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Hunter, The
Paramount // G // August 14, 2001
List Price: $29.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
Although this 1980 picture was Steve McQueen's last, it was not exactly his best. Written by Peter Hyams (who later went on to direct "The Relic" and "End Of Days"), McQueen stars as Ralph "Papa" Thorson, a modern-day bounty hunter who spends the film hunting down criminals who need to be brought back to justice.
The film has a bit of an episodic structure, as Ralph seeks out the latest bail-jumper, then goes on to the next one. McQueen retains his legendary cool throughout many of the scenes, especially in one scene where he's asked what his stun gun does. "It ruins their day", he deadpans. The unfortunate part is that there's too much space between the action sequences and none of them are really that exciting. Strangely, in that "stun gun" sequence, Ralph leaves his gun outside, then uses it only when he gets thrown out the window after being beaten up.
But, it's McQueen's performance that holds the viewers attention. Calm, cool and collected, McQueen (who was ill at the time and getting older) turns in a melancholy, somber performance that's both sympathetic and tough. The scenes with his pregnant girlfriend are nicely played - McQueen turns off the "tough" image for a moment and tries to work things out with her.
Overall, it's not going to be a role that McQueen will be remembered for, but it's a respectable film to end an otherwise legendary career.
The DVD
VIDEO: "The Hunter" is now about 21 years of age, but thanks to nice work from Paramount, it looks generally strong. Sharpness and detail are solid, as the picture looks consistently clear and crisp, offering a nice amount of visual information even in the darker scenes.
The picture had some minor problems, but wear was suprisingly not one of them. The picture showed suprisingly little in the way of print flaws - I noticed a couple of minor marks here and there and the occasional scene that showed light grain. In other words, less than I'd expected. The other problem is edge enhancement, which is noticable in a number of scenes. I didn't see any instances of pixelation, though.
Colors still appeared bright and well-rendered after all these years. The film does have a slightly subdued color palette at times, but overall, I found no concerns with how they were presented. Flesh tones also looked accurate and natural, as well. Not without some minor flaws, but I was generally pleased at the condition the film was in after 20 years. Apprently, this is the first time that the film has been presented in its original aspect ratio, since the laserdisc is listed as being pan & scan.
SOUND: Although Paramount occasionally presents catalog titles with new Dolby Digital 5.1 presentations, "The Hunter" is only presented in its original mono audio. For mono, it's actually not half bad. The audio remains clear and clean, with no instances of hiss, distortion or other problems. There's little dynamic about the audio, but at least the various elements never sounded thin or edgy.
MENUS:: Basic, non-animated menus which use slick, film-themed images nicely.
EXTRAS:: Trailer.
Final Thoughts: "The Hunter" offers some basically entertaining moments for McQueen fans, but it's a little slow and there's a bit too much space between thrills. Paramount's DVD provides respectable audio/video, but nothing in the way of extras.
Although this 1980 picture was Steve McQueen's last, it was not exactly his best. Written by Peter Hyams (who later went on to direct "The Relic" and "End Of Days"), McQueen stars as Ralph "Papa" Thorson, a modern-day bounty hunter who spends the film hunting down criminals who need to be brought back to justice.
The film has a bit of an episodic structure, as Ralph seeks out the latest bail-jumper, then goes on to the next one. McQueen retains his legendary cool throughout many of the scenes, especially in one scene where he's asked what his stun gun does. "It ruins their day", he deadpans. The unfortunate part is that there's too much space between the action sequences and none of them are really that exciting. Strangely, in that "stun gun" sequence, Ralph leaves his gun outside, then uses it only when he gets thrown out the window after being beaten up.
But, it's McQueen's performance that holds the viewers attention. Calm, cool and collected, McQueen (who was ill at the time and getting older) turns in a melancholy, somber performance that's both sympathetic and tough. The scenes with his pregnant girlfriend are nicely played - McQueen turns off the "tough" image for a moment and tries to work things out with her.
Overall, it's not going to be a role that McQueen will be remembered for, but it's a respectable film to end an otherwise legendary career.
The DVD
VIDEO: "The Hunter" is now about 21 years of age, but thanks to nice work from Paramount, it looks generally strong. Sharpness and detail are solid, as the picture looks consistently clear and crisp, offering a nice amount of visual information even in the darker scenes.
The picture had some minor problems, but wear was suprisingly not one of them. The picture showed suprisingly little in the way of print flaws - I noticed a couple of minor marks here and there and the occasional scene that showed light grain. In other words, less than I'd expected. The other problem is edge enhancement, which is noticable in a number of scenes. I didn't see any instances of pixelation, though.
Colors still appeared bright and well-rendered after all these years. The film does have a slightly subdued color palette at times, but overall, I found no concerns with how they were presented. Flesh tones also looked accurate and natural, as well. Not without some minor flaws, but I was generally pleased at the condition the film was in after 20 years. Apprently, this is the first time that the film has been presented in its original aspect ratio, since the laserdisc is listed as being pan & scan.
SOUND: Although Paramount occasionally presents catalog titles with new Dolby Digital 5.1 presentations, "The Hunter" is only presented in its original mono audio. For mono, it's actually not half bad. The audio remains clear and clean, with no instances of hiss, distortion or other problems. There's little dynamic about the audio, but at least the various elements never sounded thin or edgy.
MENUS:: Basic, non-animated menus which use slick, film-themed images nicely.
EXTRAS:: Trailer.
Final Thoughts: "The Hunter" offers some basically entertaining moments for McQueen fans, but it's a little slow and there's a bit too much space between thrills. Paramount's DVD provides respectable audio/video, but nothing in the way of extras.
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