In Praise of Hook, A Flawed Classic
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- čas přidán 30. 08. 2019
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Wherein I try to take my nostalgia goggles off and fail miserably.
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Works Cited:
Gene Siskel's review: www.chicagotribune.com/news/c...
Roger Ebert's review: www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ho...
Hal Hinson's review: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv...
The Making Of Hook: • Hook (1991) - Behind t...
Music by Epidemic Sound.
Other Music:
“Electric Mantis - Daybreak | Majestic Color”
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Hook was a buffoon but he was also deadly. To me, that made him even more frightening. He's like an abusive dad who always "sorry" but never changes.
Spot on. 😂
When Hook is left to the actual quite parts of life he is a buffoon, his arrogant, entitled and slightly egocentric view of himself and etc comes out more
but when hook gets to be the “pirate” he is, he’s terrifying because he’s a pirate whose being forced to not live like a pirate because he doesn’t want to leave nederland cause there he doesn’t age as well as his obsessive rivalry with peter.
"The too-faithful live-action remakes."
You mean superficially faithful. Those movies look like they're being faithful, but they frequently miss the point of the original.
couldn't have said it better myself!
Excuse me while I watch Lindsay Ellis' video on the Beauty and the Beast remake for the 13th time
The only one I've seen is Jungle Book and I quite liked it. The rest all look and sound crappy though I hear Cinderella is okay. Too bad I have zero interest in Cinderella.
@@dipperdandy
Jungle Book was the only decent one imo. It cast the whole story in a different light. Beauty and the Beast is indeed superficially faithful, but misses every single point by a mile while trying its best to shove a little feminism in there.
@Rough Collies Rock Hey, I prefer the musical because it feels more like a fable or folk tale with costumes and a conductor than with cubs and clever edits. But that's just me, and hey, it's for your kids - I don't even have those yet!
As a kid I always felt like the sets look like an amusement park / playground. From the perspective of a child, you just want to go there. An ultimate ‘90s kid play-land, never grow up, you know... Neverland.
thank you kind sir you are a gentleman and a scholar❤️
Same. I loved the movie as a kid because the whole world just seemed so... vibrant and imaginative and fun. And the surreal ending just made the whole thing even better--hinging that, even if just a little, our own dreary world contained a hint of that same magic.
When I grew up I was SHOCKED that the film wasn't universally beloved.
Reminds me a lot of the sets from the live action Popeye movie.
This is excactly what I loved about it too. It's such a great 80's amusement park feel.
Amen!
"You need a mother very, very badly!” I can't believe anyone could suggest removing the scene where Maggie sings. The looks on the pirates' faces are practically the movie's thesis statement. It occurs to me that these sad adults playing dress-up to relive childhood adventures are what the motherless Lost Boys could become if they grow up. And yet the movie is also about Peter learning to reconnect to his own childhood memories and find a place for them as a grown-up himself without depending upon nostalgia to artificially fill a void within his heart. It's actually a bit complex, and I find Captain Hook's inability to do the same and his resulting dependency on Peter more than a little tragic.
Hook is a deeply sad story about aging and dreams and forgetting and loss-yet sprinkled with enough powerfully happy thoughts.
Hook was always afraid of time.
@@couchpotato3197 Yeah! The crocodile with the ticking clock in its belly is an obvious metaphor for mortality.
yes!!!!
internisus love this!
Good comment. I also loved this film as a kid. I saw it again about six years ago and still liked it. It just works. Of course nostalgia might be involved, but if I liked it so much as a kid, that also means they did it right.
It's not like grown ups were generally better suited to give credibility to the inherent qualities of a film about... Peter Pan.
I think the sets are literally marvellous.
No joke. This film inspired me to become a father. It was like the film was speaking to the Peter in me. The child who did not want to grow up.
The words "Peter, you're a daddy. I wanted to be a father." have never left me to this day. Fast forward to now, I have a beautiful baby girl.
:)
I misread this as "This film inspired me to become fatter."
Shout out to this guy. Movies are awesome 👏🏾 (no sarcasm)
@@sleepysteev2735 ☠️
No joke. This film inspired me to kidnap children.
I disagree with your point that Robin Williams should have become Peter Pan at the beginning of the 2nd act. The wait and payoff is one of the best parts of this movie. It's because Robin is so good at it that we should wait for it. Less is more.
Agreed...it is a great payoff when he becomes Peter Pan again ^_^
I still get teary eyed.
Agreed the best part of the movie is him slowly becoming Pan again. All the great scenes with him regaining his imagination is amazing.
True
*You are the Pan.*
I think Hoffman took the literal cartoon villain from the Disney film and tried as hard as he could to make it resemble a real person with a darker edge. He succeeded for the most part -- Hoffman's Hook *is* a buffoon who has a built-in carpet on his stairs but he also sends a man to a particularly sadistic death for the audacity to doubt him within the first few minutes of his appearance. He uses psychological manipulation on children all to cause Peter pain. Heck, there's even an off-hand joke about him being suicidal.
He's a man desperately trying to cling to the last thing that gave him purpose which was winning against his greatest nemesis, so nobody's more broken up than Hook when he finds out that Peter Pan is gone.
Without Peter, there's nothing left for him and the ending fight when Peter literally snatches his wig to reveal that he's a decrepit old man shows Peter the vision of adulthood that his younger self feared -- weak, filled with hate and forgotten.
Hook literally kills people without blinking, brainwashes a kid, and kills the best fighter the lost boys have even mocking him
Anyone who says hes not intimidating is insane
When Hook is left to the actual quiet parts of life he is a buffoon, as his arrogant, entitled and slightly egocentric view of himself and etc comes out more
but when hook gets to be the “pirate” he is, he’s terrifying because he’s a pirate whose being forced to not live like a pirate because he doesn’t want to leave nederland cause there he doesn’t age as well as his obsessive rivalry with peter.
Hoffman's hook's strikes the perfect balance between a funny and an intimidating villain.
I had no idea that critics didn't like the film at the time. I just assumed this was widely accepted as a classic and that everyone liked it!
I remember when this movie came out. Oh, the critics despised it.
