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Blue Hawaii 4K UHD Review

The soundtrack is better than the movie. 

In 1961’s “Blue Hawaii,” the story revolves around an Army soldier (Chadwick) who returns home to Hawaii to his girlfriend (Maile) and his parents. His family wants him to take over the fruit business, but he wants to live his own life. Chadwick decides to work as a tour guide alongside Maile. His first assignment is to show around a teacher and her 4 students, but problems arise when Maile thinks the teacher and one of her teen students have a crush on Chad. Moreover, Chadwick begins to question what he really wants his career pah to be.

It’s no secret that Elvis Presley is hot again after this year’s biopic. As such Paramount has released a new 4K edition of one of the most popular movies from “The King” with “Blue Hawaii.” The Hal Kanter written and Norman Taurog directed feature is a bit of a bore in the story department. It’s a very by-the-numbers musical romance complete with dopey comedy and comedic misunderstandings. There’s also a fair amount of cringe worthy misogyny that puts a damper on the movie. The whole movie comes across as more of a travelog that showcases Hawaiian culture. Truth be told, the exquisite Hawaii locals are the best part of the movie from a cinematic perspective. 

Performance wise, this isn’t one of the best Elvis performances (that would be “King Creole” and “Jailhouse Rock”), but he does an admirable job. Angela Lansbury is quite the character as Chadwick’s mother Sarah while Joan Blackman gives the best performance here as Maile. Nancy Walters (Abigail the teacher), Roland Winters (Chadwick’s father Fred) and Jenny Maxwell (Ellie the teen) also turn in solid performances.

Where “Blue Hawaii” really soars is with the soundtrack which is far, far better than the movie itself with hit tracks like “Can’t Help Falling In Love,” the title track, “Rock-A-Hula Baby,” and “No More.” It easily stands as one of the best Elvis movie soundtracks.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 2160p With HDR-10 and Dolby Vision. How does it look? The glorious Technicolor film looks stunning in 4K with its rich colors. The Hawaii exteriors look particularly breathtaking here.

Audio Track: Dolby TrueHD 5.1. How does it sound? The soundtrack never sounded so good as it does on this Paramount Presents disc. 

Extras:
* Digital Copy
* Blu-ray copy
* On the Blu-ray you can find the theatrical trailer, a commentary by historian James L. Neibaur and a photo scrapbook 

November 16, 2022 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Blue Hawaii 4K UHD Review, Blue Hawaii Blu-ray, Blue Hawaii Soundtrack, Blue Hawaii: Paramount Presents Review, Elvis, Elvis Presley