Hidalgo [2004]

*** THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE 'BLU RAY' VERSION ***For such a huge production piece - Joe Johnston's expertly directed "Hidalgo" seems to have eluded everybody. A sort of "Little Big Man" meets "Lawrence Of Arabia" hybrid - it garnished favourable reviews on release in early 2004 and a cult following on DVD later that year. It was even name-checked in the back pages of Leonard Maltin's Annual Movie Guide as a 'favorite'.Well - I'd argue that it's time to mount your saddlebags once again folks and get some serious hot sand on your laser beams - because "Hidalgo" has very definitely been given a whole new lease of life on this beautifully transferred 2008 BLU RAY reissue...Loosely based on the life of Frank Thomas Hopkins (played by Viggo Mortensen) and his fast-and-strong horse - the Spanish Mustang "Hidalgo" - John Fusco's screenplay spruces up his tale of daring-do a great deal (to some controversy it has to be said). Frank is initially presented to us as a repeated long-distance race winner as well as a dispatch rider for the less-than-chivalrous US Cavalry. Born of a Native Indian mother and European-American father, they named their 'half caste' son "Blue Child". But at the beginning of the movie (and although he speaks their tongue and loves their way of life) - we find Frank rather shamefully hiding what's in his blood and heart.Then after witnessing the appalling aftermath of Wounded Knee (a massacre of defenceless Lakota Sioux Indians in South Dakota) - we move forward in time to find Frank pasty-faced and broken. Riding around on his famous steed, he's acting out Cowboys and Indians games for boorish patrons in Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show. Drunk most of the time - Frank is little more than a circus clown - and kept in check by the generosity of the famous marksman (the ever wonderful J.K. Simmons plays Bill Cody). But like Chief Eagle Horn who walks into the centre of the big top every afternoon and is pelted with rotten food and boos - Frank feels old before his time and permanently humiliated.But an olive branch comes in the shape of a visiting Arab and Chinaman. Lured by a hefty purse and a need to redeem himself - Frank agrees to journey into "The Ocean Of Fire" - an endurance horserace in the Middle East which dates back it's history a full 1000 years. Crossing scorched desert and jagged limestone for nearly 70 days - the race covers a staggering 3000-miles between Aden and Syria - eventually arriving at the Arabian Sea. With casualties lost to sandstorms, quicksand and plagues of locusts - only the strongest riders and the purest of steeds will survive. So little is expected of the Western 'Cowboy' and his Halfbreed.Along the way Frank acquires a goat-herder and water-fetching boy as his "Hidalgo" team, fascinates a feisty daughter who longs to ride alongside the men as their equal (Zuleikha Robinson), dodges a scheming English lady who wants the win the race to acquire the sacred Al-Hattal horse bloodline (Louise Lombard), swaps swords and bullets with a villainous nephew (Said Taghmaouri) and hobnobs with an all-powerful Sheikh (a superb turn by Omar Sharif) who is sceptical at first of the 'far rider' but grows to admire and even revere the gritty and tenacious American. And of course the film has two major pluses - Mortensen and his craggy features filling the whole screen with an everyman quality that is very smart casting indeed. And the horses themselves - beautiful and majestic creatures - and almost telepathic in their symbiosis with their riders. And on the story goes...through all manner of mental and physical trials...to end up back again in Frontierland USA where wild horses run the plains...like a free-spirit should...PICTURE - the film's default aspect is 2.40:1 - so there are bars at the top and bottom of the picture - but even when stretched to Smart or Full Aspect mode - the print is rarely anything less than a desert swoon. So many great images - the CGI of the "City Of Paris" ship arriving in Arabia is beautifully rendered - the dawn and dusk over the desert - the up-close shots of Bedouin tents and Arabic clothing - sand-blasted faces and parched lips - all of it - GORGEOUS.SOUND - audio is equally impressive. When the thundering hooves and the sandstorm comes at you - your viewing room will beg for mercy and be shown none.The two extras "Sand & Celluloid" and "America's First Horse" are very informative and enjoyable. The first is a behind-the-scenes 'making of' featuring short interviews with Mortensen, the Writer, the Director, Executive Producers, Animal Trainers and Production Design people. Particularly impressive is the entire mud-walled town constructed on site for a fight sequence - and the edible locusts - each of which took 4 hours to create (utterly convincing). 800 horses were brought in to create the charge and race sequences - and wind and dust battered everyone and everything daily. The second feature goes into the Mustang Breed itself and how they were brought to America in 1519 by Cortez and then adopted by the natives as their own 'sacred' partners. Very good indeed...To sum up - dialogue between Omar Sharif and Viggo Mortensen title this review...and in some ways mark out the history of this criminally ignored nugget."Hidalgo" is an excellent 'story' movie and well worth seeking out - especially now that it's been given a format which brings out all that hard work and finally makes it shine.I may feel the urge to spit on a camel every now and then, but I'm so glad I bought this film...BLU RAY Specifications:VIDEO: 1080p High-Definition / 2.40:1AUDIO: Dolby Digital 5.1 English, French and SpanishENHANCED AUDIO: DTS 5.1 French and Spanish, PCM 5.1 EnglishSUBTITLES: English, English For Hearing Impaired, French, Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and FinnishBONUS FEATURES:"Sand & Celluloid" - A Making of Featurette, Behind The Scenes etc (10 minutes)"America's First Horse - Hidalgo And The Spanish Mustang" - The Story of Hildago's Ancestors (21 minutes)

