British sex comedy and Italian trash cinema regular David Warbeck stars as the title hunter, Captain Henry Morris, first seen during the waning days of the Vietnam War witnessing a high-strung fellow soldier going on a murderous and ultimately suicidal rampage at a whorehouse. Still filled with rage and confusion, he's given the challenging assignment of taking down a local radio outfit broadcasting dangerous propaganda messages, with plucky reporter Jane Foster (Tisa Farrow) accompanying him on an explosion-riddling journey into the heart of the jungle.
Featuring an astonishing roster of names at the height of their Italian filmmaking glory, The Last Hunter benefits from the feisty performances of Warbeck and Farrow, both of whom achieved immortality in Lucio Fulci films like Zombie and The Beyond. No less impressive is the supporting cast including John Steiner (fresh from Mario Bava's Shock and Tinto Brass' Caligula), future Demons jive-talker Bobby Rhodes, "Italian Peter Lorre" Luciano Pigozzi, and Cannibal Apocalypse actor Bobby Rhodes. The story itself follows the Apocalypse Now template of soldiers embarking on a travelogue-style journey through Vietnam and encountering a variety of eccentric set pieces along the way, but unlike its American counterparts, the film makes no attempts at deep artistic statements, instead using the script by prolific scribe Dardano Sacchetti to pile on the explosions, bloody dismemberments, and nudity (including Ms. Farrow) with no apologies whatsoever. Extra points for a crackerjack surprise ending and the pounding music score by the always fascinating Franco Micalizzi (Beyond the Door), who even contributes a dance-worthy theme song.
Not surprisingly, The Last Hunter became a popular theatrical and video staple around the world, quickly spawning another Margheriti/Warbeck Vietnam opus (Tiger Joe) and providing stock footage for other Italian war films throughout the next decade. Its striking cover box from Vestron Video remained on mom-and-pop rental shelves well into the 1990s, despite the atrocious pan-and-scan transfers which made this a complete eyesore to endure on television. Even the first DVD edition, courtesy of Vipco in the United Kingdom, was a half-hearted affair which only letterboxed the image halfway, and non-anamorphic to boot.
Luckily Dark Sky finally got things right (well, mostly) with their special edition, which is presented in the correct 2.35:1 scope aspect ratio, albeit with some slight zoomboxing which crops a few shots a bit too tightly and even crushes in a bit on the main titles. The film elements (taken from a French source, judging by the main titles) are in excellent shape, and otherwise the transfer is quite satisfying. It's certainly more coherent and colorful than any other option around, and the optional English subtitles (a nice Dark Sky feature they still omit from mentioning on their packaging for some reason) come in handy during some of the more chaotic scenes. The film was shot in English with many of the actors looped afterwards, so this is as close to a genuine language track as you'll get. Extras include the action-packed European theatrical trailer, a still gallery, and best of all, an interview with Margheriti's son and frequent assistant director, Edoardo, who talks about making the film, his father's career at the time, and his own brief role onscreen. or Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan; and a 'medium' version for Hong Kong."
For more information about The Last Hunter, visit Dark Star Films. To order The Last Hunter, go to TCM Shopping.
by Nathaniel Thompson