Right!? I 1st watched it a few years after it came out when we rented it at blockbuster. I was still a baby during its 1st theatrical run, hence why I didn't see it till it was on VHS. I remember always thinking that it was a classic 90s family film like ET, Hocus Pocus, or Home Alone. My parents and I would watch Hook every couple years while i was growing up and we still watch it every few years, even now that I'm an adult.
I didn't find out that Hook had such a bad critical reception upon release until a few years ago during my late 20s lol. It's good to know I'm not alone in that experience.
The Script, the actors, and the score!!! The best!!!!
Critics rave overrated films like La La Land and gravity, but over look spectacular movies like hook and Interstellar.
instablaster...
I actually think its good they kept him "lawyer Pan" for so long. It helped reinforce the idea of just how deep "adulthood" had trapped Pan. How hard it really is for adults to break out of the "clog" mentality and go to embrace a more imaginative and somewhat childlike wonder towards the world.
.. The critics were wrong - And this movie was perfect. Something far-better than they deserved to see or know about. +
I think that if they had reversed the plot by having Peter running away from his adult life and responsibilities, it would have been like the story of Peter Pan and too redundant. The fact that he was the kid who didn't want to grow up, but then did to experience love, and in the process forgot who he was and where he came from, is super tragic. It's also what we all go through growing up: trying to find balance between moving forward, stepping up, having responsibilities, being a spouse, a parent, having a career, etc., and keeping the fun, the emotion, the imagination and the heart if our childhood and who we are at our core, without being a heartless cowardly lawyer who had no time for his family and without staying an immature brat who cannot love and remains stuck in the past... like Hook.
I love the message and the parallels between Hook and Peter, and I adore this movie, though it can be a bit clumsy. Great video!
Ganychan wonderful! It’s so nice to see people get to the heart of the movie and to know they got some of the same things from it. That’s what I think makes this movie such an incredible success. It lives in the hearts of so many people which makes it unique compared to most movies made.
Actually I think just from a performance perspective it was more fun to watch him as Pan than watch him as the meh office worker. I agree that a sad aspect of the Peter Pan mythos is how children who leave Neverland tend to forget about it. So it does fit with the storyline here well.
Was Hook the heartless father who forgot his childhood and is so removed from that fact that he fights pan for him to forget his.
@@nicholaslucas5183 I guess he can be both. The horrible father who hates children, AND the kid who doesn't want to grow up, as he's so childlike in many ways and never changes.
So Peter needs to remain adult but with the charm and the motivation of young ? That's the massege of the movie ?
Realism is not the holy grail of film making. I hate it to see that people actually criticize the set. It is a family movie for growing up children and parents who forgot to be loose once in a while. It inspired my imagination. And I liked the mixture of tones actually. If Hook had been completely terrifying throughout the whole movie, I might have hated it as a kid, because it might have been to scary.
The fear at the beginning was amazingly evoked, but portraying Hook a bit goofy, helped me to overcome my fear of Hook, too. He was just "a lonely lonely man who didn't have a mommy" : (btw. the second act also features the scorpion scene which still terrifies me.)
I hate pretentious, elitist takes on art which are imposed on movies way to often.
This movie evoked emotions for many of my genration and this is what movies are supposed to do. Yes, it has flaws but if people really argue that this is a bad movie, I will lose my god damn mind.
Thanks for the video, man. Gonna watch the movie right away. Has been more than 10 years since the last time...
Plus... Like... Disney's Hook was the exact same. Imposing because of his hooked hand and violent temper but also clumsy and cowardly.
Also, maybe it's because I've been a kid in a custody case but the idea that someone has both physically taken his kids away and is turning his kids against him is such an irl nightmare for a parent. It works perfectly for this plot, a dad who could lose his kids to his own neglect.
This.
exactly
I think that people all too often forget film is an artform. It's relatively young compared to other artforms, but that makes only a difference in how much we've managed to explore within the medium. Crossing theatrical set pieces into film made the movie fanciful and lighthearted. I think it worked really well.
It's aggravating to see so many filmmakers INSIST that hyper-realism is the only way to get audiences invested. In reality, they're only managing to shoot themselves in the foot as audiences now expect movies to be evermore realistic. This is an impossible standard and it's suffocating what creativity the industry has left.
Although, I wouldn't lose hope. Looking at history, all forms of art have suffered stifling bouts of unrealistic expectation or bizarre anti-creative trends. They recover, usually within a century.
There are so many emotional parts in this movie. My favorite is when Thudd Butt is chosen to be the successor of Peter Pan. It's a real tearjerker scene.
Maybe this is nostalgia talking but I actually liked the design of the sets. Yeah, they're fake looking but, to me, it kind of invoked the feeling of being in a playground or amusement park. The sets are whimsical, the clothing and hairstyles are just kind of wild and the food is colorful. If NeverLand really was a place where kids could go, have fun, battle against adults twice their size, and never grow up then wouldn't the setting also be a bit childish as well?
Agree Completely
Hook wears a wig. The pirates are literally playing dress up to relive childhood games and distract from the emptiness of their lives (they need a mother very, very badly). The sets being such *sets* is perfectly fitting.
I rewatched the Wizard of Oz recently and I'm happy Just Write used a clip of it because I realized how charming sets like that are. Same for Hook but I havent seen it recently.
Exactly! I love the way it made me feel as a kid to imagine running through those sets. They are fantastic 🥰
that's the point about their artistic choice, I believe. It's not too much or too fake, it perfectly fit the context.
This video has made me realise something big:
People and, more precisely, Disney have misunderstood what makes nostalgia so powerful. Nostalgia's not just about looking back at something you remember fondly, it also holds a wistful sense of something lost, something gone and faded forever. Nostalgia is powerful because we're looking back to a time that we know we'll never quite be able to live again: it's both happy to remember and sad to know it's only a memory...both those feelings together at the same time: the cherishing and the mourning...that's what makes it feel so powerful and meaningful. It sounds bizarre but if it wasn't also for the sense of sadness within nostalgia, we wouldn't bother half as much with it because it wouldn't feel wholesome, it would just feel artificial...which brings me to Disney.
Their attempt at nostalgia is just the first of the two sides to nostalgia: the happy "let's look back at something we remember fondly." So they show you the thing you remember fondly but now it's new, it has modern graphics and actors, and it's made for today a.k.a they're films are saying "this thing you remember fondly? It's not dead, it hasn't faded away into the past. No, it's still here, it's just like new." To us, that message feels like a lie because....well, it is a lie: our past is gone, it isn't just like new, times change. The films don't feel like wistful reminsicing over those original, magical films that contain so much of our own childhood, instead they feel like attempting to reanimate a corpse. As such, they don't make us reminisce and because they don't make us do that, they don't feel at all meaningful whatsoever.
The lesson is: if you want to make something nostalgic, it needs a slightly mystical, elusive, lost feeling as though something half-faded that you'll never quite reach. Without that, it's hollow. Sure, the Disney remakes will all make incredible money because a) marketing like mad b) new kids taken in and c) we ourselves will still watch them out of curiosity to see how similar/different they are to the originals...but they don't tap into anything nostalgic. As such, after seeing the remakes once, we'll likely never ever watch them again. The originals feed our nostalgia just fine.
" it's both happy to remember and sad to know it's only a memory...both those feelings together at the same time: the cherishing and the mourning...that's what makes it feel so powerful and meaningful."
The writers behind Inside Out understood exactly how that worked. czcams.com/video/ISaHt3ps1dM/video.html
great comment! this opened my eyes to what nostalgia is really all about.
Your comments on utilizing Robin Williams' strengths as a comedian reminded me of an interview in which Ethan Hawke talked about his casting in 'Dead Poets Society.' Hawke was confused as to why director Peter Weir cast him as the "shy one" when his personality (at the time) was the complete opposite. To this Peter Weir said that the secret to good casting is to "cast for the third act." He knew that Ethan Hawke's natural personality suited the transformation more than it did the character's starting point. Anyway, this is not a criticism on the video (i enjoyed as always) - just an interesting thought, worth sharing.
Personally, Hook taught me to acknowledge and appreciate my childhood and nostalgia. That it can be the fuel we burn in adulthood to help others, influence others, and acknowledge the good and bad of adulthood for all it is. At least that's what I got from it anyway. To me, the middle is a long build-up that makes Peter's combination of using both childhood and adulthood to move forward feel like a more powerful revelation. For all it's flaws, by concept alone, this is among my favourite films.
I lost my dad that year and was still grieving pretty hard when I decided to go watch a matinee of something to distract myself for a while. For some reason I chose this movie.
I left the theater a complete wreck
I had similar issues, as Grandma Wendy bore a striking resemblance to my own grandma, who'd passed away about 5 years earlier. The moment she came down the stairs for her first scene, tears suddenly flooded my eyes (heck, I'm getting teary-eyed typing this!). I got through the movie fine, but man, that emotional heart-punch at the beginning colored my perception of everything afterward.
Did you go see T2?
It's the music too,,,that gets to your emotions...but HOOK is absolutely one of the top movies that children can watch....the movie is a masterpiece...the casting alone could never be reroduced that well
Something wonderful about Hook that I realized as this video went on was that I realized how fundamentally tied the set design and costuming was to the theatrical origins of Peter Pan. I believe Peter Pan was first written as a character for the stage before being adapted into a book, so the fact that they were using someone who was known for his designs in plays and musicals lends to the original portrayal of the character so well!
I have to disagree on the idea that Hook doesn't feel like a threat, and that through the middle of the movie he's presented as a buffoon.
The buffoonery through the middle of the movie comes from his inability to relate to children while trying desperately to do so. He's "cute" because he's got an 1800's high-class affect. I think Hoffman's performance does brilliantly at displaying a subtext to Hook's thoughts and behavior. He'd have no qualms and might even enjoy just gutting those children he's trying desperately to relate to, but he wants to hurt Peter worse than that.
He very much presents a threat, a psychotic, driven, unforgiving adversary that would do anything to maximize the emotional agony Peter endures before running him through. He may be classy and honorable, but he's ruthless and intelligent too, he just doesn't know how to interact with kids.
I felt the same way when I was watching it as a kid. Hook didn't understand kids in general and didn't understand what was important to these kids. He knows that getting these children to love him would hurt Peter more than anything, but he doesn't know how to make someone love him. Hook rules through fear and distraction, not through love.
I have a theory that kindof explains all the issues he has with the set and the threat from Hook and his crew. Neverland changed the pirates. It's why all the violence is toned down. Why use the Boo box instead of gutting that one pirate right there and then? Why isn't the body displayed publicly afterwards to reinforce the consequences? Why didn't the pirates just go in guns blazing when they first landed and slaughter all of the lost boys? Neverland tweaked their thoughts and personalities.
i read the novelization of Hook which was written off the screen play for the movie and they actually toned Hook down for the final cut. The screen play had the lost boys tell Peter banning they were the only ones left due to Hook hunting down lost boys often shooting them out of cannons and makeing them walk the plank. " The little ones have to crawl" was the exact line. Also Hook kept some of the lost boys he captured around strictly for slave labor. Which seemed to imply Hook had basically taken over never land and turned it into his personal playground. (i don't even want to think about what happened to Tiger Lilly and her tribe) talk about fridge horror. But yeah i agree I don't know how people can look at Hooks brainwashing/ grooming of Jack and not get chills. Especally since Hook isn't lying he's just twisting things Peter was never there for him and did fail to save them. i think a lot of fans miss the fact Jack isn't angry about a baseball game he's mad becuse his father failed to actually protect him and his sister. Hook takes advantage of that and i truely believe if Hook had suceeded in killing Peter he would of twisted jack into another version of him purely out of spite and narrcistic pleasure. To Hook everyone is just a way to hurt Peter pan or fuel his own ego. That makes him terrifying.
@@alorapendrak9752 Why don't you capitalize Tiger Lily? It's her name, isn't it? You capitalize everyone else's.
@@sibylsaint i honestly thought i did, thank you for pointing that out.
When Hook is left to the actual quite parts of life he is a buffoon, his arrogant, entitled and slightly egocentric view of himself and etc comes out more
but when hook gets to be the “pirate” he is, he’s terrifying because he’s a pirate whose being forced to not live like a pirate because he doesn’t want to leave nederland cause there he doesn’t age as well as his obsessive rivalry with peter.
Fun fact: That fly-by shot with Williams flying over the island is actually is one of the first applications of digital parallax mapping ever in cinema. Fast forward to 2019 and that method is still implemented today in most commercials/films requiring digital set pieces ( with respect to modern technology ).
