KON-TIKI: The Blu Review

Norway’s Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film Of The Year is finally sailing in on DVD and Blu-ray. From Anchor Bay Entertainment and The Weinstein Company, KON-TIKI is available to own now and will remind you of how Hollywood used to do movies. This is one you will want to add to your collection.

From the directing duo of Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg (Max Manus: Man of War, Bandidas), KON-TIKI is based on the amazing true adventure of Thor Heyderdahl (Pål Sverre Hagen), a Norwegian explorer in 1947 who embarks on the voyage of a lifetime to prove a point. 

In 1947, the world is gripped with excitement as the young Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl (Pål Hagen) embarks on an astonishing expedition – a journey of 4,300 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean on the Kon-Tiki raft. From his days living in the Marquesas with his wife Liv (Agnes Kittlesen), Thor suspected that the South Sea Islands had been settled by ancient South Americans from thousands of miles to the east. Despite his inability to swim and fear of water, Thor decides to prove his theory by sailing the legendary voyage himself.

After replicating the design of an ancient raft in balsa wood, Thor and five fellow adventurers set sail from Peru. Their only modern equipment is a radio, and they take a parrot along for company.

We follow Thor and his crew through raging maelstroms, shark attacks and treacherous waters. Slowly but surely they find peace, harmony and a new understanding on the open sea as they become one with nature. Over three dangerous months, the group experiences a physical and mental transformation: they leave Peru in suits and arrive in Raroia as the world’s first hippies.

KON-TIKI is about a man who starts out cataloging nature in an attempt to understand it, but ends up surrendering himself to it in his quest for truth. We witness how Thor, through sheer willpower, proved his theory and became a popular hero across the world. But we also witness the price that he and those around him had to pay.

Thor’s epic voyage was spectacular and captured the public imagination. He loved the thrill of endeavor, and opened the world’s eyes to both the harsh and serene beauties of the natural world. His documentary of the journey won an Academy Award in 1951, and his book was translated into 70 languages and sold over 50 million copies around the world. Thor’s ideas and achievements continue to inspire today.

Directed by Joachim Roenning and Espen Sandberg, the two are in pre-production for Disney’s PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 5 – DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES starring Johnny Depp. The film is scheduled to be released on July 10, 2015.

KON-TIKI’s cast of includes Pål Hagen (RAGNOROK, I TRAVEL ALONE), Anders Baasmo Christiansen (REISEN TIL JULESTJERNEN, VEGAS), Jakob Oftebro (VICTORIA, REISEN TIL JULESTJERNEN), Tobias Santelmann (ESCAPE, THE WRITING ON THE WALL), Odd-Magnus Williamson (TINA OG BETTINA, YOU SAID WHAT?), Gustaf Skarsgård (THE WAY BACK, PATRIK AGE 1.5), and Agnes Kittlesen (REISEN TIL JULESTJERNEN, HAPPY HAPPY).

Norway’s film was an early favorite among members of the Academy’s foreign language committee when it first screened on October 13, 2012. Among the record 71 entries vying for a spot in the 85th Academy Awards, KON-TIKI made such an impression and became one of this year’s five nominees in addition to a real crowd pleaser.

KON-TIKI is a story about choosing adventure, about daring to stand up for what you believe and simply going for it, even when everyone says it’s impossible. It depicts an incredible journey that forever changed the men who took part in it.

Now for the goodies. The Pack includes the feature length movie, but don’t worry if foreign language films aren’t you cup of tea. The Blu/DVD gives viewers the option of watching it in English or Norwegian.

The Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD comes with two special features:

• KON-TIKI: The Incredible True Story is a 25-minute making-of feature on the film and hosted by Maria Menounos. This history lesson goes behind the scenes on the story with interviews from Matt Lauer, Diane von Furstenberg, screenwriter Petter Skavlan, star Pål Hagen and producer Jeremy Thomas. Thomas started developing the movie in 1996 at the suggestion of his friend – actor Michael Douglas. If you’re at all interested in Heyerdahl’s wild story, this making-of will take you to across the globe to a snow-bound cabin outside Lillehammer to a grand harbor in Callao, Peru, to the dizzying crowds of New York and the magnificent vastness of the Pacific. I really appreciated seeing all the original photos and video of Thor Heyerdahl and the crew from the original voyage.

• The Visual Effects featurette is a cool 9 ½ minute little movie. It’s a breakdown where the viewer gets a glimpse of which shots were CGI and which were the real McCoy. The viewer is also treated to Johan Soderquist’s moving score while watching this beautifully compiled montage of CGI scenes. Fans of the film will appreciate the richness and texture of the featurette – heavy on KON-TIKI’s rousing score and light on the yakkity-yak narration.

Read my interview with the film’s directors: http://www.wearemoviegeeks.com/2013/08/interview-wamg-talks-to-kon-tiki-directors-joachim-ronning-and-espen-sandberg-about-blu-ray-release-and-pirates-5/

If you want to see a timeline of the making of the film, check out the film’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/kontikifilmen

Learn more about KON-TIKI at: www.kontikifilm.com

With a running time of 96 mins, the film is rated PG-13 for a disturbing violent sequence.

KON-TIKI is available for $29.99 for the Blu-ray Combo Pack and $24.98 for the DVD.