66
Metascore
29 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88Slant MagazineEric HendersonSlant MagazineEric HendersonWhite Hunter, Black Heart finds Eastwood reaching a peak in the fields of both film direction and acting.
- 80Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumIt's a devastating portrait of self-deceiving obsession, and a notable improvement on Viertel's book in terms of economy and focus.
- 80Time OutTime OutAbly aided by a fine cast and Jack Green's no-nonsense photography, Eastwood constructs a marvellously pacy, suspenseful movie which is deceptively easy on both eye and ear.
- 80Clint Eastwood's film isn't an African adventure epic, as those unaware of Peter Viertel's 1953 book may surmise from the title. It's an intelligent, affectionate study of an obsessive American film director who, while working on a film in colonial Africa, becomes sidetracked by his compulsion to hunt elephants.
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertIn the early scenes of White Hunter, Black Heart, Eastwood fans are likely to be distracted to hear Huston's words and vocal mannerisms in Eastwood's mouth, and to see Huston's swagger and physical bravado. Then the performance takes over, and the movie turns into one of the more thoughtful films ever made about the conflicts inside an artist.
- 75Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversThe film is talky and often stilted. But Eastwood’s compassion for the character, warts and all, feels genuine. His performance, like the movie, is a high-wire act that remains fascinating even when it falters.
- 70The New YorkerRichard BrodyThe New YorkerRichard BrodyEastwood’s subject is wasted lives and wasted talent; Wilson’s charisma and Hollywood’s money prove irresistible, and their sheer power brings noteworthy results—but they emerge from a needless vortex of ruin.
- 50TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineWhite Hunter is an ambitious and intriguing project that never amounts to anything more than the sum of its parts--a trait shared by many of Eastwood's other major project as an independent filmmaker, Bird.
- 30Washington PostRita KempleyWashington PostRita KempleyIt's Mondo Machismo, Hollywood on safari, a self-aggrandizing epic reeking of man scent.