I guess that VFX history course credit I had to have was worth it for something XD
5:17 - "Has any character had a better evil laugh?" *Mark Hamill wants to know your location*
You mean The Joker?
I'll never get tired of the allusions to Peter's _original_ identity (his default hands-on-hips stance, his shadow as he fights Hook, his reflection in the water, his hook scar, even his name).
It hit that "secret identity"/"almost Biblical-levels of destiny" spot that I've always had.
“Has any character had a better evil laugh?”
Yeah. Mark Hamill.
I dont think the Joker counts because..... well hes the fucking Joker
Alex Knowlton Sideshow Bob 👌😎
Definitely Hamill!
God get off his nuts. Hoffman killed it in Hook.
Dr Evil
After I watched this with my kids, I imagined that there’s a version of this film where the twist is that Tinker Bell actually conspired with Hook to bring Pan back to Neverland.
The flashing lights when he kidnaps the children are the same as when Tinker Bell blows up her clockhouse. It led me to the question: How did Hook get to the real world? Wouldn’t he need fairy dust?
If you think that Tinker Bell conspires with Hook, then their negotiations when Pan shows up and Hook is disappointed, takes on a whole new light. In fact, a lot of Tinker Bells arc in the movie makes sense.
I don’t know if during your research, you found anything that would tip towards this, as well, but I think it’s interesting.
This is brilliant.
Benjamin Whitley lol - yeah It’s been something on my mind 😂
I’m finally vindicated. You’re not the only one.
Jordan Murphy thank you!
It's not "dingly"; it's "or I've got a dead man's dinghy."
A dinghy is a small boat, for those who don't know.
The internet has many tools for learning what words mean, for those who don’t know.
@@stevenbridges5981
What is it for those who do know?
a penis
Tbh, it doesn’t matter, we learn that Smee is apparently the Dick God in a (not much earlier) scene with the pirates of the carribean hookers. So we know his dinghy is rowed by only very alive and athletic men. (They recently added the film to Swedish Netflix and I rewatched it with joy, which gave way to a lot of ‘hmmmmm’-ing)
Watched this recently and what I praise most is how well it delivers on its emotional punchlines. It doesn't hit them all, but when he tells his children to SHUT UP, and Moira tells him he's not making memories with his children, when his happy thought is his son, when Rufio returns the sword and he becomes Peter Pan and lastly, when the Moira embraces her children. This movie has so much soul in it that really should've been mentioned in a "in praise of hook" video.
YES!! What a good point. I watched it recently as well, and it just makes me cry every time. I’ve seen some great movies that make me cry the first time, and after that not really, because they don’t have the same emotional punch. That moment of Peter screaming shut up at his kids like that gives me the same reaction every time that it did when I first watched it.
Hook, the only Peter Pan film that I have ever liked.
I loved Fox's animated version.
Not enough racial stereostripes.
kidding. The one with Lucious Malfoy as Hook was actually really good. Dude was amazing in that role. Seriously goosebumps.
Same here. Though the Jason Isaacs one had wonderful music, even if the movie itself wasn't great.
@@dion789 Peter was such a smug little prick in that. Which is kinda perfect. Kid who refuses to grow up? Of course he's gonna be a cocky little shit.
Certainly the least racist one.
11:40 - Uh, he doesn't say "dingly". He says "Dinghy". A perfectly natural reference for one sailor to make to another, out on the lonesome, lonesome sea.
Yeah, I don’t hear an ‘L’ at all, searched the comments for this 😅
“Panned by the critics” Good one 😉
@Jacob Wood It was a pun
Lmao I heard that too, really hope it was intentional
and then right after that a link to his video on puns pops up haha
I firmly believe that the scene where Hook has a pistol to his head saying, “don’t try to stop me Smee, don’t you dare try to stop me” is the greatest villain moment of all time. Fight me, this movie is wonderful. And what a beautiful marriage of the brilliance of Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman. I’m going to watch it now because yes, of course, I have it on DVD
I wish they had just done something new with The Lion King property, like exploring Scar and Mafusa's relationship. How they came to power and why scar is so envious.
Even the original lion king was an adaption. I doubt Disney could try to do something they've never made up themselves
@@alexarias5717 Hamlet or Kimba?
@@dipperdandy Lol good question. Probably both. But mostly hamlet cuz Kimba was likely also adapted from hamlet. Not sure though.
@@alexarias5717 Ah totally forgot about that, but I guess you are right.
They explored alittle bit more on the hyenas by two exposition lines, but i agree with scar background, there are some good hints in the animated one making you infer that scar was hated by his father.
The only movies that are deserving in a live action renake is Treasure Planet and Atlantis the Lost Empire
Word. Flawed movies that would benefit from a remake while easier expressing the more mature themes. But it won’t happen as both movies flopped and live-action remakes of those specific two would cost millions of millions as the sets or cgi work would be gigantic. It’s almost as if they both sport huge amazing worlds that should be explored further, who woulda thought hmmmm.
Indeed.
And it's not even because I think they are flawed (I adore them)
I just find their themes and stories can be reworked into more adult-friendly content more easily than fairytales, an they deserve such attention.
Not to mention they could themselves kickstart a new era of Sci-Fi movies with studios tryingto capitalize on their success.
no the movies are fine the way they are. WE do not need another remake that is ultimately going to push the multicultural tripe agenda we have today. Rather than mole being a literal dirty frenchman, he is going to be a gay dude. Milo will be black, Doctor Sweets will be asian, and the bad guy will still be white. Nah B, fuck all that. Nostalgia is one thing, but willingly wanting your childhood to be ruined by modern hollywood is just plain stupid.
I loved Atlantis as a child, but I rewatched it last year and oof... It is really bad! Would love for it to get a remake with a better script to do the story and world justice.
Dude, if they went ahead and tried to do remakes of their more flawed material to better realize the great potential. That would be something.
Because, really, what are you supposed to do with a literally perfect film like the Lion King? Every minute detail you could change could only make it worse.
I'd take a big, colorful, Baz Luhrmanish version of the Princess and the Frog with a genuine New Orleans jazz soundtrack (no offense to Randy Newman, but what an awful pick for the setting).
Seeing Robin William's soar through the skies is a punch on the chest. R.I.P
"Robbing Peter of any real Jeopardy"
This is why you must never *ever* read a critics' review of a movie before seeing it yourself.
