Hidalgo stars the magnetically scruffy Viggo Mortensen (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) as Frank Hopkins, a famously fast Pony Express rider who became a long-distance legend in 1890 when he and his undersized mustang were the first Westerners to enter the most grueling horse race in the world--3,000 parched miles across the Arabian desert. Based on a true story--well, except for the romance with a sheik's fiery daughter, the swordfights and shootouts, the kidnapping, and the conspiracies and double-crosses--the film benefits from having the right director: Joe Johnston, who has a knack for finding freshness in the most hackneyed of stories (witness The Rocketeer, a wonderfully corny revival of 1940s science-fiction superhero-dom, and October Sky, a vivid, timeless, 1950s-style feel-good biography about a real NASA scientist's teen years). So bring on the quicksand, sandstorms, and locusts! After Hidalgo, I'm starting to think this guy can mold any perfunctory script into a thoroughly fun and satisfying Saturday matinee-worthy film. Recommended. [Note: Available in either widescreen or full screen versions, DVD extras include the nine-minute "making-of" featurette “Sand & Celluloid,” a three-minute behind-the-scenes featurette, and the DVD-ROM accessible “Hidalgo: America's First Horse” with bonus featurettes. Bottom line: hopefully, the studios will not start forcing consumers to load up their DVDs on their computers to watch featurettes that could have and should have been included on the DVD itself--as is the case here for this otherwise solid film.] (R. Blackwelder)[Blu-ray Review—Apr. 15, 2008—Touchstone, 136 min., PG-13, $29.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2004's Hidalgo boasts a decent 1080p transfer and solid uncompressed PCM 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio tracks. The bonus features on the disc are nearly identical to the standard DVD release, including the nine-minute "making-of" featurette “Sand & Celluloid,” and “Hidalgo: America's First Horse” on Spanish Mustang horses (22 min.). Bottom line: a fine edition of a solid adventure film, and unlike the standard DVD version, viewers here can watch the featurette on Spanish Mustang horses without having to use a computer.]
Hidalgo
Touchstone, 133 min., PG-13, VHS: $24.99, DVD: $29.99, Aug. 3 Volume 19, Issue 4
Hidalgo
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: