The Hunting Party

Description

Nobody steals from Brandt Ruger and lives. With a stellar cast led by OscarÂ(r) winner* Gene Hackman (Unforgiven), EmmyÂ(r) winner Candice Bergen ("Murphy Brown") and Oliver Reed (Gladiator), this searing western fires round after round of emotional heat with a torrid frontier love triangle that can only lead to revenge. To cattle baron Brandt Ruger (Hackman), his beautiful wife Melissa (Bergen) is just one of his possessions. So when notorious bandit Frank Calder (Reed) kidnaps Melissa, Ruger isn't concerned about herhe's enraged that someone stole from him. Melissa finds her captor quite kind, but Ruger is organizing a posse to hunt down the pairand recover his property dead or alive!

Customer Reviews:

"First time, he forced her........".......2006-12-21

Candice Bergen (Melissa Ruger) is a school teacher married to Brandt Ruger (Hackman). Brandt, a wealthy, powerful cattle man is incensed when he gets word of his wife's abduction at the hands of Frank Calder (Reed) and his outlaw gang. Frank intends her no harm though, he just wants her to tutor him so he can learn to read and write. Meanwhile, Hackman hears of the kidnapping while on a train to a hunting trip with 5 of his cohorts (two of them being G.D. Spradlin and Simon Oakland). He decides to change it to a manhunt. With powerful, long range rifles that can shoot accurately past 700 yards he and his buddies will pick off these outlaws. They leave the train on horseback and track the gang down. With scopes in place they start shooting from so far away the gang can't even see them. Spradlin is having a great time shooting men in cold blood until they sneak up on the snipers and shoot back. One of Hackman's party is killed and Spradlin decides he doesn't want to shoot at someone who's shooting back and leaves. Hackman won't quit though. He's had Frank in his sights more than once but wants to save him for last. Melissa falls for Frank. Hackman was worthless as a husband anyway. From the beginning it's hard to understand why she ever married the louse. Hackman and his fellow snipers are more like the bad guys than the outlaw gang. Lots of blood and violence, sadistic at times.

Kidnapping with a twist.......2006-08-27

A good western which starts with a slap of rejection, twists to the kidnapping and then the hunting trip begins. As for the twist, well watch the movie!!

In Cold Blood.......2006-08-19

A nontypical western, this moves from the classic Hollywood western concept of two idiots standing up against one another in "duel mode" to the more realistic human mode "kill them where they stand by whatever means necessary" and does it quite well.

People who want escape from gritty reality will hate this film. For those who want to explore the metamorphosis of depictions of the darkest of human emotions from the 1960's on through the rest of the century, it is a reflection of life and reality at any time in history and an example of an attempt at portraying the realities of human nature by a midcentury filmmaker. Although this may not be as pleasing as films like "Oklahoma" or "Casablanca", it performed the mission I have attributed to it as well as, or better than, movies such as "Full Metal Jacket" or "The Green Berets".

Sadism .......2006-08-05

I'm not a huge fan of the western genre but I don't mind seeing a good old wild west, action yarn. So when I watched this film a couple of years ago when it was airing on TV (about the only place it could be found at the time), I think was expecting a classic, fun, gun slinging shoot'em up but this film anything but fun.

The Hunting Party is very violent and in a meaningless way. In fact, that's all the movie is interested in: guns, gore and graphic carnage. The top notch cast (including Oliver Reed, Gene Hackman, Candice Bergen, L.Q. Jones, and G.D. Spraldin), nice cinematography, and good production values, simply do not make up for the brutish mean streak in the script; Hackman and his hunting party simply lay back in the bushes and blow Reed's gang apart with their high-powered rifles. I admit this may be more realistic (would the party really want to get into an outright conflict?) but it's just a bit too much. The script has very little depth to it as well. It only makes the whole affair all the more pointless.

I'm sure that had there been a proper ending I would have given this a higher rating but the movie just stops. There's no resolution, no redemption, nothing. This left a really sour taste in my mouth and it'll likely do the same for you.

Darkhorse86

Languid Metaphorical Western .......2006-03-21

Copious metaphorical rhetoric is abundant in this dubious Western staring Oliver Reed, Candice Bergen and Gene Hackman. Director Don Medford is out of his element trying to pull off a logical yet meaningful story out of this monstrosity of events and filmed images. Themes of violence, love, obsessive hate, sadism and more run throughout this film but there is no logical conclusion to what has transpired. Oliver Reed's performance is ludicrous. The stalwart L. Q. Jones gives the only good performance in this film!