This is a classic film and has some fine characters including the horse.

A really big budget movie well acted, that tells a great horse story.

The film opens to a windswept winter landscape as two cross country riders race against one another. This 2004 film allegedly recounts the story of Frank Hopkins (Viggo Mortensen) who claimed he was the dispatch rider that carried the message that led to the Wounded Knee Creek Massacre in 1890. Frank then ends up in Buffalo Bill's Wild West carnival where he gets offered the chance to take part in a 3,000 mile desert endurance race against Bedouins.Loading offers English, Portuguese and Dutch. Then goes into trailers. Main menu is play, Bonus [Sand & Celluloid, which is a making off and what inspired it], scene selection and set up[ basically subtitles, and English or Portuguese sound –no Dutch! ]The Disney Corporation marketed the film as "based on a true story" although subsequent investigations failed to find any evidence of such a race and the entire tale is based upon Hopkins own autobiographical account [unpublished in his lifetime] of which the major part is easily dismissed as fantasy as there is no evidence a race of its type ever took place. In other words its all fiction and reality plays second fiddle, yet it’s a great tale and remarkably entertaining. Basically the story is a challenge between the ‘impure’ blood of commoner Franks Mustang and the ‘pure’ blood of the Bedouin Sheiks thoroughbreds.Despite the dodgy facts, this remains a swashbuckling yarn in true ‘Boys Own’ tradition as man and beast face adversity from nature and people alike and includes sandstorms and kidnapped maidens to be rescued. It has elements of the Scorpion King, Indiana Jones, Romancing the Stone, The Jewel of the Nile, as well King Solomon's Mines, and if they appealed to you, then this might as well. The content is inoffensive but younger viewers might be disturbed by some scenes and the 12 rating is thus apt. This is lively family fun and deserves to be better known. Its hard to be disappointed by this.

Loved all of it so good

This is one of those great epic adventure films that is perfect to while away a long wet winter afternoon. The basic storyline of the down on his luck American horseman and his trusty steed Hidalgo may be standard Hollywood fare and somewhat predictable, but the exotic 19th century Arabian desert setting is different and exciting. The hero and his coloured horse are, of course, seen as a joke by the Arabs with their noble purebred stalllions. And when the natural challenges aren't enough to defeat the American and his ridiculous mount, there is scuduggery afoot as some of his rivals want to see him stopped at any price.The cast is great with Viggo Mortensen in the lead making for a very likable hero and a perfectly cast Omar Sharif as a dignified Arab prince. Nice to see him again. And the horse(s) are, of course, magnificent. They make the film a real treat for horse lovers. Overall it's a better than average family film that should keep everybody well entertained for a couple hours. However, there are a couple intense scenes that may upset very young and/or sensitive viewers.The DVD has English subtitles for those who may need them. It also includes a couple of extra features: - Sand & Celluloid Featurette - The Horse is Good 'Easter Egg'