Anyone seen HIDALGO ?

[George Bellefontaine]

It's out this week. Was thinking of buying it tomorrow. Wondering if it is worth owning or should I rent first ?

BITE THE BULLET was also about a long distance horse race and I really enjoyed it, that's why I think I might like HIDALGO.

[Shane Martin]

I've heard REALLY mixed reviews. I'm going to rent. Then again if you don't mind throwing a dart at a dart board and occasionally missing, this might be worth the $15. I've heard the AV is pretty mediocre.

[George Bellefontaine]

Thanks , Shane. This is a western, of sorts, and I would normally take a chance and buy it, but maybe I'll give it a rental first because there is something about Viggo in a western that doesn't seem to fit . It also bothers me that perhaps the AV isn't so hot.

[glangston@socal]

Review

from another site is mixed.

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htforum/showthread.php?s=&postid=2318080&t=493

If it's not kosher to link to another competing site let me know and I will plagiarize...err...paraphrase the review.

[David Meek]

I haven't heard anything about the PQ/SQ on the DVD. The movie itself wasn't bad - your basic horse-opera set in the middle of a 3000 mile race. Viggo was his normal understated self and the horse stole a few scenes. I'll be getting the DVD basically 'cuz I'm a Western fan and this one didn't disappoint.

[Sonnie Parker]

I have it on DVD and my brother and I watched it Wednesday night.

I thought it was a very good movie... great, no, but very good. I like westerns too but this is kinda of a Lawrence of Arabian western, if you will.

PQ was okay but not up to par with the likes of Open Range. SQ was so-so... nothing special.

Still glad I own it as I liked it enough.

I thought it was a 3000 mile race though.

[Danbry39]

Horse lover that she is, my youngest daughter had to own this DVD. It's one of her favorites and, when I saw it at the theaters with her, I really enjoyed it. Like Sonnie said, it's not a great film, but I feel it is a very good popcorn movie. Pretty strong for entertainment value. The horse, by the way, is pretty amazing.

[David Meek]

Sonnie, you're right. It was a 3K race. Post corrected. :

[George Bellefontaine]

Oaky, temptation got the better of me. I was at Walmart this AM and saw the dvd and bought it. Horses, cowboys... even if it's in some Arab country, can I go that wrong. And Keith says it's a good popcorn flick so look out, I'll be watching it this weekend. Also, Widescreen Review wasn't all that hard on it as far as PQ and Sound. Gave it a 4 in both cases. Viggo as a cowboy... hmmm... Maybe LOTR has put him in a certain category. We'll see.

[David Meek]

Me too!

George, I did the same thing. I was in Best Buy and picked it up an hour or so ago. It'll be tonight's late night viewing as Jen and I are heading out for an afternoon drive and dinner on the seashore. Hehe, we've had a cold front come through (no joke) and it's only 94 or 95 outside, so we're taking advantage of the "convertible weather".

[George Bellefontaine]

Tex, a 95 degree cold front ? :lol:

[David Meek]

Oh yeah. Before, it was 99-100 Fareheit with a heat index (temperature, humidity and wind) anywhere from 108 to 115! I was at the Toyota dealer a couple of days ago and it was 109 in their back parking lot (all concrete). That's 46 Centigrade!

On the way home last night (roof down of course) it was about 80 which was actually feeling a bit chilly. :

Back OT: We didn't get in until after midnight, so Hidalgo has to wait until tonight.

[Burke Strickland]

...it was about 80 which was actually feeling a bit chilly.

That's the temperature (80 F; 26.7 C) I run my home AC (air conditioning) and it does feel a bit chilly sometimes, especially when first coming in from outside. The humidity level is really more important than the temperature in determining overall comfort level. ("It's not the heat, it's the humidity.") :>) Although 120 F (48.9 C) with 5% humidity under a blazing sun will still feel pretty uncomfortable (just ask someone who's lived in Tucson). :>) Actually, 40 % - 50 % humidity is considered "comfortable" by the AC experts I've talked to. (That's usually quite a bit lower than the humidity outdoors in Houston.)

BTW, I have not seen "Hildago" yet since I do not have the DVD in hand. If I want to see Viggo-on-a-horse I guess for now I'll have to watch Lord of the Rings again. However, the DVD of "The Searchers" (directed by John Ford; starring John Wayne) is sitting on the shelf -- might have to give that one a spin after all this talk about watching Westerns. Or maybe "The Hallelujah Trail" (directed by John Sturges, starring Burt Lancaster) if I'm in the mood for more of a documentary about the Old West. :>)

Burke

[David Meek]

Or maybe "The Hallelujah Trail" (directed by John Sturges, starring Burt Lancaster) if I'm in the mood for more of a documentary about the Old West. :>)

Oh. Yeah. THAT'S a documentary of the Old West if I've ever seen one. . . . :rofl:

[David Meek]

Hidalgo doesn't disappoint.

We watched Hidalgo last night. Contrary to the reports swirling around, the PQ is not bad. It's not a reference disc, but generally it has good detail and very good colors. The SQ is, again, not bad. Viggo has a tendency to mumble a bit and the vocals are a bit subdued on occasion, but not to the point of causing problems. The movie itself is still as charming and watchable as I remember from the theater. The characters - from the aging magnanimous sheik to his irrepressible daughter to the scheming cousin to the English Lord and his Lady are all recognizable, played well by their actors, and comfortable as old shoes. The true star of the film is the title character - Hidalgo - a paint stallion with a VERY expressive face (for a horse) and an ability to steal the occasional scene from his well-known lead. Oh, Hidalgo passed the "family" test also - Jen, my daughter and my son all watched and enjoyed it.

