Griff Lees
Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.
Jayden-Lee Thomson
One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.
Scotty Burke
It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review
mike48128
The spoiled rich girl gets spanked by Elvis and "Ito Eats" is the worst Elvis song ever. That being said, one of the best of Elvis' films because: 1. It really was filmed in Hawaii, and some of the scenery is gorgeous. 2. Joan Blackman, his Hawaiian girlfriend and fiancé, is also gorgeous. 3. Some of the best songs ever, including "Can't Help Falling in Love With You". Best selling soundtrack of all the Elvis pictures. 4. The restored widescreen version takes the excess "blueness" out of the color tint. 5. The beautiful "Hawaiian Wedding Song" and the wedding at The Coco Palms Resort. They had to "float" the scene twice as the actual lagoon was that short.Negatives: 1. Some really bad acting by most of the supporting actors. Angela Landsbury's accent and acting is atrocious. 2. The houseboy "Ping Pong" is an obvious Aisian stereotype. 3. Elvis'"boss", who went on to play "Floyd the Barber" on "The Andy Griffith Show", is terrible. 4. Many stupid scenes: Ito pigs out at the fishing luau. The spoiled rich girl runs into the ocean to drown herself, followed by that infamous spanking by Elvis. 5.That horrible jailhouse scene with a stupid "Pineapple in the Can" song. 6. Elvis' acting isn't' so hot either. Very wooden.I stayed at The Coca Palms in 1979, and the rooms really did look like exactly like that. The window screens were removed for the filming, but without them, the bugs would eat you alive! It still remains as one of the best Elvis films ever because of the (good) songs and scenery alone.
Dunham16
The first Elvis film to have a widely marketed DVD remastering, it represents his most frequent nonsense cinematic plot, about the heir to a wealthy and powerful family's money and connections hiding out at a resort to find a girl interested in more than just his family connections and wealth. Released in 1961, it puffs up location shots on Oahu and Elvis at his most machismo appearing in elegant suits, upscale resort wear and at his best physical tone ever in the skimpiest swimwear the censors would allow. Angela Lansbury, playing a rare turn for her as a physical comic marrying earlier her chauffeur in Atlanta and flying to Oahu to live and raise Elvis, has the only other superstar turn. There are more songs packed in than usual, two actually lyric rewrites of classic melodies and none representing Elvis' most famous contributions to the music world. The major money maker of his long film career, most of the storyboard is bot pleasant and enticing. The exception is the scene in which Elvis is expected to be the tour guide and chaperone of four teenage girls on vacation on the island, unaware their chaperone is the secret fiancée of Elvis' father's American mainland boss. Some of the tense sequences, when a young charge acts out by climbing into Elvis' bed to then bait Elvis into spending time behind bars when his fists fly at a hotel bar to then crash a stolen jeep as an underage driver on the lam, seem a bit to R rated and too melodramatic for the flow of a mild comedy with a mild romantic fantasy ending.
