The Hunted
by J.F. Lawton
List Price:
Our Price: $13.49
You Save: $1.49 (10%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $5.77 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Christopher Lambert, Joan Chen, John Lone, Y?ko Shimada, Yoshio HaradaDirector: J.F. Lawton
Brand: Universal
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 1.85:1
Running Time: 111 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1998-12-15
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Universal Studios
Movie Reviews of The Hunted
Movie Review: Underappreciated action movie
Summary: 3 Stars
I saw this film when it debuted in theaters, and I quite liked it, despite its flaws. It's premise is a fascinating one: the survival of an ancient ninja cult in modern Japan. This cult is led by a ninja of legendary skill and power called Kinjo. To create balance, this ninja cult must, of course, have an enemy, and in Japan, that enemy could only be samurai. So Takeda, scion of an ancient samurai family, and seemingly the protector of Paul Racine (the hapless French-American businessman who has stumbled into the midst of this conflict) appears to be one of the good guys. But alas, appearances can be deceiving. Takeda is not as noble as he seems. At first Takeda does genuinely seem to be one of the good guys. He conveys Racine to his island home, ostensibly to protect him from the Kinjo, who will be coming after him because Racine saw his face. It is eventually revealed that somewhere along the line, in his quest for the glory he will achieve by defeating Kinjo, Takeda has broken his moral compass. All others, even his own students are nothing more than fodder for his ambition to destroy Kinjo, and are considered by Takeda to be utterly expendable. Once Racine is safely ensconced within the samurai's island fortress, Takeda can barely conceal his contempt for the man (who unwittingly offered him insult by handling his katana -- the samurai's weapon that no other man is permitted to touch), and it quickly becomes apparent to Racine that not only is he not free to leave, but Takeda would probably kill him if he didn't need him to as bait for Kinjo. Worse, it turns out that Takeda coldly and deliberately endangered a train full of innocent commuters, many of whom were killed at the hands of Kinjo's forces. Watching all this unfold is Takeda's wife, well played by Yoko Shimada (whom American audiences will remember for her part in the miniseries "Shogun"). And viewers can see her growing alarm at her husband's increasingly obsessive and frankly evil behavior, but her loyalty keeps her by his side right to the end. I like this aspect of the film, and I like it that one of the seeming good guys turns out to be anything but -- it just goes to show that the enemy of one's enemy is not always one's friend.
The movie is a well paced, reasonably smart action/thriller, with good acting, great fight scenes, and a good premise. It's biggest flaw is a plot hole big enough to sail the battleship Yamato through. I refer to the slaughter on the bullet train. If scores of people in a modern, developed, highly industrialized country were systematically butchered by a small cadre of sword-wielding ninja assassins, working their way methodically back from the front of the train, it would make BIG headlines all over the world. This kind of attention is not the sort of thing any organization dedicated to stealth and secrecy would ever want to attract to itself in a million years. Still, apart from this glaring flaw, it was a highly entertaining movie, and well worth a look.
Summary of The Hunted
Lambert is paul racine a high-powered american business executive in japan. After he and his sexy companion chen are the targets of assassins racine is catapulted into a maze of danger and fascinating intrigue. His attacker is the ruthless kinjo. Bonus features: talent bios deleted scenes and more. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 02/08/2005 Starring: Christopher Lambert John Lone Run time: 111 minutes Rating: R Director: J. F. LawtonChristopher Lambert, the imposing French actor with the nasal whine best known to American audiences as Scottish swordsman Highlander, plays a rank amateur in The Hunted. He's an American businessman in Japan who lucks into a one-night stand with slinky Joan Chen and winds up a witness to her murder by a mysterious band of black-clad ninjas. Escaping not one but two attempts on his life by a little quick thinking and a lot of dumb luck, he winds up on a harrowing bullet train ride. As swarms of masked assassins decimate passengers in search of the elusive eyewitness, Lambert's laconic protector, rough-edged samurai Yoshio Harada, unleashes a martial arts frenzy of flashing swords in close quarters. His savior is not as altruistic as he seems, however. He just wants to lure mysterious ninja overlord John Lone out of hiding and into a fight to the death on Harada's island fortress, and Lambert is little more than live bait. Though it made few ripples at the box office, The Hunted is a slick and surprisingly smart thriller. Lone and Harada cut striking figures as the warriors following ancient codes in the modern world, and writer-director J.F. Lawton (screenwriter of Pretty Woman and Under Siege) gives them almost as much screen time as ostensible hero Lambert. The action scenes are furious and fast paced, lacking the grace and precision of real Japanese samurai adventures but full of clever flourishes. --Sean Axmaker
Action & Adventure DVD Video
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Movies most talked about in Older Movie Must-Haves Vol. I
The Usual Suspects (Special Editon)Release date: 2002-04-02; DVD
Best price: $8.92
Price in other shops:
The Thing (Collector's Edition)Universal; Release date: 2004-10-26; DVD
Best price: $4.93
Price in other shops:
The Terminator (Special Edition)MGM; Release date: 2001-10-02; DVD
Best price: $10.50
Price in other shops:
Snatch (Widescreen Edition)Sony; Release date: 2003-06-03; DVD
Best price: $4.11
Price in other shops:
RenaissanceRENAISSANCE; Release date: 2007-07-24; DVD
Best price: $6.55
Price in other shops:
Prince Of DarknessUniversal; Release date: 2003-10-07; DVD
Best price: $6.39
Price in other shops:
My Little EyeUniversal; Release date: 2004-04-27; DVD
Best price: $2.55
Price in other shops:
Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels (Widescreen Edition)Universal; Release date: 2002-11-05; DVD
Best price: $7.17
Price in other shops:
The LimeyLIMEY, THE (DVD MOVIE); Release date: 2001-02-20; DVD
Best price: $1.75
Price in other shops:
Leon - The Professional (Uncut International Version)Sony; Release date: 2000-10-03; DVD
Best price: $9.71
Price in other shops:
Similar DVD Movies
Incredible Hulk (Widescreen Edition)Universal; Release date: 2008-10-21; DVD
Best price: $7.57
Price in other shops:
Highlander - EndgameHighlander; Release date: 2001-02-20; DVD
Best price: $5.50
Price in other shops:
![The Last Samurai [Region 2] Image](/images/noimg.gif)
The Last Samurai [Region 2]DVD
Best price: $26.21
ResurrectionRelease date: 1999-11-09; DVD
Best price: $6.99
Price in other shops:
HighlanderHighlander; Release date: 2002-04-16; DVD
Best price: $14.99
Quantum of SolaceRelease date: 2009-03-24; DVD
Best price: $8.36
Price in other shops:
Day of WrathUniversal; Release date: 2006-06-27; DVD
Best price: $1.71
Price in other shops:
Rage of HonorTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2003-07-15; DVD
Best price: $4.14
Price in other shops:
The Hunted (Widescreen Edition)Paramount; Release date: 2003-08-12; DVD
Best price: $4.10
Price in other shops:
Revenge of the NinjaTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2003-07-15; DVD
Best price: $6.22
Price in other shops: