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5/19/2022

Hidalgo (2004) - More respectable than rousing

 

Stars, swordplay and horseback riding allures from this sand-colored poster for Joe Johnston's Hidalgo

The true story of a mixed-race American master horseman's participation in a race through the Arabian desert.

 

Hidalgo is written by John Fusco (Crossroads (1986)) and directed by Joe Johnston (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)).

It is a handsomely produced major picture with skillful production design and good-looking pictures (cinematography by Shelly Johnson (Captain America: The First Avenger (2011))). But alas, no-one stands particularly out from the cast, and neither romance, the horses nor the race are extremely beguiling.

 

Related posts:

  

Joe Johnston: 2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

The Wolfman (2010) - Johnston's luxurious, effects-driven remake 

 





Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 100 mil. $

Box office: 108 mil. $

= Huge flop (returned 1.08 times its cost)

[Hidalgo premiered 17 February (Texas Film Festival) and runs 136 minutes. Viggo Mortensen (Daylight (1996)) was paid 2 mil. $ for his performance. Shooting took place from August 2002 - ? in Morocco, Montana, South Dakota, Oklahoma and in California. Mortensen bought one of the horses in the film after shooting, and Fusco bought the main stunt horse. The film opened #3, behind holdover hit The Passion of the Christ and fellow new release Starsky & Hutch, to a 18.8 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent one more weekend in the top 5 (#4) and grossed 67.3 mil. $ (62.3 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Spain with 7.5 mil. $ (6.9 %) and Germany with 4.2 mil. $ (3.9 %). Roger Ebert gave it a 3/4 star review, translating to a notch over this one. The film's claim to a true story is debated. Johnston returned with The Wolfman (2010). Mortensen returned in A History of Violence (2005). Hidalgo is rotten at 46 % with a 5.60/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Hidalgo

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