Includes a nine-minute Sand & Celluloid on-location featurette, a semi-hidden brief tale of Hidalgo peppered with Viggo Mortensen stills as told by Northern Pikuni Native American Leo Pard, and DVD-ROM enhancements.
Story Synopsis:
After riding as an officer in the U.S. Cavalry and performing in a Wild West show, Frank T. Hopkins (Mortensen) takes up endurance riding with his trusty painted mustang Hidalgo. Hopkins and Hidalgo earn a reputation for being the fastest in the West, they are invited by the wealthy Bedouin Sheikh Riyadh (Sharif) to race in the prestigious
DVD Picture:
The anamorphically enhanced 2.40:1 picture exhibits sweeping cinematography by Shelly Johnson with plenty of silhouette shots against warm sunsets and rolling sand dunes help create the grandeur of the storytelling. Colors are rich, with lots of warm hues in the Western and Eastern deserts. Chapter 15 is a creative example of stylized choice to completely desaturate the color palette and create an undulating mirage effect for the dire circumstance of the pivotal scene. Images are sharp and nicely detailed, often with a satisfying textures and clarity. Taking place in the late-1800s, the picture can be very dark, but viewing in a completely blackened room is optimal to appreciate the shadow delineation. Minor edge enhancement is noticed throughout, only appearing bothersome in the higher contrasted scenes. Some pixelization is noticed, occasionally causing minor breakup of finer details. (Suzanne Hodges)
Soundtrack:
Both DTS
×
Access Widescreen Review on your iPad or iPhone.
Internet access is required, but PDFs of complete issues and individual articles can be saved to your device for reading offline.