A
bit under appreciated by some, WHITE HUNTER, BLACK HEART ($20) is
actually one of my favorite Clint Eastwood movies. Something of a smaller,
more personal film for director/star Eastwood, WHITE HUNTER, BLACK
HEART provided him with the opportunity to turn in one of the best
acting performances of his career. In this fictionalized version of
director John Huston’s trip to Africa to shoot THE AFRICAN QUEEN
(as well as an elephant), Eastwood almost seems to be channeling the
essence of the famous director right down to the swaggering mannerisms and
the cadence of his voice. Certainly, Eastwood avoids doing an outright
impression of John Huston, but his delivery is just about pitch perfect in
every other way.
The
plot of WHITE HUNTER, BLACK HEART follows hard living, brilliant,
irresponsible and typically broke American director John Wilson
(Eastwood), who uses a film project being produced on the African
continent, as an all expense paid safari to hunt and shoot an elephant.
Also along on the expedition is Pete Verrill (Jeff Fahey), a close friend
of Wilson’s, whom he has tapped to rewrite the screenplay and accompany
him on safari. Wilson and Verrill have some colorful adventures while they
are out "scouting locations," but ultimately, Wilson’s
obsession with bagging an elephant begins to conflict with the motion
picture he is to begin shooting. The cast of WHITE HUNTER, BLACK HEART
also features George Dzundza, Marisa Berenson, Alex Norton, Catherine
Neilson and Richard Vanstone.
Warner
Home Video has made WHITE HUNTER, BLACK HEART available on DVD in a
1.78:1 wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement
for 16:9 displays. This is a rather nice looking transfer of a movie that
lacks the big budget sheen of many of Eastwood’s other projects. Still,
the movie does a pretty impressive job recreating the period of the 1950s,
as well as offering some very impressive African locations. The image on
the DVD is generally sharp and well defined, although there are occasional
shots that appear a bit softer than the others. Colors are pretty vibrant
and are reproduced without noise or smearing. Blacks appear accurate,
whites are clean and contrast is very good. Digital compression artifacts
are rarely noticeable.
WHITE
HUNTER, BLACK HEART has been upgraded to a Dolby Digital 5.1 channel
soundtrack for this release. Although the mix and the recordings are from
1990, the discrete digital format offers better definition for the forward
and rear soundstages, as well as cleaner separation than one would find in
a matrixed soundtrack. The rear channels support the track with ambient
sounds and musical fill, while the front three channels carry most of the
sonic activity. Much of WHITE HUNTER, BLACK HEART is dialogue
driven, so the existing sound mix works very well with the material.
Lennie Niehaus’ African flavored score is one of the strongest
components of the sound mix, and sounds quite pleasing in this
incarnation. The bass channel isn’t particularly forceful, but is solid
enough to augment the music and keep the sound effects from seeming
anemic. French, Portuguese and Japanese language tracks are also encoded
onto the DVD, as are English, French, Spanish, Japanese, Korean and Thai
subtitles. Music underscores the basic interactive menus, which allow one
access to the standard scene selection and set up features, as well as
cast listing, Eastwood filmography and a theatrical trailer.
As
I stated above, WHITE HUNTER, BLACK HEART is one of my favorite
Clint Eastwood movies, which finds the actor/director giving one of his
most interesting and best screen performances. Warner has done a good job
with the DVD, offering a solid presentation. If you are an Eastwood fan,
adding WHITE HUNTER, BLACK HEART to your collection should be a no
brainer. Recommended.
A
bit under appreciated by some, WHITE HUNTER, BLACK HEART ($20) is
actually one of my favorite Clint Eastwood movies. Something of a smaller,
more personal film for director/star Eastwood, WHITE HUNTER, BLACK
HEART provided him with the opportunity to turn in one of the best
acting performances of his career. In this fictionalized version of
director John Huston’s trip to Africa to shoot THE AFRICAN QUEEN
(as well as an elephant), Eastwood almost seems to be channeling the
essence of the famous director right down to the swaggering mannerisms and
the cadence of his voice. Certainly, Eastwood avoids doing an outright
impression of John Huston, but his delivery is just about pitch perfect in
every other way.
The
plot of WHITE HUNTER, BLACK HEART follows hard living, brilliant,
irresponsible and typically broke American director John Wilson
(Eastwood), who uses a film project being produced on the African
continent, as an all expense paid safari to hunt and shoot an elephant.
Also along on the expedition is Pete Verrill (Jeff Fahey), a close friend
of Wilson’s, whom he has tapped to rewrite the screenplay and accompany
him on safari. Wilson and Verrill have some colorful adventures while they
are out "scouting locations," but ultimately, Wilson’s
obsession with bagging an elephant begins to conflict with the motion
picture he is to begin shooting. The cast of WHITE HUNTER, BLACK HEART
also features George Dzundza, Marisa Berenson, Alex Norton, Catherine
Neilson and Richard Vanstone.
Warner
Home Video has made WHITE HUNTER, BLACK HEART available on DVD in a
1.78:1 wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement
for 16:9 displays. This is a rather nice looking transfer of a movie that
lacks the big budget sheen of many of Eastwood’s other projects. Still,
the movie does a pretty impressive job recreating the period of the 1950s,
as well as offering some very impressive African locations. The image on
the DVD is generally sharp and well defined, although there are occasional
shots that appear a bit softer than the others. Colors are pretty vibrant
and are reproduced without noise or smearing. Blacks appear accurate,
whites are clean and contrast is very good. Digital compression artifacts
are rarely noticeable.
WHITE
HUNTER, BLACK HEART has been upgraded to a Dolby Digital 5.1 channel
soundtrack for this release. Although the mix and the recordings are from
1990, the discrete digital format offers better definition for the forward
and rear soundstages, as well as cleaner separation than one would find in
a matrixed soundtrack. The rear channels support the track with ambient
sounds and musical fill, while the front three channels carry most of the
sonic activity. Much of WHITE HUNTER, BLACK HEART is dialogue
driven, so the existing sound mix works very well with the material.
Lennie Niehaus’ African flavored score is one of the strongest
components of the sound mix, and sounds quite pleasing in this
incarnation. The bass channel isn’t particularly forceful, but is solid
enough to augment the music and keep the sound effects from seeming
anemic. French, Portuguese and Japanese language tracks are also encoded
onto the DVD, as are English, French, Spanish, Japanese, Korean and Thai
subtitles. Music underscores the basic interactive menus, which allow one
access to the standard scene selection and set up features, as well as
cast listing, Eastwood filmography and a theatrical trailer.
As
I stated above, WHITE HUNTER, BLACK HEART is one of my favorite
Clint Eastwood movies, which finds the actor/director giving one of his
most interesting and best screen performances. Warner has done a good job
with the DVD, offering a solid presentation. If you are an Eastwood fan,
adding WHITE HUNTER, BLACK HEART to your collection should be a no
brainer. Recommended.