Peter is going to lose his fucking children? Isn't that enough?
Smee says "a dead man's _dinghy."_ Like a little boat. It's the same joke but the PG version.
I like how Dante Basco had the same voice when playing Rufio as an actual child as he does now.
Hook is fabulous. My "argument" is simple: The first time I saw it, I blubbered uncontrollably at the end. I've seen it at least six times since, and even knowing what's coming, I blubber uncontrollably. The theme of men losing touch with the boy they were and his dreams is universal, and the idea of finding the strength to be the man you should be by rediscovering that boy inside is emotionally powerful and deep. You've got to be a schmuck to think this movie had nothing to say.
This is the Way
To me, the set design makes sense. It's Neverland not Middle Earth. It's a land of childhood fantasy and wonder. The sets give it this other worldly feel like you are watching a child's idea of what a world of pure adventure would be. Granted, I too grew up with this film and I maybe just coming up with explanations to justify my standing love for the film but I'd like to think it fits.
That John Williams score was fantastic.
And the last one that had that grand late-romantic style he had become so famous for. Jurrassic Park which came next already was a considerable departure, where there only the main theme hinted at that, while the rest was full of dissonance and atonal writing for the primal action.
Quotenwagnerianer he probably did that in Jurassic Park because it’s pretty fitting for that style of filmmaking. if you listen to his scores for “the BFG” or the most recent indiana jones , they’re very similar to his earlier style of scores. it all just depends on the film , and Williams writes perfect scores for the films he works on.
@@mitchellwiseman1774 The BFG and Kingdom of the Crystal skull are but mere shadows of that style. Williams has moved on, and not for the better if you ask me. His inspiration has left him quite a while ago. He is now relying on his considerable skills, but it all feels shallow. Hook was the last score he did where that wasn't the case.
(I'm leaving out Schindler's List because that was a completely different style)
In my opinion, probably one of his best
@@Quotenwagnerianer I disagree. The Harry Potter scores are fantastic, like "Leaving Hogwarts."
Who else thinks that the people responsible for producing all these cash grabbing live action remakes need to spend some time in the boo box?
Noo, not the boo box!
lol!
@@Lilliathi Yes, the boo box
The boo box!
BOO!
Hoffman's performance scared me to the core watching this movie as a kid. I was simultaneusly thrilled and terrified by the buildup to meeting him...even now, the epic theme soundtrack sends chills down my spine. Definitely my favorite pirate movie.
HOLY FRICK I can't believe I NEVER NOTICED those comparison shots you bring up at 1:34!!!! THAT BLOWS MY MIND!
*_Robin Williams didn't died. He just soared back to Neverland just to find peace._*
Nice to see you again!
Mr. Friendship after committing suicide
SpongeBobFan567 Luigifan554 TPTS KKTK and people who commit suicide don’t go to heaven...
@@3dartistguy That's why life is valuable, but it's still impossible to handle this especially when issues kicks in.
I made the mistake of watching Hook again when I heard Robin died and his final line of the film left me sobbing.
I actually like the sets. And I especially like the fact that Peter Pan was a workaholic lawyer, and Hook was a clinically depressed mess. I think maybe it's true that the hot takes of all the lost boys could be cut down, etc. But overall, I think the movie was meaningful to me as a child because it brought up all these multilayered issues, and it's definitely still the reason I like it as an adult. If it was just a kids movie remake I probably wouldn't care for it as much. It's critiquing something important about unrestrained capitalism. Imagine that coming from Steven Spielberg!
The best character in this underrated classic, isn't Dustin Hoffin's portrayal of Hook, which is great. The best character is Rufio, Rufio, RU-FI-O!!!
Rufio chant is iconic.
The best Disney remake wasn’t made by Disney.
I LOVED this movie as a kid and still enjoy it
The artificial, set-like appearance of Neverland was what made it feel magical to me as a kid - it so obviously wasn’t real-world
Speaking as a film student, the build-up to Hook's full reveal was master class. Especially the way it's slowly built up over the first 40 minutes.
1. The hook-shaped window clasp .
2. The long tear in the wall leading to the bedroom.
3. The letter to Peter stabbed on the door with Hook's name.
4. The hook being made in the pirate village
5. Smee carrying the hook through the village as the other pirates follow to the ship and chanting "Give us the hook."
6.Cutting to black and then the flash of colors focusing on Hook's hook.
7. The close-up on Hook's hook as he emerges, turning it back and forth like a band conductor.
8. Focusing on the back of Hook's head as he looks over the crew.
9. Turns to Smee and finally talks, showing how little he cares about his crew.
10. Finally turns to the camera and we get a full look at Captain Hook.
imo the removing the build up to robin williams letting loose would ruin it, the climax is his becoming fully peter pan
i 100% agree, this would be a terrible change for the movie
Using another Spielberg movie as a reference, it’s like if they had shown the shark all throughout Jaws. That would have lessened the impact when you saw it.
And let us not forget... Phil Collins randomly shows up as a policeman.
Well one does. Much like when one loses their marbles.
Also Glenn Close as the random pirate!
@@firiel2366 she's the guy that goes in the boo box
WAIT WHAT?
04:49 The bearded pirate who gets put in the BooBox is Glenn Close. Also another Hook prescreen teaser is when the airliner is in turbulence. The captain on the intercom is Capitan Hook. Loved to watch this with my kids. "Fresh fish! But keep the eyes in so they'll seeya thru the week!"
This makes me want to watch Hook again. It's been a loooooooong time since I've seen it but has always been a classic! Thanks for the awesome video!
I once partied with the legendary Rufio and he had everyone in the club doing the Lost Boys chants. He's the man to this day! All hail Dante Basco!
One thing that was always weird to me is the flashback of baby Pan. Mute the scene and you'd think that the visuals is telling a story of an infant accidentally getting lost from his mother. Listen to the dialogue w/ your eyes closed and it tells the story of a kid who runs away b/c he didn't want to grow up.
The juxtaposition of the mundane and fantastical descriptions has always struck me as beautiful and sad
@@ViewtifulSam For that, watch Pan's Labyrinth, where both interpretations complement rather than contradict each other.
@@jp3813 Pan's Labytinth is great, but I don't think a superficial contradiction should detract from that short scene of baby Pan.
