IMDb user comments for
White Hunter Black Heart (1990) More at IMDbPro »

Filter:

Best Chronological Prolific Authors Loved It Hated It Hide Spoilers:

Page 1 of 4:

[1] [2] [3] [4]

Index

31 comments in total

---

23 out of 27 people found the following comment useful :-
Eastwood plays Huston, 10 June 1999

Author: Reb9 from Houston

This film is based on a book by Peter Viertel who worked with Huston on a number of projects. He shares writing credit with Huston on We Were Strangers. The book and film give us Viertel's version of what it was like to work with the great John Huston on The African Queen. Viertel finally bailed out and Huston and cast somehow managed to create a masterpiece. Eastwood plays the fictional representation of Huston to the hilt, creating one of his most memorable roles. This is a film that you have to work at. If you know a little of the history, though, it is well worth seeing.

---

17 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :-
One of Clint Eastwood's most unjustly-neglected movies, 16 August 2005

Author: gottogorunning from United States

One of Clint Eastwood's most unjustly-neglected movies... he directed and stars as a cranky, strong-willed movie director (he's actually playing the real-life John Huston, though his character is called "Wilson" in the movie... and the book it was based on). In Africa to direct an action-comedy ("The African Queen" in real life) Wilson throws the project into turmoil when he suddenly becomes obsessed with hunting and killing an elephant. "It's not a crime... it's bigger than that... it's a SIN," he says by way of justification. It takes a while to get used to Clint trying to play John Huston... trying to talk in a different style of voice than we're used to hearing... but the dialog and story are so compelling that you forget that Clint really is the wrong guy for this role. And yet, by the time the movie reaches it's devastating final line... Clint has made the character his own. As far as Clint's directing work goes... I would rank this film right after "Unforgiven"!

---

12 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
Too bad about the beginning of the movie, 29 July 2005

Author: Philip Van der Veken from Tessenderlo, Belgium

I must admit that Clint Eastwood was the main reason why I watched this movie. I'm already quite familiar with his work as an actor and as a director - even though I still haven't seen his biggest success "Million Dollar Baby" yet - and overall I can enjoy his work. Does that mean that I love all his movies? No, certainly not, but most of the time, he's the one who saves the movie, even when it isn't all that good. Knowing that he directed this movie and played a major role in it, only made it more interesting for me.

"White Hunter Black Heart" shows how the world famous movie director John Huston is planning on making a trip to Africa, where he will shoot his next movie. But despite his reputation of being a good director, he is also a very difficult man to work with. He doesn't want to make any concessions towards the producers and to make things worse he is also more interested in shooting the biggest elephant possible than shooting his movie and there is nothing or no-one who can bring him to other ideas...

Overall this is a good movie, although I must say that the beginning didn't do it for me. At first I had the feeling that the characters weren't all that real. They felt too much like caricatures, almost making this movie feel like a comedy, which it certainly isn't. That's also the reason why I wasn't exactly thinking about giving this movie a very high rating. But I always make that final decision at the end of the movie and I admit that the end of the movie was a lot better than the beginning. Not only was it very clear that John Wilson felt himself more at ease in Africa than in England, his reactions after the hunt also showed that this wasn't yet another typical type of quiet tough guy without any human emotions that Clint Eastwood plays so often. I really appreciated that in this movie. What I also liked was the entire 'behind the scenes of a classic movie' idea. OK, if you regularly buy a DVD, then you know from the extra's how a movie is shot. But that's how it is done today with all the modern techniques, camera's, lighting equipment. They didn't have all that in the fifties and it's nice to see how it was done back then.

Overall this is an enjoyable movie that offers some good acting and an interesting story. If the beginning had been more believable, this might well have become one of my all-time favorites. Now I give it a rating in between 7/10 and 7.5/10.

---

13 out of 15 people found the following comment useful :-
Eastwood is good (as usual) in an uneven film, 7 September 2000
Author: bigsleepj from Captain Nemo's Submarine

White Hunter, Black Heart both left me confused as well as breathless. The movie, that I saw earlier this year on television, struck me as deep yet peculiar. Clint Eastwood, in one of his most memorable roles ever, John Wilson, goes out to shoot an elephant while what he really should be doing is shoot a Hollywood movie in the 1950s.

The only person on the crew who shares his view and almost understand him is Pete Verril (Jeff Fahey), a writer brought on to improve the script. Although Pete supports Wilson, Pete realizes that the hunt of an elephant is more than just an adventure for Wilson, but an obsession. Wilson is willing to compromise the entire crew's careers and futures just to commit "the only legal sin."

The movie has certain themes, including conservation, obsession and movie-making theories. The themes aren't explored too well, which explains the muddled ending. But still this is an enjoyable film.

Based on a novel by Peter Viertel, based on his experiences while filming the African Queen, the film is either going to grip you from the start, or bore you to death. You'll ever like it or forget it. The ending takes a little figuring out (especially at mentioning the title), but people who like movies about film making and Africa should like this.

---

9 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Underrated Classic... Clint Eastwood plays John Huston!, 23 June 2004

Author: hokeybutt from Milwaukee, Wisconsin

(4 outta 5 stars)

One of Clint Eastwood's most unjustly-neglected movies... he directed and stars as a cranky, strong-willed movie director (he's actually playing the real-life John Huston, though his character is called "Wilson" in the movie... and the book it was based on). In Africa to direct an action-comedy ("The African Queen" in real life) Wilson throws the project into turmoil when he suddenly becomes obsessed with hunting and killing an elephant. "It's not a crime... it's bigger than that... it's a SIN," he says by way of justification. It takes a while to get used to Clint trying to play John Huston... trying to talk in a different style of voice than we're used to hearing... but the dialogue and story are so compelling that you forget that Clint really is the wrong guy for this role. And yet, by the time the movie reaches it's devastating final line... Clint has made the character his own. As far as Clint's directing work goes... I would rank this film right after "Unforgiven"... yes, even better than "Mystic River"!

