All Wet

Hurricane (Paramount)
In the annals of cinematic disasters, honorable mention is awarded to this overblown Dino DeLaurentiis-produced melodrama of romance and racism on the South Pacific island of Bora Bora that leads to a stormy Act of God finale. Too competently made to be considered a true fiasco, Hurricane is more than a little dull and occasionally risible, lacking the audacity of true badness. Even while slumming, the great Swedish director Jan Troell and his equally gifted compatriots, cinematographer Sven Nykvist and actor Max von Sydow, can’t help but partially save face; on the debit side, Nino Rota’s score is soupily melodramatic, Jason Robards is crassly stern-faced as the island's governor, and Mia Farrow is the most laughable love interest in movie history. Her non-performance is, unfortunately, what Hurricane is remembered for—no one pays attention to Troell’s attempts at subtlety, which are all but washed away by this big-budget misadventure.