Average customer rating:

75% Entertaining
Cool Bardot Western
Enjoyable off-beat western with strong cast
Dmytryck becomes a negligible director in the '60s!
Shalako

Shalako
Starring: Sean Connery , Brigitte Bardot , Stephen Boyd , Jack Hawkins , and Peter van Eyck
Director: Edward Dmytryk
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Westerns | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Westerns | Genres | DVD | Video

Westerns | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

All Deals | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B0001GF2KQ
Release Date: 2004-05-25

Description

Saddle up for a raucous and "robust western adventure" (Variety) that packs "strong action" (Film & TV Daily) and the crackling chemistry of screen icons Sean Connery and Brigitte Bardot! Based on the novel by Louis L'Amour, Shalako is a "handsome" (Variety), "rousing western" (Motion Picture Herald) that delivers nonstop thrills with both barrels blazing! Gutsy, gunslinging Shalako (Connery) is a loner who looks out for number one, until he finds himself rescuingand falling fora beautiful countess (Bardot) under attack by Apache Indians. But when Shalako discovers that the countess is part of a European hunting party that refuses to be led to safety, he must summon all his courage to fight the Apache and save the woman he loves or die trying!

Customer Reviews:

75% Entertaining.......2007-09-01

Given its director (Edward Dmytryk) and its cast (Sean Connery and Brigitte Bardot) it is rather odd that 'Shalako" (1969) is such an obscure film and that so many of the comments/reviews are totally negative. "Spaghetti" westerns (filmed in Italy or Spain) were quite the rage in the late 1960's and "Shalako" is about what you would get if "Hombre" (1967) had been given a mild "Spaghetti" treatment.

While not even remotely on the level of Monte Hellman's stuff, "Shalako" is an entertaining and comprehensible western that most viewers will get into and enjoy until about the ¾ mark when the wheels fall off and it drags along to a less than spectacular resolution.

Dmytryk was a veteran action director who occasionally ("The Young Lions") even did a good job of directing actors for the camera. This was one of his last efforts and he seems to have stayed focused on the action and paid little attention to the performances themselves.

Connery plays the title character, an experienced frontiersman who (like Paul Newman in "Hombre") is forced by circumstances into guiding a bunch of clueless civilians to safety. "Hombre" had Newman (a white man raised by Indians) in the moral dilemma of having to assist a group of people for which he has total contempt. Shalako ' s situation is simpler: he must extract a European aristocrat's hunting party who have ticked off the Apache's by coming onto their reservation and who have been betrayed by their cowboy hunting guides. Although he has little use for most of this group he has developed a grudging respect for a plucky countess (Bardot). There is decent chemistry in the early Connery-Bardot scenes but it does not sustain itself as the relationship begins to turn romantic.

As in "Hombre" there is an interesting twist with the young wife (Honor Blackman) of one of the aristocrats deciding to leave her husband for the dangerous cowboy (Stephan Boyd) who has just placed the group at the mercy of the elements (and the Indians). Blackman is excellent in this part , the only really challenging role in the production.

Dmytryk does an excellent job with his first three action sequences, including a surprisingly credible dawn attack on the camp of the hunting party and a more traditional stagecoach chase sequence. But as already mentioned, the film is extremely front-end loaded and he has dissipated all the tension before the climatic sequence even begins.

"Hombre" on the other hand withheld its best sequence until the end and managed to pack some nice irony into its resolution. You won't find this in "Shalako", in fact the final 20 minutes are so listless your mind begins mulling over the plot holes. Like how did Boyd's character manage to walk all the way to the top of the plateau without being detected by the Indians? When you have to insert a detailed verbal explanation for something totally inexplicable (that has happened "off" camera) a competent editor knows that it is time for some major trimming and a focused director begins revising his script.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Cool Bardot Western.......2007-07-31

What is more retro-cool than watching a late 60's western starring
Brigette Bardot and Sean Connery?

A European Hunting party gets trapped out west and surrounded by
Indians. Connery attempts to move them to safety. This is an
intense serious drama that is eerily realistic at times.

You feel a sense of dread as this hunting party gets deeper and
deeper into trouble.

Bardot looks stunning, and brings her natural charisma to the film
Her romance with Connery is actually minimal. This is a drama with
action, not a love story.

There is a very intense stagecoach chase later in the film, with
great camera work. Somehow this film got lost in the shuffle, but
it's a great adaptation of a Louie L'amour novel.

Enjoyable off-beat western with strong cast.......2007-07-21

What do you get when you put a Scottish actor, a French bombshell, an American director, and spaghetti western filming locations? A enjoyable off-beat western called Shalako that is not that well known considering the cast. In the 1870s in New Mexico, a hunting party full of European nobles is making its way through an Apache reservation, hunting as they go. But the Apaches have been pushed too far, telling the hunting party they have just one day to leave before they attack. An ex-Army colonel, Shalako Carlin, must lead the group to safety before the Apache war party closes in and finishes them off. For a western that isn't that well known, I was pleasantly surprised with Shalako. Imagine a mix of American and spaghetti westerns and you get this movie. The locations are beautiful, you'll probably spot some from other spaghettis, the action is pretty decent, and the story is simple, but it keeps you entertained from beginning to end. Give this western a try, it's worth a watch.

