Blu Ray Review: The Hunter (1980)
When Steve McQueen was filming The Hunter, he was performing most of his own stunts. He experienced trouble catching his breath, and it was the first sign of the lung cancer that would kill him only three months after the film was released. Kino Lorber has released The Hunter on blu ray from a new 4K master from the original camera negative.
McQueen had achieved notoriety on the TV show Wanted Dead or Alive, on which he played a bounty hunter as he does in this movie. And when this film was made, McQueen was a star, but not the icon he has become since his death. Considered a disappointment when first released, The Hunter holds up well today as an aggressive action drama.
Steve McQueen had left movies in 1974 and was just returning at the end of that decade with An Enemy of the People (1978). He made both The Hunter and Tom Horn in 1980, the year of his death.
Some of the film’s backstory is interesting. For instance, a role Levar Burton plays was not originally in the script. McQueen was a fan of Burton’s work and wanted him in the movie, so a role was written for him. McQueen was staying in a fine room at a luxurious hotel during filming, but when he discovered the rest of the cast was staying at a much cheaper hotel, he checked out of his room and joined the others. Known for his car chase scenes in films like Bullitt and The Getaway, it was McQueen’s idea to play a bad driver in this movie. And McQueen’s cancer was diagnosed shortly after he completed filming.
The film is based on a real life bounty hunter (who was killed by a car bomb in 1991) and is directed by Buzz Kulick (Brian’s Song). However, research indicates McQueen did a lot of the directing. It benefits from supporting roles by the likes of Eli Wallach and Ben Johnson, while Levar Burton is consistently good in his role as well.
Kino Lorber’s blu ray includes a commentary track by film historians Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson that is interesting and enlightening. The blu ray can be ordered at this link: HUNTER.