing abundance. Also this film is a shining example that while you can take John Wayne out of the Western, you can`t take the Western out of John Wayne, and he looks as perfectly at home lassoing giraffes and rhinos from the seat of a jeep than he would roping longhorn cattle from the back of a horse. In fact some of the hunting sequences are absolutely thrilling with the rhino chases nail-biting in tension. Insurance companies would go absolutely bonkers to see modern actors getting up to half the stuff that these stars do in this film. To offset all this action, the film is wonderfully light-hearted, with healthy doses of romance and comedy. Sean Mercer has been burned by a past romance, and the arrival of photographer Anna Maria in a male environment puts his nose out of joint. Meanwhile Brandy de la Corte, whose father died on one of the hunts, has suddenly blossomed and various members of the group begin to see her in a new light, which is cause for further hilarity.

Hatari! is engrossing entertainment from beginning to end. It looks fabulous with some stunning locations, though the disc itself is average at best. With great action and downright hilarious at times, Hatari! is a must see movie.