---

5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Double Entendre WARNING SPOILERS, 2 October 2002

Author: (blairwitch@hotmail.com) from Schenectady, NY

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Is this movie a masterpiece or a dog? The other reviews here present a wide range of opinions. It's true that Clint is playing a bastard for the first 100 minutes of the film, and he does talk so much that his character alienates himself from the sympathy of the audience, but that's the point, you're SUPPOSED to hate him! The supporting cast is collectively given the "hero's role" as foil to their tyrannical boss. It's also true that at it's core, this film is about the creative process of a movie director, the John Houston character, who must work himself into a state of self-revulsion before he feels ready to film a work of art. But it is not true that the movie's title is an insult to the director. In the last few moments of the film, Clint's character suffers the loss of one of his native guides. And when the other guides dub him "white hunter, black heart", it is in praise of his soul, not in condemnation. This movie is truly a masterpiece, and probably Clint's highest achievement.

---

11 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :-
creator's block, 29 December 2004

Author: macataque from United States

On one level, this film is a failure: It's a fictionalized knock-off of the behind-the-scenes machinations of the making of "The African Queen" with Bogart & Hepburn directed by John Huston. This surface level is not so enthralling. On a second level, the level I believe the artists really wanted to put across, it isn't so enthralling either. Nevertheless, they are to be commended for attempting something unusual: An effort to show the creative process -- and the fears lurking within barring the fruition of art, often at great costs to health and personal relationships. In ranking Eastwood's films, this film falls below "Unforgiven", "Million Dollar Baby", "Bird" or "The Bridges of Madison County", but the subtext here raises its status. A must-see for the serious artist or wannabe.

---

4 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
In The Shadow of Huston, 16 May 2007

Author: thinker1691 from USA

When a legendary individual becomes so intimidating to his contemporaries that few fail to confront him during his lifetime, an attempt must be made after his demise. One such individual is William Randolph Hearst. The movie which unveiled his Napoleonic rigidity and overpowering demeanor was none other than Citizen Kane. The great Orsen Wells provided the interior man of his statuesque frame and he filled his shoes so convincingly, Hurst attempted to block it's released. In this film "White Hunter, Black Heart" we have another legend, the late great director, John Huston, {John Wilson] ham-handedly personified by a living legend, Clint Eastwood. While viewing the film which included Jeff Fahey as writer Pete Verrill and Charlotte Cornwell as Wilson's Secretary, one could not doubt but "see" John Huston's in the form of Eastwood. At times, during the movie, it's easy as Mr. Huston was known by his inner circle of friends and enemies as being a poetic director, social philosopher, loud mouth braggart and drunken adventurer. Eastwood put much of himself into his performance of Huston and does an admirable job, but in doing so, we see Eastwood, not Huston. Nevertheless, the film is a dedicated work of art to the movie African Queen, which by any account is a majestic tribute to both men. ***

---

5 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
A Great character study, 23 January 2004

Author: cwillis_m from OH.

"White Hunter, Black Heart" is very much a character driven film. The plot is easy to give a summery of: a movie director named John Wilson (Clint Eastwood) wants to shoot a film in Africa so he can hunt down an elephant.

The very first time I saw this movie, my first impression of Eastwood's performance was that it seem a little odd. I wasn't sure what he was doing there. But as the film went on, I realized that he was lost in his performance. The performance seems to take over at some point. I think it's a great performance from Eastwood, and as a director, it's another strong film from him. With each viewing of this film, I seem to like it even more. My rating: 9/10

---

6 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
All about narcissism, 28 January 2002

Author: dbrookfield

Narcissists are the bane of existence, unless they happen to be on stage and entertaining us. Aside from that, I find it best to stay far, far away from such folks. Some call such people "characters," I call them a**holes. They make life difficult for those around them and John Wilson is no exception. In fact, Eastwood's egocentric behavior causes life to become fatally difficult for one poor soul.

I am puzzled by those who see this as some of Eastwood's greatest acting. It soon becomes clear that he is doing an impression of John Huston, which is fine, and is recognizable, however I don't think he delivered a single line which I believed. I was constantly taken out of the movie by what I considered to be in fact very bad acting by Eastwood, at least vocally. Supporting actors were not much better, that one guy attempting a poor German accent I believe, and I felt they were all blown out of the water acting-wise by the folks who only had a couple of lines. The spectacle of this narcissist's self centered romp through his life provides a number of action sequences which do suit Eastwood, including a bit of "Any Which Way You Can" bare knuckle fighting. The film is sparse, probably intended to give a documentary feel. Very little in the way of soundtrack. Photography was disappointedly lame. In a movie such as this where I am looking for something to distract me, interesting photography can help. However, probably due to the documentary style choice, the only vaguely interesting shots were brief transition shots between scenes.

Ultimately the narcissist is forced into some realization of his gross selfishness and negligence, and finally comes to accept his obligations to others, although it seems more out of defeat than anything else.

---

---

Page 1 of 4:

[1] [2] [3] [4]

Add another comment

---

Related Links

Plot summary	Amazon.com summary	Ratings
Awards	Newsgroup reviews	External reviews
Plot keywords	Main details	Your user comments
Your vote history