Hatari! (1962)

Family movie, overly sentimental. The humor is of the artificial type. Fortunately, the film is saved by the hunting scenes, often spectacular. And John Wayne? Well, even in a continent unfamiliar to him, our John remains the same in his role: decisive, know-it-all, and... clumsy when it comes to romance.

Translated from Dutch · View original

Excellent film in which a group of men capture wild animals in Africa for zoos. Beautiful shots in Africa, and the hunting scenes in particular are downright spectacular. Nowadays, this film would no longer be allowed to be made (which is just as well). Entertaining characters and dialogue to match. A narrow 4.0 stars.

Translated from Dutch · View original

Hatari, not to be confused with Daktari, is primarily an entertaining film by John Wayne. This time not as a gunslinger, but as a hunter of animals for zoos. Although this type of film is certainly no longer made, the suffering is certainly not excessive. The tone remains quite lighthearted throughout the film, and apart from perhaps one death, there is not a dead animal to be seen. The little elephants are particularly charming, but other animals also feature prominently.

The whole thing has been transferred to a beautiful 4K format with reasonably good sound. I just set it to 2.0 because that does the most justice to such an old film.

John Wayne remains John Wayne. The Italian Elsa Martinelli is beautifully cast. I thought Red Buttons was a clown in the film. Fun for a Fred Astaire film. Of course, the film isn't anything special, but somehow it is just presented in a very entertaining way. Even that long running time of 2:37 won't bore you, even though quite a bit could have been cut out.

Film 3.5

Image 4K 4.5

Sound 4.0

Translated from Dutch · View original