Product 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!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18484 in DVD
• Brand: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT
• Released on: 2005-05-17
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 111 minutes

Customer Reviews

Solid But Darkly Violent Western
The Hunting Party is definitely a western for the Wild Bunch-loving, blood in buckets kind of crowd. It's not a badly made film at all, but it is one that requires a strong stomach.

Gene Hackman, in a tour-de force villainous role, is a sadistic wealthy townowner who treats his young wife, played by Candace Bergen, like any other possession. Our first scene of them shows his violently sadistic side toward women, and as we find out later, he doesn't treat men any better.

Oliver Reed plays a notorious outlaw who kidnaps Bergen from a schoolhouse so she can teach him to reach. Hackman gets word of this while on a hunting retreat with fellow wealthy friends, and enlists their aid in retrieving his wife and taking revenge on the outlaw, Hackman and his group are armed with the newest kind of rifle, long range with telescopic sights. Much mayhem and bloodshed ensues.

Everyone acts superbly in this film. Hackman plays one of the nastiest villains ever to grace motion pictures. Bergen, while a tough cookie, has to endure lost of attacks, and Reed loses his English accent and plays effectively the part of a tough but sympathetic outlaw. This is one of the classic, cynical late sixties, early seventies (1971) westerns that has more sad and melancholy scenes than happy ones. But it is an darkly entertaining film.

"First time, he forced her........"
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.

A hunting party
i saw this movie about 34 years ago in a very smokey car at a drive-in. the movie
always stuck out in my mind, so it was great to see it available on dvd. it was even better than i remember..... . still a great western, candice bergen much hotter than murphy brown. gene hackman is meaner than in THE UNFORGIVEN. i am planning a hunting party with some of my old pals that appreciate the ultra violent westerns of the 1970s. now can anybody tell me where i can get an ULZANA'S RAID dvd that does'nt cost no stinkin 70 dollars?