[Brandon B]

Hmm. May pick this up at the company store. Wife likes Viggo.

. . . it was 109 in their back parking lot (all concrete). That's 46 Centigrade!

Actually just under 43C. Sorry, science geek showing.

BB

[George Bellefontaine]

Watched this last night also. Glad I bought it. I've always been a horse lover and found myself mesmerized by that little painted stallion named Hidalgo. I'm going to enjoy watching this again soon.

[glangston@socal]

Hidalgo

[comicbookguy]Could a movie have MORE cliches?[/comicbookguy]

The wife and I liked the movie but it was probably a little more heroic than the story it was taken from. Viggo is to the point and soft-spoken, the typical loner cowboy. Lots of caricatures so you don't have to waste time with developing believable characters. I think they borrowed the sandstorm scene from The Mummy...or was it The Mummy Returns? The horse has a little jealous streak for comic relief but no worries, Viggo is more "staunch" than Jimmy Carter. Roping, throwing a spear or fanning his Colt, Viggo never misses, unless you count that the Brit bitch gets away with murder....oh well!!

The sub-plot of Frank (Viggo) "finding" himself has a solid resolution in the best Hollywood tradition (think Marlon Brando at the Oscars with the "fake" indian girl). Speaking of fake, the "hunting cats" were Fantasia stuff. The Disney ending could easily seque into an ad for Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron

Good scenery, even great at times. James Newton Howard music though I didn't really notice the score as I was straining to hear some good dialogue. A few spare clever lines from Frank, unperturbable, as long as you didn't insult his horse or assault a woman.

If you watch it get the name of the horse that played Hidalgo, he was great, and very photogenic. I forget the name of the awards for animal actors/actresses but he deserves a nomination. :T

[Burke Strickland]

Whoa! We're starting to see some real reviews of the actual movie and DVD here. :>) That's a good thing -- helps the rest of us decide if we want to spring for the DVD and watch the movie or not. But if this discussion begins to get into a lot of detail about the movie's plot points, characters, etcetera, please don't forget that it would be good for those of us who haven't seen the movie for reviewers to tell us if your post is loaded with SPOILERS that give away what happens in the movie. You can do that with either a spoiler warning at the beginning of sections that have spoilers such as:

"**** WARNING <> SPOILERS *****
I was amazed at what happened when character X did Y to character Z. And then imagine my surprise when character A turned out to be character B!

or by using the spoilers tag:

[ spoiler ] Text that should be hidden because it gives away plot twists or "surprise" character points [ / spoiler ]

(without the spaces separating the brackets from what is inside the brackets).

Example: Everyone who gives away what happens in the movie in a way that would "spoil" the first-time viewing experience for others should use a spoiler warning or spoiler blackout tag so that those who haven't seen the movie will still be able to watch it later without already "knowing" what happens in advance.

Of course it is a judgment call what should or should not be "protected" with spoiler designation. A review has to have some specific information about the movie for it to be meaningful, but there is a fine line between telling about the overall quality of the acting and "giving away" specific scenes that are crucial to the plot, for instance. If a critical scene is particularly well acted and that weighs heavily in one's judgment of an actor's performance, of course it should be mentioned, but covered with a spoiler warning/blackout tag.

So far, everything I've read about "Hidalgo" in this thread just piques my interest in seeing the movie. But if the discussion gets more specific without the use of spoilers, we will have "seen the movie" without spending money on the DVD. :>)

Thanks -

Burke

[glangston@socal]

Well Burke, one thing's for sure

No one will be giving away the "true" story.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=40361&d=1&m=3&y=2004

Seems no one in the ME has heard of this race.

Anyway, my review was an attempt to put a little humour and style in a review. I hope I didn't spoil it for anyone. I'll remember the code for spoilers. That would be good code for boards where people like to swear to make their point.....just kiddin' :B

[George Bellefontaine]

Oh, well, it really doesn't matter to me whether the story is true or not. I just enjoyed the action, the cinematography... and the horse, of course.

[aud19]

We watched this last night. Better story than most of the hollywood swill we're subjected to but nothing life changing. Points out why a lot of Native Americans are still rightly pissed, at the beginning.

I'd probably give the PQ 7-7.5 out of 10, good but not great and SQ hmmm... 7.5 out of 10 :lol: I actually thought the soundtrack had some nice moments with well placed surround/sub effects. Again it was nothing spectacular and didn't cause the oohs and aahs of some soundtracks but was done well were appropriate with a relatively good score as well.

All in all a definite rental and maybe a purchase if you like horses/"westerns".

Jason

[Andrew Pratt]

The true star of the film is the title character - Hidalgo - a paint stallion with a VERY expressive face

Interesting that the horses were paint's in more then just name...they have several horses play the lead role and many had to be painted with an air brish to match the others

We screened this movie on the weekend and enjoyed it for what it was...a hollywood movie loosely based on a mix of fiction and fantasy. You can't blame them for trying to enchance the story a bit though as if you think about it watching someone ride a horse for 60 days across the sand isn't going to be all that interesting

I agree the dialog could have been more clear but it wasn't too bad given the fairly simple plot lines in the dialog scenes.

[Nick M]

Finally watched this film. I've been wanting to see it, but have always passed it up for some new release, a mistake on my part.

One of my favorite movies to have come from 2004. I thought it had a terrific story, cast, and feel. The soundtrack wasn't 100%, but I think it was aiming to have more of a western feel with the music and sound effects. In which case it would be dead on.

I rented this, but I will definetly buy this one. Reminded me of Lawrence of Arabia mixed with Dances with Wolves. A first rate job!

:4: out of :5:

A pleasing week for movies. Touching the Void and Hidalgo.