On the fifth anniversary of the end of the civil war in Bosnia, former hot-shot reporter Simon Hunt (Richard Gere) mysteriously shows up, five years after imploding on live television and disappearing into a self-imposed exile. Reunited with his cameraman, Duck (Terrence Howard), who has been promoted to a cushy studio gig working with anchorman Franklin Harris (James Brolin), Simon convinces Duck to go on a dangerous journey to get an interview with the wanted war criminal known as the Fox (Ljubomir Kerekes), based on the real-life Radovan Karadicz. They are joined by Ben (Jesse Eisenberg), the Harvard-educated nephew of a network executive who is in search of adventure and a good story. Together the three drive deep into Serb territory, facing more intrigue and danger than they ever could have imagined. Writer-director Richard Shepard (THE MATADOR) loosely based THE HUNTING PARTY on an article Scott Anderson wrote for Esquire magazine entitled "What I Did on My Summer Vacation," about five reporters who actually did go after Karadicz, and tried to capture him. Shepard infuses the film with a sly black humor and fills the story with a crazy cast of oddball characters, paying homage to Carol Reed's THE THIRD MAN, which was set in postwar Vienna. The three leads are excellent, especially Gere, who plays Hunt with a knowing grin that often hides what he's really up to. Shot on location in and around Sarajevo, lending the film an eerie reality, THE HUNTING PARTY--which claims at the beginning that "only the most ridiculous parts of this story are true"--is a fun, fascinating political thriller.
Theatrical Release: September 7, 2007
DVD Features:
Region 1
Keep Case
Widescreen
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Subtitles - English (SDH), Spanish - Optional
Additional Release Materials:
Audio Commentary - Richard Shepherd - Director
Behind the Scenes - Making Of
Deleted Scenes with Director Commentary
Featurettes - "The Real Hunting Party"
Trailers - Theatrical Trailer
Source Writer
Scott K. Anderson: Source writer, THE HUNTING PARTY
Director of Photography
David Tattersall:
Review 1:
"What makes THE HUNTING PARTY an original, gonzo treat is the way that Shepard plants the movie's tone somewhere between hair-trigger investigative danger and the from-the-frying-pan-into-the-fire glee of a Hope/Crosby picture." -- Grade: B+
Source: Entertainment Weekly
p.130 09/14/2007
Review 2:
3 stars out of 4 -- "[T]he story moves along with a finely calibrated intensity...A movie worth chasing down."
Source: USA Today
p.12D 09/21/2007
Review 3:
3 stars out of 5 -- "With shades of THREE KINGS, Shepard's anarchic film clips along at an enjoyable pace..."
Source: Ultimate DVD
p.93 04/01/2008
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