pgaryj
A FUN PRESLEY FLICK From the opening title scene of one of the Hawaiian Islands to the end of this movie was just a nice relaxing fun film. Elvis Presley, playing Chad Gates, was a little wooden with his acting but I heard from a friend that the director just wanted Presley to play himself. Joan Blackman, playing Maile Duval, was just a lot of fun and a good actress. The scene where the motorcycle cop catches up to her on a highway in Hawaii and starts to bawl her out for speeding, like a number of times before, and then changes his mind when, his friend, Maile, tells him that her boyfriend is coming home from the Army, is charming. The motorcycle cop gives Maile an escort (including siren) to the airport to pick up Chad Gates. And when Chad Gates tries to make Maile jealous when Chad is getting off the plane, by kissing the stewardess, that was funny and charming. Another charming moment is when Chad and Maile are making out on the beach and a little Hawaiian boy comes up to them and asks them if he can play the game and when Chad tells the little boy he's too young, the little boy is persistent and asks Chad if he can play if he can get a little girl to play the game with him. My girlfriend especially likes the "music box" scene where Chad Gates, played by Elvis Presley, sings "I Can't Help Falling in Love with You" to Maile's grandmother. We own the DVD of Blue Hawaii and I use the scene selection to get to that scene and my girlfriend and I watch that chapter over and over again. Angela Landsbury, playing Chad Gate's mother is enjoyable and she's a good actress. Jennie Maxwell, playing Ellie Corbett was a thoroughly enjoyable over-sexed brat. My girlfriend always says, "What a brat!" when she sees Jennie Maxwell in this film. When Chad Gates gives Ellie Corbett a spanking on the beach at night, it's both funny and a little sexy, as far as I'm concerned. The spanking straightens Ellie out and she's more manageable the rest of the film. The scene where the teenage girls invade Chad Gate's room at night and drive him nuts and then, when the school teacher comes in and tries to get romantic with him, are hilarious! Since we purchased this DVD, my girlfriend and I have watched it a number of times and will watch it a lot more. We even took this DVD to the local hospital to let my girlfriend's mother watch it. My girlfriends mother just had major heart surgery and she has been to, and loves Hawaii and she's been to Graceland (Elvis' home). My girlfriend's mother, who is 82, was entranced by this movie and I'm sure it helped her recover from her operation. I'd rate this movie high because it's so enjoyable.
bkoganbing
Blue Hawaii, the title song of this film, was originally from the score of another Paramount film Waikiki Wedding which starred Bing Crosby in 1937. Bing sold a few records of that one, albeit they were 78s back then, and Elvis nicely revives it and sells a few more. Crosby's film was made to take advantage of a whole lot of publicity he received for a trip to Hawaii. But Paramount as they usually did with his films back they made them on the cheap and Hawaii for Waikiki Wedding was recreated on the back lot.Bing must have been a little jealous and who could have blamed him when Paramount did this film completely on location in Hawaii for the King. And Elvis got to go back to Hawaii for another film in Paradise, Hawaiian Style. Elvis got a whole lot of musical numbers here including the title tune which he sings over the opening credits. He does a rockabilly version of the French song Alouette and with different lyrics, the Mexican love ballad, La Paloma. And he borrows a hit from Andy Williams when he reprises the Hawaiian Wedding Song. Of course no film set in Hawaii is complete without Aloha Oe. But the big song from this film is one of Presley's greatest Can't Help Falling In Love With You. He sings it during a scene for a birthday party for Joan Blackman's grandmother. It's sort of done in a throwaway manner like the producer's didn't think it would be the big number in the film. It might surprise Presley fans that this blockbuster hit was also recorded by another RCA Victor artist named Perry Como for one of his albums. Perry does a nice job with it, but it ain't a patch on the King's version.Elvis is a rich young kid who'd like very much to get out from under Mom and Dad and prove himself. He's even done a hitch in the army, but that doesn't help. Parents are played by Roland Winters and Angela Lansbury.Angela Lansbury recounted a story where she and her husband had dinner with Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis when they were casting Blue Hawaii. She said Elvis was a nice, polite young man who barely said three words during the dinner. The talk was all from Colonel Tom who was making all kinds of offers to the future Jessica Fletcher to be in this film. Angela's career was somewhat in a dry spell, she hadn't made The Manchurian Candidate yet or appeared on Broadway in Mame. So she was quite willing to appear.I gained some insight into how Colonel Parker handled Elvis with that story. If you look at the cast and even the behind the camera credits of his films, you'll see them populated with a whole lot of Hollywood veterans. I'll bet there were many such dinners during Elvis's film career.To be sure Presley was certainly the Colonel's meal ticket. But I would have to say that he made every effort to see that Elvis and his films were given the best possible production values. I think that's why the King had a long sustained film career until public tastes change which they inevitably do. Also musicals, even Elvis's became too cost prohibitive to produce any more.Blue Hawaii marks the height of Presley's singing and film career. The Beatles hadn't come on the scene yet, the King was still ruling the roost on the record charts and his films were grossing big box office. And unless your Bing Crosby and feel a twinge of jealousy that his Hawaii film was done on the cheap, you'll like Blue Hawaii very much. It's nice entertainment from a great entertainer.
