The Last Hunt

I hav eonly seen this movie twice in my life. I bought it because image sfrom my first watch have stayed with me for 40+ years. Now that I have re-watched it, the film stands as a greta film. It does not hold back about the brutality of the American Buffalo at the hands of vile, greedy, evil and heartless men. Being part Apache, my heart ached and I cried at the horrors of the buffalo massacre. Robert Taylor is superb in one of his 'best' performances as the bigoted, cold-blooded killer of men and buffalo. He captures the buffalo hunter in all its ugliness. Stewart Granger plays the hunter with a change of heart and conscience. Lloyd Nolan plays a crippled buffalo skinner with a conscience. Dabra Paget and Russ Tamblyn round out the cast as Native Indigenous people. This is a hard movie to watch but essential to udnerstand why the near disappearance of the buffalo at the hands of hunters almost wiped out the Indigenous people and culture.

One of the most complete performances from Robert Taylor - along with " Ivanhoe." Here his acting repertoire is really stretched as a paranoid,sadistic buffalo hunter who loses it with partner Stewart Granger.Of all RT's westerns,this was his best.Buy it,you won't regret it.

I found out about this when looking through 1956 GUNS magazine back issue. It is outstanding look at buffalo hunting in the late 1870s/1880s. It is very detailed on historical reloading of ammunition as well and weapons used are outstanding, especially knowing that they are actual 1870s era firearms since the film was made before the birth of the modern replica industry. Now, it's real catch is the racial discrimination, revenge and greed that is examined during the film. WELL WORTH WATCHING!

Robert Taylor, who set the record for being under the longest studio contract in movie history, is notorious for being a great looking actor with no talent.The Last Hunt shows might have been had Taylor been stretched by other great directors like he was By Richard Brooks. Brooks, who had one of the longest streaks of directing actors to Oscar-nominated and/or Oscar winning performances, got everything he could out of Taylor in this film, which came along at a time when Hollywood became more sensitive in its depiction of Native Americans.Taylor plays Charlie Gilson, a quick on-the-draw buffalo hunter who seeks out Sandy McKenzie, played by Stewart Granger, a legendary buffalo hunter who has tired of the killing, and wants to raise cattle. Gulson catches McKenzie at a vulnerable moment, and he agrees to join Gilson in a hunt. They also add Lloyd Nolan, playing a peg-legged skinner, and Russ Tamblyn, a red-headed half breed to help out.Along the way, trigger-happy Gilson kills two Native Americans who have stolen horses from the group, but spares an Indian woman (palyed by Debra Paget)with a baby travelling with the two dead Native Americans. He brings her back to camp, and takes up with her, even though he has made it clear how much he hates Indians. This act, and McKenzie's revulsion at killing buffalo, sets the stage for a Western with both tragic and hopeful overtones.There is so much one can comment on about The Last Hunt: the great supporting performances, the fact that the shooting of the buffalo was real because it was done at a time when the government was purposely thinning the modern-day herd, the beautiful exteriors, the sensitivity to the plight of Native Americans, and a great script (also by Brooks). But the hallmark of this film is that it showcases Robert Taylor's greatest performance by a wide margin. Cynical, psychopathic, callous, yet seeking acceptance and tenderness from the Indian woman, Taylor is shown indulging in all of the emotions that he didn't show the rest of his career. He could have easily been nominated for an Oscar for his performance.The Last Hunt deserves consideration as another one of Richard Brooks' many great films, a great candidate for DVD release, and for proving without question that Robert Taylor was a much better actor than anyone realized.

The Last Hunt is one of those Westerns that somehow has gotten lost.It is a story of a time,when loosing sight of the roof-tops,was dangerous.The isolation,of the plains,bleeds men of moral behavior.Robert Taylor is Charley.In town he is bearable.On the prairie,where the town and laws and rules of the town are lost,Charley looses the decency and reason that makes folks civilized. The Last Hunt is a great western.The systematic killing of the buffalo,which looks easy and real,looks that way because the buffalo killed during the making of this movie,were actually killed to thin down native herds in South Dakota.The killing of the buffalo provides a surreal cinematic backdrop,to a story of good guys and bad guys trying to disguise what is natural within them.This film should be on DVD for the following reasons:1)Robert Taylor's performance is his best--ever2)Look at South Dakota in the 1950's3)Lloyd Nolan,some of his best stuff4)Debra Paget--tries real hard to be the same "girl next door" indian debutante that made the us's of the 1950's--fall head over heal,in love with her.5)Death of the young indian boy,shot,in a rigged gunfight with Taylor's character.It is over a white buffalo skin. The indian considers it sacred.Taylor considers the skin to have monetary value.Taylor shoots the boy easily--It is powerful and pitiful.6)Russ Tamblyn--always tops

To date, the only feature film strictly about the great buffalo hunts of the 1870s-80s. The film is very well done for it's time. They took pains to set the time period as Montana in 1883 (stating that Custer died 7 years ago), the last year of the great hunts. Firearms are correct; an 1874 Sharps and an 1876 Winchester Centennial model (probably in .45-60, which was enough to bring down a buffalo.) Hunting, skinning and cartridge reloading processes are shown or explained. The shopping for supplies was dead on. Someone did their homework for this one. Curiously, there has not been a movie about the buffalo hunts since then. I hope that will change soon!

Great old western, with Stewart Granger, and Robert Taylor at his psycho best

goodending

One of the best westerns of the 1950's.Robert Taylor's part is out of character to his matinee idol roles but he plays the part extremely well. All the stars act well in an unusual western played out against the dying days of the buffalo hunter. The shooting of the buffalos actually ocurred due to a cull in the herds which was normal at that time.May not be to all tastes but it has always been one of my alltime favorite westerns.

Grande western di Richard Brooks su due cacciatori di bisonti con caratteri differenti,uno spietato con tutto e tutti,l'altro più umano e stanco di uccidere inutilmente,logicamente arriveranno ad un punto di rottura.Ottime le interpretazioni dei due attori protagonisti,specialmente di Taylor,crudele e sanguinario,totalmente l'opposto della parte che interpretava ne "il passo del diavolo".Il dvd edizione restaurata(non ho visto l'altra versione)non mi ha fatto grande impressione,il video è pulito,ma poco nitido,a parte nei primi piani,e con un croma tendente al rosso,l'audio mono 2.0 per tutte le lingue(italiano d'epoca,inglese e francese),ma sottotitoli assenti.Extra come sempre nei dvd A&R trailer,locandine e foto.Un ottimo film in un dvd discreto,ma non all'altezza di altri della stessa casa!

Due cacciatori di bisonti, uno violento e razzista (Robert Taylor), l'altro stanco di uccidere e amico degli indiani (Stewart Granger), fanno società, ma la diversa tempra morale e l'interesse per una donna indiana (Debra Paget), che il primo maltratta e di cui il secondo invece si innamora, finiranno inevitabilmente per contrapporli.Attraverso una vicenda narrata solidamente e con mano sicura, il regista Richard Brooks affronta in questo western del 1956 un grande tema che contrassegnò la nascita della nazione americana, cioè quello dello sterminio di una delle risorse naturali più preziose per la sopravvivenza del popolo indiano.Purtroppo la qualità del DVD non è all'altezza di quella del film: la definizione video infatti è mediocre. Doppiaggio d'epoca. Niente sottotitoli.

Wir mögen diesen Film sehr. Die Schauspieler sind toll und die Landschaftsaufnahmen sind wirklich beeindruckend. Auf der BluRay gibt es ein MakingOf, das wirklich interessant ist. Also eine klare Kaufempfehlung!