The ensemble cast full of recognizable names works very well together. In what I think was his only western, Sean Connery plays Shalako Carlin, the ex-Army colonel who finds himself trying to save the lives of the stranded hunting party. Connery seems to be enjoying the part, and it shows. French beauty Brigitte Bardot plays Countess Irina Lazaar, who takes an instant liking to Shalako, even though an arranged wedding with Peter van Eyck's Baron Frederick has been set up. Bardot is good in the part, and as expected, she's easy on the eyes. van Eyck also turns in a good performance as the Baron who finds himself battling with Shalako before finally siding with him. Some other members of the hunting party include an underused Jack Hawkins, a treacherous Honor Blackman, and Alexander Knox and Valerie French as a U.S. senator and his wife. Stephen Boyd is perfectly slimy as Bosky Fulton, the trail guide who abandons the party. In a small part, Woody Strode plays Apache chief Chato and pulls it off in a strange way. Julian Mateos and Don Barry are also strong as Rojas and Buffalo, two men Shalako can count on in such a dangerous situation.

The DVD offers a nice-looking widescreen presentation, but that's about it. No special features or anything are included. Of course, I'd love to see interviews with Connery or Bardot, but that's probably wishful thinking. I would have settled for a trailer or something though. Anyways, Shalako is an exciting western with a very good cast that is not the most well-known western from the 60s, but don't let its obscurity scare you away. Check out Shalako!

Dmytryck becomes a negligible director in the '60s!.......2006-11-08

Brigitte Bardot went on to Hollywood but did not fare any better... 'Shalako,' a British-produced Western directed by Edward Dmytryk, teamed her with Sean Connery and Stephen Boyd (her partner in 'The Night Heaven Fell') in a smoldering relationship charged with tension and passion...

The idea is cute and unbelievable: A party of European aristocrats are on a hunting safari in New Mexico in the 1880's... They are traveling with full equipage including butlers, maids, fine linens and vintage wines...

When their safari is led upon an Apache reservation, the Indians become annoyed, and Countess Irina Lazaar (Brigitte Bardot) is attacked by a savage Apache... Shalako (Sean Connery), a scout for the U.S. Army, bravely attempts to save her and leads the aristocrats away from imminent annihilation... With the Indians determined to attack, each member of the hunting party faces the greatest peril of their lives...

Edward Dmytryk seems to have attempted to recapture the freshness and essence of the 'B.B.' that Roger Vadim had helped to shape... But the re-creation escapes him, despite the careful choice of Louis L'Amour's novel and the casting of international stars as Jack Hawkins ('Lawrence of Arabia'), Peter Van Eyck ('The Longest Day'), Honor Blackman ('Goldfinger'), Woody Strode ('Spartacus'), and Valerie French ('Jubal').

The film never becomes exciting despite incidental brutalities...

Shalako.......2005-09-09

Edward Dmytryk is one of my favorite directors. Thanks to the miracle of dvd technology I've been allowed to watch good prints of such classic dark crime dramas as `Crossfire' and `Murder, My Sweet' (a movie that some claim invented what is now known as `film noir.') I've seen maybe his most famous movie, `The Caine Mutiny,' as well as a handful of western gems, including `Broken Lance' and that great, underrated and too-often overlooked masterpiece `Warlock.'

Saturated as I was in such cinematic excellence I wasn't quite prepared for SHALAKO, a stagnant horse opera adapted from what must have been a better book by Louis L'Amour. I'm inclined to blame it on the sixties. Or Brigette Bardot, who is little more expressive than a pouting china doll and possessed of an accent thick enough to cut a week old baguette. Maybe Jupiter wasn't yet aligned with Mars.... To be fair, though, I think my hero Eddie D. has to held accountable for this yawner. SHALAKO is not the best work, or anywhere near the best, of any of the participants.

Sean Connery plays Shalako (the name rhymes with `calico') and Bardot plays Countess Irina Lazaar, a wealthy European who travels with other European royalty to hunt wild game in the great, unsettled southwest. Stephen Boyd plays a grungy galoot who leads the Euro royals - replete with white-gloved butlers, comely maids and formal attire - through the wilderness. That Boyd has led them deep into the heart of an Apache reservation we learn early on. The Apaches' less-than-enthusiastic reaction to this intrusion is established soon after. Although made in 1968, a year by which most movies knew better, the natives in SHALAKO are the whooping, hollering, blood thirsty savage kind, although a couple of Apaches wade out of the gore for speaking parts. African American actor Woody Strode plays Chato, a young chief with a gun in his mitts and a chip on his shoulder. Strode was a good actor who was in a ton of westerns, and casting him in the part diffuses, or at least confuses, accusations of casting non- Natives as American Indians. Still, Strode's chief is of the if-I-kill-Shalako-my-soul-will-walk-free ilk. In other words, after a quick, obligatory mumble about broken treaties the film hustles back to the reliable same old, same old.