@@ViewtifulSam Short but important. A turning point in a character's development shouldn't be superficial.
@@jp3813 I'm not saying the scene is superficial, but rather that the contradiction sits at its superficial level.
"Have to save Maggie, have to save Jack ...Hook is back!" That was tremendous back then. The anticipation: This Hook fellow must truly be something prodigious. Wonderful movie.
Hook, a beautiful nostalgic dream that spoke to our childhood, but evokes more powerful emotions in adulthood. We used to be the lost boys, now we're Peter going through adulthood wishing this beautiful, colorful dreamland was real.
The sparks from the swords are awesome. Fight me.
Agreed
I will fight you if we both get to use sparking swords
3:33
Thank you for that statement. One that truly holds up, at least in my book.
I return to this movie for three things: RUFIO, "OH! There you are Peter!" moment, and Dustin Hoffman.
I saw Hook in theaters when it was released waaaay back in 1991. I was only a kid but I had a blast! The film was just so much fun. And like most true 90s kids, I have very fond and nostalgic memories of this film. ❤
Congrats on 500k subs! You're like 20 away from 501K!
In praise of hook, in disdain of the exploitation of nostalgia. Excellent video!
What?
I always thought the set design was deliberate. Even when I was a kid. I never really thought Neverland was meant to reflect reality. You have to fly there with magic and eat food that doesn't exist in the physical plane. People don't age and there are giant saltwater crocodiles made into clocks. What were these sets supposed to look like like? Black Sails sets? Pirates of the Caribbean? Master and Commander?
I think the movie looked exactly like the place Neverland was. The only real issue I have with this movie as and adult is it's simply too long. I like Peters journey it make it feel fucking EPIC but it could have been cut down a bit. Just as long as you don't cut the Rufio chants. %110 serious about the chants, I'm 34 and still do that.
12:20 Imagine calling real sets "artificial looking" when you've got the green screens of today pioneered by The Star Wars Prequels. That was one of the great things about Once Upon A Time In Hollywood that's often overlooked; actual sets, with hundreds of extras. Hook was the same.
I actually think the live action Jason Isaacs Peter Pan was great
Me too man.
It's still basically my favorite movie to this day
Hook is my all-time favorite childhood movie, and I attribute it and ET to my love for music in the first place, never mind my eventual love for film score.
Thank you, John Williams.
This was the first movie I saw in the theater. I was 2 1/2 years old. I sat in awe for the entire runtime.
For my 30th birthday, my wife surprised me by renting a theater and screening Hook.
This movie is wonderful and weird. It's hilarious and charming. It holds an incredibly special place in my heart. I think calling it a flawed classic is a beautiful description of what Hook brings to the table.
I cannot separate my nostalgia. I am of that generation. Also, wow, those ads at the beginning. Doesn’t hurt that I’m Australian, so hearing early 90s Australian ads was certainly something.
Thanks for the ride back to my childhood. There’s a reason that people of my age were hit so hard by Robin’s passing. We grew up with him. He was always there, in all our favourite movies. I’m still sad about it. And he was the only celebrity who I cried about when I heard he died. I might give an “oh, that’s sad”, but I’ve never been hit so hard by someone I’ve never met dying. I might not ever be hit that hard again.
I'm conflicted between upvoting this video for the "praise" in the title or downvoting for "flawed." HOOK IS PERFECT HOW DARE YOU
TBH most of the critiques were stylistic disagreements or nits that ended up showcasing how brilliant it really was. The unreality of neverland, a place that looked like a theme park. The dimensionality of Hook who was both ridiculous and a fearsome tyrant, certainly nothing that we have any example of in the real world (sarcasm)... and whether the character arc should have been changed to serve a wonderful actor's strength at silliness, which could conceivably have made it less impactful or worn it out, is quite debatable too.
Really need to rewatch this movie sometime, I knew I loved it as a child and think I will appreciate it all the more in revisiting it
You had to find a way to shoehorn the cats remake into this..
If someone hates on the movie Hook, put them in the Boo Box!
...Yes, the Boo Box!
Hahaha best comment ever
I am perfectly happy with how long it took for him to "become" Peter Pan in this film. It's a delayed gratification thing. The turn is always best when there's significant build for it. Then again, I'm one of five people on Earth who loved 1981's _The Legend of the Lone Ranger_ where the mask is only donned right around an hour into a substantially slow-moving film. The third-act release of Robin Williams' "hijinks" is, imo, a far better approach than a film of mostly that. It would've gotten old fast, at least for me.
Makes my day whenever a new Just Write comes out. Excellent as always.
The supposed "flaws" you point out are just nitpicks. Even if I agreed those were flaws - and I don't - they wouldn't significantly impact the quality of the film to any degree that would explain why so many people seem to not like Hook for some bizarre reason. I think the sets are perfect - whimsical, fun, other-worldly - exactly what Neverland should look like. The few brief moments of Robin Williams clowning around near the end are actually in my opinion some of the least memorable moments from the film and some of my absolute favorite bits of his are all from the middle where he's trying to deal with the "lord of the flies daycare" and struggling to find his own identity. I honestly think you've greatly under-valued what I consider the absolute, definitive live-action fairy-tale film, one of my all-time favorite movies, and what I would argue is one of the finest films ever made. You've only further convinced me that people who don't like this film or think it's bad are simply stone cold hearted curmudgeons who can't appreciate a light-hearted, fun, joyous, life-affirming fantasy fairy tale.
EDIT: After reading some user reviews, it became very obvious what the recurring theme was of everyone who hated Hook - they were all fans of the original book and simply hated the very premise of the movie.
Totally agree with everything you've said except your edited comment. I've read the original books and part of what keeps me coming back to Hook and loving it every time is just how many nods to the original books that there are and how you can clearing tell that people who worked on the film had read them. You don't always get that in book adaptations and for something that was not a direct adaptation, and shouldn't be, they did an exquisite job.
0% flawed 100% classic
I like the story shift idea of having Robin Williams become Pan throughout the whole second act as a way to facilitate his escape from the confines of an ordinary adult world. It makes the theme more of a tightly focused commentary on "Peter Pan Syndrome" and the desire to hold on to the freedom and innocence of our youth. This would also help justify the noticeably artificial aesthetic of the set design - Neverland is a highly constructed world and not a healthy place for someone to remain in their adult life.
