The Hunting Party (1971)

I've just finished watching the most recent UK release on DVD. Released on the 20th April 2015. There are no bells and or whistles here. Thankfully from my perspective there are no time wasting extras. No pretentious and or condescending special features in other words, not even a trailer. Other than the feature itself all you have access to is the chapters, but then there is nothing special about doing that is there? This is actually a replacement for a copy that Amazon provided some while back. An import from Belgium or the Netherlands (I forget which off hand), where you could not toggle off the subtitles. You either watched it in French with English subtitles, or in English where one had to put up with the French subtitles. In this case there are no subtitles at all. The inclusion of English subtitles for the hard of hearing might have been a good idea, if nothing else, but even that is not an option here.This particular version has something of a better quality picture than the imported version, which pleases this picture perfectionist no end, though it does show it's age a bit. One is making allowances for when it was made. As to the film itself. It's not the best western ever made, that's for sure; but it's not the worst that I've seen either. The worst western ever is The Gatling Gun, but that's another story for another time. The Hunting Party is not on a par with The Wild Bunch and a few others I could mention but will refrain from naming. Nevertheless I like the simplicity of it. The fact that Gene Hackman is present has resulted in my giving it a plus 1 bonus to my original rating of 6.As a final footnote. Frank Calder and his men are described by some reviewers as a bunch of outlaws. This is not the case. They happen to be a group of gun-hands on their way to join a range war, as is clearly stated in the early stages of the film.

I literally fell in love with this western in the late seventies. A true masterpiece for me. Such a shame that this kind of topic doesn't exist anymore. But maybe that's actually the reason why this very same kind of films remains so good to taste, because of its rarity. I think of MAN WHO LOVED CAT DANCING when I watch it again and again. Same scheme, well almost: the tale of an abducted wife who finally prefers to be with her abductor instead of her husband. As another user said, we can see here a sort of metaphor about the US interventionism in Vietnam, as I already told about THE PROFESSIONALS, starring Burt Lancaster. Gene Hackman gives here an outstanding performance who is not so far from the one he will give us in 92, for UNFORGIVEN. A seemingly good abiding citizen, at first sight, but who suddenly appears to be different. What could I say more about it?I prefer watch it another time, probably the 675th one !!!

This is arguably the best western ...maybe the best movie .....I have ever seen in the last 50 years. Having a copy of the DVD should be any westerns lovers desire, but,if you ever have the opportunity to view it on the big screen, grab it. Sure ,the experts can find faults with it,but the greater majority of them even extol the film's virtues. I absolutely & unconditionally recommend it (not for under 15's though) I guess I should point out that I am a huge Gene Hackman admirer. I have never seen a movie of his that I didn't at least enjoy viewing. Oliver Reed was an exceptional actor & does a superb job with his role. Candice Bergen is still in demand ,albeit for TV ,& in this role does her character proud,as difficult as it must have been . Overall excellent casting including the supports who play their parts very well. Seriously ,forget about technicalities...enjoy the movie...YOU WILL

Advertisements for "The Hunting Party" misleadingly portrayed the scenario as a western riff on the old "Most Dangerous Game" ploy: man hunting man for sport. Instead, this William Norton-Gilbert Alexander-Lou Morheim script is an old-fashioned revenge tale studded with new-fangled blood and sex. Gene Hackman plays land baron Brandt Ruger, an amoral sadist living in the rural town that bears his surname, who leads a somewhat-leery pack of well-wrought gentleman friends on a hunt to kill the gunslingers responsible for kidnapping his wife (he also appears to want his wife killed as well, since she's obviously been raped and now may be carrying a bastard child!). Taking his cue from Sam Peckinpah's "The Wild Bunch", director Don Medford takes great delight in blasting his supporting cast away to Kingdom Come in a hail of gunfire, blood-packs spurting in slow motion. Medford hasn't much originality (or versatility), and several of his scenes are downright sloppy. However, Ruger's unmitigated relish for treating humans as cattle allows Hackman to revel in some mangy, dastardly deeds--he's a marvelous villain. As the head of the kidnappers, Oliver Reed disguises his British accent fairly well and is surprisingly tender with captive Candice Bergen (as sort of a Sweet Hostage). Opening scene juxtaposing the knifing of a cow with Hackman forcing himself on his wife in the bedroom is heavy-handed at best, distasteful at worst. But the picture improves from there and gives us a brutal, fairly realistic look at the lawless West. Very good performances from all three stars, excellent work as well from Mitchell Ryan as Reed's faithful friend Doc. *** from ****