Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #38993 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-01-25
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Color, NTSC, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 97 minutes

Customer Reviews

History gets skewered in entertaining action thriller
The movie DEATH HUNT turns history on its head, but in doing so it manages to deliver an entertaining movie that details the determination of two men in a manhunt across the Canadian tundra.
Directed by James Bond veteran Peter Hunt, who after working as an editor on the first few 007 pictures was promoted to director of the fan favorite ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE and went on to direct such classics as GOLD and SHOUT AT THE DEVIL.
The movie DEATH HUNT provides Hunt the opportunity to reteam with his SHOUT AT THE DEVIL star Lee Marvin. Marvin plays a world-weary Canadian Mountie who is obligated (I use that word because Marvin's character seems to feel some sympathy for his quarry) to bring in a trapper (played by a quiet brooding Charles Bronsan) who is being harassed by some local thugs.
The execution of this story is excellent, the acting first-rate and the shots of the Yukon breathtaking. Where this movie does falter is in purporting to tell history by tying in the story of the Mad Trapper of Rat River into the fabric of the story - and in doing so unraveling all the history books tell us about the real incident.
Just type in `Mad Trapper of Rat River" on an Internet search engine to learn all you want to know about the 1931 incident, but everything we know about the real incident tells us that Albert Johnson was the guilty party. But here Johnson is portrayed as an innocent man whose pursuers use the charge of his being the mad trapper as an excuse to mobolize the law enforcement resources of the Yukon to catch him.
Given that nobody to this day really knows the identity of Johnson, the filmmakers invent a rather fanciful past for him. The character Marvin plays - Millen - was also shot and killed by Johnson in a shootout midway through the chase, but in the movie DEATH HUNT Marvin's character is in the chase to the very end.
Still, taken as a piece of fiction the movie DEATH HUNT is resounding stuff. I saw it on television some years ago and was hoping it would one day be released on DVD. Hunt is an expert at building suspense and a master at drama - and DEATH HUNT have both those elements in plentiful supply.
In addition to Marvin and Bronsan the movie also features an impressive supporting cast with young heartthrob of the late 1970s/1980s Andrew Stevens as a young, eager Mountie and Carl Weathers (of Apollo Creed in the Rocky movies fame) as another weary Mountie. Add to the mix Ed Lauter and Angie Dickinsoin and the pedigree of this feature is obvious.
So, the overall verdict? This is an entertaining action adventure with plenty of suspense and drama. Just don't expect an accurate history lesson.
Sadly this is a largely bare-bones DVD release with only the theatrical trailer and a print of the original poster to complement it.

Where the heck was Sam Peckinpah?!
The 1981 film "Death Hunt" is a motion picture screaming for an audience. It has all the earmarks of a memorable action/adventure. But the final result falls short due to the lack of an accomplished director (who is Peter Hunt?) and cluttered second half.

"Death Hunt" is a great action flick, make no doubt. It's oddly enjoyable seeing old veterans such as Charles Bronson and Lee Marvin - both in the twilight of their unique careers - chewing up the lush Canadian scenery while involved in a battle of wills during a early 20th century man hunt. But it's the build up to the eventual chase, based on a true story, most viewers will remember from this sadly neglected film.

Mr. Bronson plays a man weary of society and war who returns to the mountains to get away from the bustle. Along the way, he rudely breaks up a man-made dogfight, saving a wounded shepherd from certain death. Such a rude interruption creates resentment, and several of the dog's former owners hike up to Charles' cabin to take the hound back. Bullets soon fly and a combatant ends up dead. Lee Marvin, as the local Canadian Mountie, is then drawn into the conflict.

A surprise is in store for the angry posse as they discover that trying to corner Mr. Bronson is akin to trapping a wild beast. By the conclusion of "Death Hunt," many in the cast of supporting veterans (Andrew Stevens, Carl Weathers, Ed Lauter, Angie Dickinson) will end up stiffer than a frozen tree.

I will not give away the build up, suffice to say that the action is crisp, fiery and pumped. And the villains of this film, a sad bunch barely a notch above the fighting dogs they force into battle, are reminiscent of many of the colorful miscreants of early Sam Peckinpah films ("Ride the High Country," "The Wild Bunch"). In fact, Peckinpah would have been the perfect director for this opus, though if memory serves he was working on the European "Cross of Iron" at the time. With Mr. Peckinpah at the helm, "Death Hunt" could have achieved lofty heights.

Instead, we are treated to a choppy second half of poor editing, confusing continuity, fabricated character motivation (Marvin constantly smiling through his binoculars at a retreating Bronson) and scenes of an attacking airplane which go on forever.

What viewers will remember most about "Death Hunt," besides the already-mentioned opening half, is the near-brilliant performance of Lee Marvin as a burned-out Mountie. His presence is the gritty highlight of this energetic film, and one realizes his persona was one of the most admirably cyncial in motion picture history.

"Death Hunt" is a great discovery for those not yet acquainted with its rustic appeal. It is truthfully one of the last quality films of both Marvin's and Bronson's careers, thus it's the end of two commendable eras. That must be worth the price of someone's hard-earned ticket.

Magnificent mountain mayhem!
This film may have been the best movie Charles Bronson ever acted in. Not sure why it is not more well know, if you like action this is you ticket. From the opening scene (dog fight) to the closing scene (shootout) it is nonstop action. Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson and Carl Weathers (Apollo Creed guy) are in the cast in addition to Bronson. Ms. Dickinson has a couple of makeout scenes but she takes a backseat to the amourous "Buffalo Woman" in the shack. The setting is the Canadian Rockies and is "based on a true story" from the 1920's or so. The mountain scenery is breathtaking. The movie is filled with sleazy tough guy/mountain men...a real testosterone fest. Vintage weapons, clothing and vehicles add alot to this film. Bronson gets to deliver a few one liners (and .44 caliber lobotomies) that will crack you up. You will like this movie!