One of the things I enjoy with the script as it is though, especially now as an adult, is the way it examines the personal crisis of a villain whose entire existence was defined by his opposition to a young boy that no longer exists. The way Hook is thrown into a spin when he is confronted with this fully grown man of equal status who doesn't even care about their prior relationship sends our villain into a suicidal spiral as his identity unravels. It's only when he resolves to push the essential hero-villain dynamic back into the world that he finds new purpose, accepting what he is and always will be, even as he dies a villain's death.
The criticism that he was "too cutesy" to make for a significant threat is to miss the point of what makes Hook's premise so interesting. He is a villain appropriate to a small boy - not a grown man. What can he do now that the boy is gone? Hook decides to focus himself on Pan's children because antagonizing children is familiar and his personality and style is still a threat to them.
"Hook" was originally conceived to be a musical, hence the production design. (The "Give Us the Hook!" sequence and Maggie's "You're Not Alone" song are two holdovers from the musical origins.)
2:50 "The movie was still PAN-ned by the critics"? I see what you did there ;)
The fact that right after that your video on puns came up in the suggestion box was pretty clever as well XD
This is a great breakdown of a classic movie. When I was a kid I would dress up like Peter Pan while watching the movie. One of the most embarrassing moments of my childhood but also one of the best!
Lol everyone did that sort of stuff when they were kids.
I didn’t even realize people had problems with this film. I was having serious writer’s block with a novel I was writing and I’m not kidding when it helped me figure out the plot. I love this movie so much.
I still love 'Hook'. Robin Williams was such a big part of my childhood.
[Warning: This comment turned into a ridiculously long hypothetical remake.]
I can see a (maybe) tighter version where Peter remembers Neverland in the first act. He's a workaholic lawyer who misses spending time with his kids, then is reminded of his old life when Tinkerbell shows up to entice him back. Knowing that time passes differently in Neverland, Peter thinks it'd be a great way to reconnect with Jack and Maggie, then be refreshed when he goes back to work as usual. Also, we're introduced to the idea that Maggie clings to her big brother in their father's absence, while Jack is going through that phase of adolesence when he wants to be alone to pursue his own interests.
Act 2: The Lost Boys, under Rufio's leadership, don't believe it's really Pan until he wins them over -- relearning how to play, fight, fly, crow, all that good stuff. Unfortunately, Peter loses himself in life as Pan again and forgets his own children. Rebellious son Jack wanders off and falls in with the pirates. Hook sees the potential in Peter Pan's son and takes Jack under his wing. Jack introduces them all to things like baseball. Maggie has run away, saddened that this Pan guy has basically replaced her father, Jack is gone, and their family seems to be breaking up even worse than before.
In the jungle, Maggie encounters Tiger Lily. Personally, I think this is a good opportunity to do the character justice, considering the past racist stereotypes used for her tribe. (BTW "Piccaninny" is a slur, so maybe we can identify them as an IRL tribe with specific customs?) Her people came to Neverland long ago to escape persecution, but have maintained their history and traditions, unlike "those lost boys." Walking through the jungle, Tiger Lily inspires Maggie to be strong and confident, not only for her own sake, but for her family.
Act 3: Peter and Tink have their moment where he snaps back to his adult life. Tinkerbell finally admits that she wanted Peter to return to Neverland because, since he left, the Lost Boys have been losing ground to Hook's increasingly aggressive expeditions into Neverland. Peter has a flash of fear for his missing children and organizes the Lost Boys to help. Rufio is the one who 'finds' Maggie and Tiger Lily. This is their first face-to-fact meeting and there's a mutual spark. She tells him about her tribe's observations of the new boy in Hook's crew. Rufio signals Peter to fly down to them, while Tiger Lily melts into the jungle. Her tribe won't get involved, for now, but she's keeping a close eye on the situation. This search party just became a rescue mission. Speaking of whom, Jack is now fully engaged as Hook's successor. Just as they're embarking on one great final battle against the Lost Boys, the Lost Boys come to them.
The movie's climax is essentially the same. Peter harrasses the pirates from the air while the Lost Boys (plus Maggie) use their contraptions and superior team work. Peter spots Jack and tries getting through to his son, but is captured. Rufio challenges Hook and is run through; the violence shocks Jack and he no longer wants to be part of this. He feels more alone than ever, but Maggie is there to forgive Jack's errors and reminds him that his family will always love him. Enraged at losing his heir, Hook goads Peter into a duel and ends up hoist with his own petard, as usual.
Finale: Peter reunites with his children, but the mood is dampened at the sight of the Lost Boys huddled around Rufio's body. The small crowd parts and Tiger Lily is seen now, administering medical aid that saves Rufio's life. After all, this is Neverland and imagination is power here, so Rufio recovers quickly. Peter passes off his sword and the mantle of Pan. Tiger Lily kisses Rufio on the cheek as congratulations and he pops up into the air, crowing with delight. Rufio can fly now, so that makes it official.
With Hook dead, the pirates concede defeat and agree to keep to the coast. There's a new Pan in Rufio, and a new Captain Smee, strongly suggesting that the status quo has been restored. (#FranchisePotential) Thus balance returns to Neverland. Peter, Jack, and Maggie return home, having reforged their familial bonds. The End!
P.S. How great would it be if Dante Basco got to play Peter Pan this time? =O
P.P.S. We miss you, Robin!
My favorite movie as a kid and my favorite youtube channel as an adult, what a bliss.
Whelp, guess who's going back to Neverland tonight!
I saw one other person mentioned this, but I wish you had talked about how hard this movie’s emotional moments hit. It just has the greatest actors and the greatest music for those emotional punches.
When Peter screams shut up at his kids. When he tells Jack his happy thought was him. When Jack hits the home run, and the music just SOARS. The moment when Peter becomes Pan again, and is crowing and dancing with the boys and Rufio. They still hit me just as emotionally as they did when I first watched it, and most movies don’t do that.
Also, like other commenters, I also LOVE how the sets look. It is sort of a call back to how the story was originally a play, and the way they’re designed just LOOKS and FEELS to me like a child’s dream. And that’s what the whole story is about! This story doesn’t need realism because it’s not about realism.
