The Razz: Viggo's set to reign in Spain.(Features)



Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland); 3/11/2004

Byline: WITH LEE-ANN FULLERTON AND BEVERLEY LYONS

LORD of the Rings star Viggo Mortensen will play the lead role in Spain's most expensive film ever.

Period adventure Alatriste will be shot in Spanish with a budget of pounds 15million.

Viggo, best known for his role as Aragorn in the multi-Oscar-winning
trilogy, will have no problems with the language, having lived in Argentina for many years.

He will play Captain Alatriste, a Spanish soldier-cum-mercenary embroiled in the country's 16th century imperial wars.

A movie insider said: 'The film is based on a five-novel series Las
Aventuras Del Capitan Alatriste written by one of Spain's best-selling
novelists, Arturo Perez Reverte.

'Filming will begin in January next year. We will be shooting in Seville
and Toledo, as well as northern Spain.'

COPYRIGHT 2004 Scottish Daily Record & Sunday






New Straits Times; 3/11/2004; Izwan Ismail


New Straits Times

03-11-2004

Computer effects add excitement to `Hidalgo'
Byline: Izwan Ismail
Edition: Computimes; 2*
Section: Outlook Trends

VIGGO Mortensen, who played the heroic king in The Lord of the Rings has returned but this time as a legendary cowboy in the movie Hidalgo.

Based on the true story of cowboy Frank T. Hopkins, the movie showcases the adventures experienced by him and his beloved horse named Hidalgo when they were invited by a rich Arab named Sheikh Riyadh (played by Omar Sharif) to enter a gruelling 3,000-mile survival race across the punishing terrain of the Arabian desert. Although Hopkins is a well-known long-distance rider in the West, the survival race he is entering is totally a different challenge.

Not only it is held in a deadly Arabian desert, the race, which is also
known as the Ocean of Fire, is the first race in the world to feature an
American mustang and the more superior and bigger Arabian race horses.

With all the competitors vowing to outlast each other, the race becomes not only a matter of pride and honour, but also a fight for survival as they attempt the impossible.

For Hopkins, this race is more than just the normal races he used to
compete in the West, he has to leave his familiar surroundings and
overcome, in a strange place, the obstacles and dangers in his path.

On top of that, he has to prove to the US Army at that time that the
mustang is indeed an excellent breed worth keeping, because the army has plans to kill all the mustangs (which mostly belong to the Red Indians) they have captured and replace them with another breed.

Since the film is named after Hopkins' sorrel and white mustang, the
extraordinary relationship between a horse and owner is emphasised.

Besides Hidalgo, there are 800 other horses, including the mighty Arabians, as well as camels, vultures, rabbits, falcons, donkeys, buffalos, and leopards featured in this film.

In terms of visual effects, most of the computer graphics technology can be seen in three parts of the movie - the sandstorm, the locusts and the leopards scenes.

In one of the scenes, Hopkins and Hidalgo encounter a massive sandstorm that moves like a wave, sucking up and blowing everything in their path. This scene is rather similar to those in the movie The Mummy Returns where sandstorm effect is also used.

In the locust scene, one can see how computer graphics are used extensively to show millions of grasshoppers flying in groups. The use of technology has managed to make this locust scene look sinewy, almost like a school of fish flying in the sky and blocking the sunlight.

As for the leopard scene where two enemies are released to the desert to attack Hopkins and Hidalgo, it is clear that the director had to use
computer graphics as horses and leopards are traditionally enemies. This scene looks very much computerised.

To sum it up, Hidalgo is worth watching. Even though this story is about a horse race in general, there are many interesting elements and scenes in the movie to add more weight to it. Among them are the culture and beliefs of the Red Indians, the Muslim lifestyle, determination, greed, and the real story behind the US Army's victory over the Red Indians.

Hidalgo opens today in local cinemas.

(Copyright 2004)