L'ultimo cacciatore (1980)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Antonio Margheriti

Writers:

Gianfranco Couyoumdjian (story)
Dardano Sacchetti (screenplay)

Release Date:

February 1984 (USA)

Genre:

War | Action

Tagline:

Trapped in Vietnam, tortured and beaten, still he fights.

Plot:

During the Vietnam war, an American soldier gets trapped beind enemy lines. A squad of his buddies sets out to rescue him. |

Plot Keywords:

Vietnam | Slow Motion | Train Explosion | Heroism | Gore

Cast

David Warbeck	...	Capt. Henry Morris
Tisa Farrow	...	Jane Foster
Tony King	...	Sgt. George Washington
Bobby Rhodes	...	Carlos
Margit Evelyn Newton	...	Carol (as Margi Eveline Newton)
John Steiner	...	Maj. Cash
Massimo Vanni	...	Phillips
Luciano Pigozzi	...	Bartender (as Alan Collins)
Dino Conti
Gianfranco Moroni

Also Known As:

Cacciatore 2 (Italy) (working title)
Hunter of the Apocalypse (UK)
Il cacciatore (Italy) (alternative title)
The Last Hunter

Runtime:

Sweden:87 min (1981 heavily cut) | Sweden:97 min (1980 banned version) | UK:92 min (2002 uncut version) | UK:96 min (X rated version) | USA:95 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | West Germany:Not Rated | Norway:16 (video premiere) | New Zealand:R18 | Sweden:15 (1981, heavily cut) | UK:X (original rating) | UK:18 (video rating) (1988) (cut) | UK:18 (video rating) (2002) (uncut) | Australia:R (censored) | Canada:R (Manitoba) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:(Banned) (Ontario) | Germany:16 (cut) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Philippines

Company:

Flora Film

Trivia:

Cinematographer Riccardo Pallottini died in a plane crash during location filming in the Philippines.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Strike Commando (1987)

classic!!

THE LAST HUNTER, is basically italy's answer to THE DEER HUNTER/APOCOLYPSE NOW, and if i'm being honest, is far better than either movie. I've read that alot of real-life virtnam veterans, hated the forementioned bigger-budgeted movies, because they try to symbolize war with beauty and art. There is nothing beautiful about war..... and THIS movie proves it, also it's non-stop action, and confusion, this is how i (thankfully only have to) imagine what 'war' is like.

The late, great DAVID WARBECK, plays the army captain, who is obviously fed up of 'the war', and is quite cutting and sardonic throughout the movie. Playing like a latter-day BOGART, he comes across, as world-weary and arrogant at times, but his gesture at the finale, makes up for that. It's director has used various footage (mostly explosions) in most of his movies (before and after,most notably, in the irresistable KILLER FISH) But the rest of the special effects in this movie are first rate. Sometimes the movie comes across like a cannibal/zombie flick (and there's nothing wrong with that!) but other moments have a genuine power about them, most notably, the movies opening, and later on, in the scene with TONY KING in the boat, when the vietcong attack.

A very good message movie, that thinks it's an exploitation movie (oh, and p.s TISA FARROW, has the best breasts in recent memory, or should that be mammory?)

A epic 10 out of 10