John Archibald

Beautiful epic of how white missionaries set out to “convert the heathen” in Hawai’i, but ended up mostly inadvertently killing off the native population, and making fortunes in the process. Performances are all excellent, with Max Von Sydow as a strident Puritan who finally finds his own soul, chiefly due to his lovely true Christian of a wife, beautifully played by a non-musical Julie Andrews. Also, Jocelyn LaGarde deservedly won an Oscar nomination as the earnest, benevolent native ruler of Maui. Mention must also be made of Elmer Bernstein’s gorgeous music score, epic and tender. Though it was actually the most successful film of 1966, “Hawaii” has since then become underrated. Try to find it on video in its original roadshow length, about 199 mins.