Shalako spends most of the movie leading the Europeans away from Chief Woody and his blood thirsties, and, I think, falling in love with Countess Bardot. I think. Beyond the pout Bardot isn't terribly expressive, and her thick accent didn't help. She was either falling in love or asking for a limburger sandwich. I think they were falling in love. With his rugged charm and ironic wit Connery has always been more than capable of throwing a movie on his shoulders and carrying it to the winner's circle on his own. Unfortunately, here he plays it grim and laconic, more or less depriving this movie of any chance it might have had. SHALAKO isn't a terrible movie, but it's an uninspired and uninspiring one.

Average customer rating:

more polical truth
Great Information
More on President Clinton
"Hunting of the President" missed the mark
The Hunting of the President

The Hunting of the President
Starring: Morgan Freeman , Dan Moldea , Bill Clinton , Betsy Wright , and David Brock (II)
Director: Nickolas Perry , and Harry Thomason
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

Politics | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Drama | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( H ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B0002IQK9U
Release Date: 2004-09-28

Amazon.com

The Hunting of the President, a documentary examining the Republican campaign to discredit Bill Clinton's presidency, unfolds like a paranoid thriller--made all the more astonishing by scrupulous documentation and an impressive breadth of interviews with journalists, lawyers, political analysts, judges, newspaper editors, and many of the people caught up in the Whitewater scandal--which, after an expense of many millions of dollars and several years of investigation, failed to find any criminal act. The relentless efforts of Clinton's enemies grow into an appalling abuse of power, ultimately resulting in his impeachment (but not his removal from office). This documentary, like those of Michael Moore (Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11), uses brief clips from Hollywood movies and television to give a boost to the narrative; this could seem cloying, but The Hunting of the President presents such an impressive barrage of facts and perspectives that it earns some moments of flippancy. --Bret Fetzer

Description

The Hunting of the President is the story of a sustained and well-funded effort to discredit and defeat Bill Clinton, dating from his gubernatorial days in Arkansas and eventually leading to his impeachment trial. The film also acknowledges that Clinton?s reckless behavior, along with the ?panicky, defensive, and occasionally less-than-perfectly honest? responses from the White House press office, didn?t hurt his opponents. Investigative journalism at its juiciest, The Hunting of the President is a surprising valediction to a far-from-angelic public leader who often outmaneuvered his enemies with otherworldly skill.

Customer Reviews:

more polical truth.......2007-01-19

find out what really happened during the Clinton Administration. Get a good inside look at the propaganda machine of the right and how mean spirited and hypocritical they are.

Great Information.......2007-01-12

The Information in this documentary is excellent! This is a story that needed to be told. However, I feel that it ought to be Told again, only by a film-maker. I love Joe Conason, yet let's call Micheal Moore for the next one.

More on President Clinton.......2007-01-10

This is an interesting documentary on the Presidency of Clinton. Worth watching, but probably not something you will watch over and over.

"Hunting of the President" missed the mark.......2006-03-07

The material was powerful, Morgan Freeman's delivery was great. However, the cartoon/old movie clip material was frustratingly off-point and distracting. What could/should have been an analysis of the political dealings of the right wing of the Republican party and a wake-up call to America, became an erratic difficult-to-follow series of interviews. I was disappointed.

The Hunting of the President.......2006-02-24

This was a very good DVD. It answered a lot of questions for me. It was very well done. I would hightly recommend this DVD.

Average customer rating:

The Hunting Party

ProductGroup: Theatrical Release
Binding: Theatrical Release

Average customer rating:

75% Entertaining
Cool Bardot Western
Enjoyable off-beat western with strong cast
Dmytryck becomes a negligible director in the '60s!
Shalako

Shalako
Starring: Sean Connery , Brigitte Bardot , Stephen Boyd , Jack Hawkins , and Peter van Eyck
Director: Edward Dmytryk
Manufacturer: Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Adventure | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Westerns | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Westerns | Genres | DVD | Video

Cowboys & Indians | Westerns | Genres | DVD | Video

Westerns | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: 6305307091
Release Date: 1999-01-19

Customer Reviews:

75% Entertaining.......2007-09-01

Cool Bardot Western.......2007-07-31

Enjoyable off-beat western with strong cast.......2007-07-21

Dmytryck becomes a negligible director in the '60s!.......2006-11-08

Shalako.......2005-09-09

DVD:

DVD

DVD