Blue Hawaii 4K UHD Review: Mahalo, Mahalo Very Much

Elvis movies aren’t always great but they’re fun. And they look great in technicolor. HD releases were a revelation after fuzzy pan and scan VHS or TV airings. Now 4K brings out the full color jamboree of Elvis movies like Blue Hawaii.

There is very minimal plot here and virtually nonstop song and dance numbers, so that’s getting your money’s work. Presley plays a GI returning home who needs a job. His chosen profession is entertaining tourists, which gives Elvis a chance to perfrom and fend off girls on vacation. The threat of entering his family business is never that dire. 

Blue Hawaii has some island songs mixed in, though Elvis still joins in with them. “Can’t Help Falling in Love” is featured in this movie. 

Not that Hawaii needs any help, but 4K Technicolor makes the water extra blue, the forests extra green, and even shiny red cars glow. Elvis’s body glistens as he comes out of the ocean and the island setting keeps him in short shorts and topless.