Great point about the movie's theme: I hadn't quite noticed the contrast between Hook wanting to only relive his past while Peter had to recover something worthwhile in the past and then move on. Not that I wasn't aware of it, I just hadn't really focused on that contrast before. Anyway, it's one of my favorite movies, and yes part of that is nostalgic because I wore out the VHS all throughout the '90s and early 2000s. But it still holds up! There was a period in my late teens when I started reading reviews and realized that critics didn't like "Hook." I got a little afraid that maybe it wasn't a very good movie, and I had to settle for it being a guilty pleasure. But as I matured, I swung around to believing in the movie all over again. So many of the critics' complaints sound like they simply wanted a different film. Well too bad, it's not that other film you imagine in your head, instead it is what it is. And it's pretty fantastic, creative, optimistic, and heartwarming as it is. About the only thing I could do without is Julia Roberts as Tinkerbell, and maybe that scene where she grows normal-sized and kisses Peter. That always felt awkward and out of place, like a leftover from an otherwise cut subplot. A different actress and slightly different take on Tinkerbell might have worked better with the rest of the film. But the rest? It's Bangarang.
And speaking of Bangarang, it also gave us Pogo's masterpiece: czcams.com/video/65PiKsNhCsc/video.html
Apparently Julia Roberts was a nightmare to work with on this film :O
you like what you like. my all time favorite movie is Dragonheart. and it has problems. still, nothing else brings me to tears like it does.
BalticGuy “To the Stars” is one of the greatest film score compositions to ever exist. ❤️
Dragonheart is a fucking fantastic film.
Just rewatched this gem
You noted the “multiple Williams shot” in the training montage...
I always come back to the “multiple shots and shot values in the same shot” when Williams comes back home from the benefit diner...
AMAZING, through the glass, up the stairs, door handled, close up, light switch, etc
Love it
I don't know if Hook is a good movie, a great movie or simply a timeless classic. What I DO know is that Hook is wildly successful, as far as I'm concerned. Every time I watch it (maybe once every other year), I'm transmuted back to my younger self; I chant along with the lost boys (RU-FI-OOOOOOOO), I laugh along with Hook, I glow when Toodles gets his marbles back, it all hits the same notes it hit thirty years ago. I'm Peter Pan for two-and-a-half hours and Peter Panning when it's over. It's not perfect but I love it like it is.
This is one of my favorite childhood's films. Alas, I'm not sure I can enjoy watching it again after what's been revealed about Dustin Hoffman. It's not even a principle thing, anytime I see him on screen now, I can only think of the women he abused and it's just depressing. Robin Williams was brilliant in it though, and his performance will always have a place in my heart
You really need to learn to sever the actor from the role. You are not watching the creep Dustin Hofman, you are watching Dustin Hofman play Hook. They are not the same.
Eh, it’s kind of a gut reaction, and I don’t think I can intellectualize myself out of it, you know? People can debate the whole “death of the author” all day long, but in the end, it’s a personal experience? I’d rather Hook live in my memory as something I really loved as a child, than watch it now and have the memory ruined by my current feelings about Dustin Hoffman
@@ASMRBookclub I think it's simply unfair to the actors involved in such business.
We as the audience don't have to work with them. So whether personal shortcomings influence the work they do is not for us to judge, that is the place of the people who work with them.
We can only judge the results of that work.
And that is the only thing that will ever matter to me.
Dude you're the man. You did a wonderful job praising the Matrix trilogy, and now Hook.
I can’t tell you how deeply I loved and still love this movie. We would watch it repeatedly when we were younger and it still evokes the same wonder and joy when I watch it now.
It might be silly and whimsical but it feels right. It creates a split between the adult world in the beginning of the movie with the fanciful and colourful Neverland.
I loved the set design, there's just something about the look and the feel, kind of like like when you're watching the first ninja turtles movie. And I think they could only do so much in a fight with kids vs pirates with swords.
Thank you thank you thank you for voicing all the arguments I thought but couldn't frame in words. I would go into silent rage whenever anyone I know put this film down as a silly kids movie or a sorry Robin Williams vehicle..
Now I know the answer....
I can just send the link to your video...😁
Just got my second Hook tattoo the other day. This movie is perfect in my eyes, and will always be my favourite piece of cinema. It just makes me feel magical and has done ever since I was a kid.
Can we see them?
@@JeniJustJeni sure!
imgshare.io/image/iyL56
@@George-vf7uw that's amazing
@@couchpotato3197 thanks a lot!
Bruh
so glad ive found your channel, ive really been enjoying the content, its the perfect relax and unwind content for me. Keep it coming bro
I don't think the scene with Peter Pan and Thud Butt are that disposable, for two reasons: first because, from what I remember, its the first time they talk about mothers in the movie, and that comes back later when Pan is remembering his own mother, and how the windows closed, how she forgot or give up on him, and by the end of the movie we have Moira who doesnt close the window. And second, because at the end, Thud Butt becomes the new leader of the lost boys so, without that bonding moment, Peter's choice may have seemed too random.
I totally disagree to what you said about the sets! I think they look FINE! They don't look like they belong in a musical to me!
You are distinctly either missing or skipping an element here.
You bring up the scene where peter awakes, and he forgets everything and starts talking to Tink. That's not an isolated incident. That's the end of Tinkerbell's story arc. Tink shows up at the start of the movie, and she's excited! She's going to get the person who she loves back, and bring him back, and return everything to normal. She almost gets her wish. She almost gets to kiss Peter and tell him that she loves him. it's stopped short, and she doesn't get her wish, but she loves Peter too much to not stop him from saving his kids, even if it means that she'll never see or be with again. That's a heavy freaking arc, and it's one of the best in the film.
Honestly, it's a key part of the film, and it's an important part of the film, and one has to realize that Tinkerbell is not a side character, but a Main character of the film. She has a full story arc, and it's marvelous. The film is about her just as much as it is about Peter and Hook.
I must have watched this movie like 70+ times, and I still watch it from time to time. I'm 38 so you do the math 🤣
Im 32 years old and habe seen this 100 times and that part where he falls, finds his happy though, smirks then takes off and all ending with Rufio kneeling with his sword acknowledging he is The Pan, it will never NOT hit me right in the feels.
Every single time i go from smiling to goosebumps by the time its over