Sasquatch Odyssey: The Hunt for Bigfoot (1999 TV Movie) User Reviews

The Investigators Make the Film Worthwhile

[consulgeneral · 10/10 · 16 June 2002]

As far as I know, this is the first and only time all of the "Four Horsemen of Sasquatch" have been put in a documentary together, and what a treat it is to see their views and hear their stories. From the cantankerous Rene Dahinden to the somewhat reserved John Green, while inbetween lie Dr. Grover Krantz (taking the scientific approach) and the always well dressed outdoorsman Peter Byrne. Tragically, both Dahinden and Krantz have recently passed away, so this documentary helps to preserve their life's work.

The producers took a big chance is devoting screen time to some of the more colorful characters involved in the hunt for Sasquatch. Individuals who consider the creature a "para-physical nature people" and claim that Bigfoot is "From the planet Hercules Mercury" are entertaining to watch, but could turn off new Sasquatch fans. Of course, Peter Byrne and Rene Dahinden take the liberty of dropping the hint to the viewer.

The music is clever, with a "Bigfoot Lives" folk song in the opening and the direction flows very smoothly, blending eyewitness accounts with stock footage. The only problem I can see with this film is Henry Franzoni, a "Bigfoot Enthusiast". His "inciteful interjections" are more like "painful reminders". Frankly, the documentary could have done a whole lot better without him. What gives this guy the right to talk about Sasquatch? There are hundreds of Bigfoot Enthusiasts out there, why did he get chosen for the film?

Barring that, I would have to say that if you only see one documentary about Bigfoot, this should be it!

Dr. Travis McHenry, PhD

Extensive Archival Footage and Interviews Make This a MUST BUY!!

[lasttoleave · 10/10 · 2 February 2016]

This is by far my favorite Bigfoot documentary of all time. It is about Bigfoot, sure, but centers around the "Four Horsemen" and their quest finding proof of the creature. Rene Dahinden, John Green, Grover Krantz, and Peter Byrne are all interviewed extensively with incredible archival footage of their pursuits, many rare and never seen before, and there's a lot of it! There's an excellent historical overview of popular Bigfoot reports as well. This is a must for anyone interested in the subject, new or veteran, and is worth every penny. It also includes interviews with Robert Pyle, Lapseritis, and even laymen giving their opinions on the subject.

Favorite parts? Archival footage is extensive and incredible. Also, everything Rene Dahinden says, especially about Lapseritis.

A very charming, funny and refreshingly offbeat Bigfoot documentary hoot

[Woodyanders · 9/10 · 6 December 2006]

Without a doubt one of the best refreshingly atypical Bigfoot documentaries to ever grace celluloid, this winningly whimsical, but still respectful and illuminating made-for-Canadian TV 70 minute feature breaks from the standard mold by not focusing solely on Sasquatch. Instead, director/co-screenwriter Peter von Puttkamer offers a wryly amusing and highly entertaining profile on four fellows who've dedicated their lives to the study, capture and documentation of the legendary apeman's existence. Affectionately dubbed "The Four Horsemen of Sasquatchery," the motley quartet of elderly gents are: Studiously academic physical anthropologist Grover Krantz, suave Irish adventurer Peter Byrne, shy, soft-spoken outdoorsman Peter Green, and crotchety Swiss writer Rene Dahinden. Puttkamer's colorful portraits of these reigning Sasquatch experts offers a telling and enjoyable glimpse at the uniquely obsessive mindset of the dyed-in-the-wool Bigfoot fanatic.

Krantz, who was initially a skeptic when he first became seriously involved with investigating Sasquatch and has been fiercely ridiculed for his firm belief in Bigfoot and deemed a pariah within the snobby scientific community which in turn has made him extremely hidebound, hardened and tenacious with the passage of time, qualifies as the most scholarly and professorial of Bigfoot buffs thanks to his strong theories concerning Mr. Over-sized Pawprint's prehistoric origins. The immaculately cultured, composed and extroverted bon vivant Byrne rates as the Errol Flynn of the bunch, while the quiet and reserved Green comes across as the average garden variety everyman who somehow got tangled up in some incredibly nutty business-type of affable guy of the group. And then there's the lovably cantankerous Dahinden, whose salty tongue, easily set off temper, and zero tolerance for snot-nosed amateurs and stuffy bookworm facts single him out as the king crabby curmudgeon of Sasquatch trackers (Dahinden is further blessed with an impish sense of humor, as proved by a TV commercial he did for Kokanee beer featuring Bigfoot. Kokanee did several other ads with Bigfoot in 'em. And, yes Virginia, there's indeed a brew called Bigfoot Beer!). Of course, these geriatric men are all former close friends turned bitter adversaries who constantly argue over such pressing issues as whether Bigfoot is a man or an ape, Bigfoot's debatable status as the possible missing link, and whether it's preferable to capture a Sasquatch dead or alive. Graced with the terrific country-and-western novelty theme song "Bigfoot Lives" and choice clips from trashy two-bit Sasquatch exploitation pictures (which include Bill Rebane's delectably cheesy "The Capture of Bigfoot"!), this wonderful picture rates as a pleasingly quirky and frivolous addition to the usually gravely sober Bigfoot documentary branch of the Sasquatch cinema tree.