Something like "The Hunting Party" wouldn't be for everybody. With all of the slo-mo gunshot wounds, the sight of various victims in agony, and the element of rape rearing its ugly head more than once, some people are going to find it unappealing and unendurable. Still, those who are big fans of "The Wild Bunch", and don't mind stories with a nihilistic feel, should find this to be somewhat interesting.
Oliver Reed (oddly cast, but not bad) plays Frank Calder, an American outlaw whose gang kidnaps Melissa Ruger (Candice Bergen), a young woman married to rancher Brandt Ruger (Gene Hackman). As the story plays out, she actually becomes more attached to Frank, because her relationship with Brandt is not a loving one. Brandt is an extremely determined man, so when he gets wind of Melissas' kidnapping he swings into action, using a revolutionary high powered rifle and his hunting buddies as the rest of his posse.
We'll see that, for all of his flaws, Frank has a sensitive, caring side, and is really a more appealing character than Brandt, who doesn't so much care for his wife as get angry that his property was taken from him and will get "spoiled".
Only some draggy pacing ("The Hunting Party" doesn't need to be quite as long as it is) works against the film. It's a viscerally effective experience that may have the viewer fascinated in spite of themselves. The evolving relationship between outlaw and wife forms the core of the story, and Reed & Bergen play it very well. Hackman is solid in a cold-blooded true force-of-nature role (who lines up his victims as if they're game) and the supporting cast includes such familiar faces as Simon Oakland, Mitch Ryan, L.Q. Jones (in one of his most depraved roles ever), William Watson, and G.D. Spradlin. It's extremely well shot, at wonderful locations throughout the desert of Spain. It actually doesn't miss an opportunity for humour as Reed and Ryan tease the hungry Bergen by eating peaches in front of her, but for the most part it's a *very* sobering film all the way to its ending. The train with the bordello is a rather amusing touch. The music by Riz Ortolani ("Cannibal Holocaust") is absolutely beautiful.
This one doesn't seem to be too well known nowadays, so Western fans who can take a lot of blood and unpleasantness would be well advised to seek it out. You certainly don't come away unaffected after watching this.
Seven out of 10.
Oliver Reed (oddly cast, but not bad) plays Frank Calder, an American outlaw whose gang kidnaps Melissa Ruger (Candice Bergen), a young woman married to rancher Brandt Ruger (Gene Hackman). As the story plays out, she actually becomes more attached to Frank, because her relationship with Brandt is not a loving one. Brandt is an extremely determined man, so when he gets wind of Melissas' kidnapping he swings into action, using a revolutionary high powered rifle and his hunting buddies as the rest of his posse.
We'll see that, for all of his flaws, Frank has a sensitive, caring side, and is really a more appealing character than Brandt, who doesn't so much care for his wife as get angry that his property was taken from him and will get "spoiled".
Only some draggy pacing ("The Hunting Party" doesn't need to be quite as long as it is) works against the film. It's a viscerally effective experience that may have the viewer fascinated in spite of themselves. The evolving relationship between outlaw and wife forms the core of the story, and Reed & Bergen play it very well. Hackman is solid in a cold-blooded true force-of-nature role (who lines up his victims as if they're game) and the supporting cast includes such familiar faces as Simon Oakland, Mitch Ryan, L.Q. Jones (in one of his most depraved roles ever), William Watson, and G.D. Spradlin. It's extremely well shot, at wonderful locations throughout the desert of Spain. It actually doesn't miss an opportunity for humour as Reed and Ryan tease the hungry Bergen by eating peaches in front of her, but for the most part it's a *very* sobering film all the way to its ending. The train with the bordello is a rather amusing touch. The music by Riz Ortolani ("Cannibal Holocaust") is absolutely beautiful.
This one doesn't seem to be too well known nowadays, so Western fans who can take a lot of blood and unpleasantness would be well advised to seek it out. You certainly don't come away unaffected after watching this.
Seven out of 10.