L'ultimo cacciatore

This has been a favorite ever since it came out. But I was always confused as to why it was marred by the hokey, cornball, ridiculous Dukes of Hazzard narration that accompanied it.

Imagine my sheer joy this afternoon when I discovered the Director's Version on the DVD has eliminated that. Now it lives up to it's full potential ... one heck of a movie!

The cinematography and scenery in this film make it worthwhile in themselves. Throw in a little occasional humor, decent acting jobs, suspense, the ability to hold your interest, and you get a film that allows you to escape your cares and spend a couple hours in the paradise of the Canadian Rockies.

This is a must see for western fans, fans of the great out doors, and guys like me who're in love with Barbara Hershey.

Last of the Dogmen is written and directed by Tab Murphy. It stars Tom Berenger, Barbara Hershey, Kurtwood Smith and Steve Reevis. Music is scored by David Arnold and cinematography by Karl Walter Lindenlaub.

When three convicts escape from prison and head into the Montana mountains, the local law enforcer hires skillful tracker/bounty hunter Lewis Gates (Berenger) to go find them. What he finds is torn clothes, blood and an Indian arrow. After spying someone in the trees it leads Gates to an investigation on the possibility of a lost tribe of Cheyenne Indians living in the mountains.

A thoroughly enjoyable contemporary Western, even if it's cribbing clichés from a number of films and TV episodes of the past. Formula of story is simple, grizzled tracker man Berenger and prim anthropologist Hershey are poles apart, but into the mountains they go in search of a hidden tribe of Cheyenne. That they find them is a given, since the title says it all, but what unfolds is a burgeoning relationship between the two, while much understanding and soul searching involving the "alien" Cheyenne makes for a good chunk of the narrative. There's observations galore in here about the advancement of time, different cultures etc, and a nod to the Sand Creek Massacre, while a back story sub-plot involving Kurtwood Smith is deftly handled; if a little redundant in the grand scheme of things.

Anyone who has seen the likes of The African Queen, Dances With Wolves and the Twilight Zone Episode: A Hundred Yards Over The Rim, wont be particularly surprised by what transpires in eventuality. But Berenger and Hershey make for a nice duo to be in the company of, while Kip the dog steals the film from both of them! Though story is set in Montana, film was shot on location in Alberta and British Columbia, and here is the film's trump card, where Lindenlaub's photography is quite simply stunning. In fact his work, and that of Arnold, whose score darts in and out of the landscape, deserves to be in an "A" grade movie. It rounds out as very watchable, a professional picture that just about manages to sustain interest and good will for the two hours run time. 7/10

Sometimes when you're stuck in a hotel room, on a rainy day, your movie viewing options are severely limited. You have to take what you can and so it was that I took in "Last of the Dogmen" more than a quarter century after its release.

It quickly becomes clear that this isn't some forgotten classic but it's not a straight to cable clunker either. Instead it's a workmanlike affair that combines the lone bounty hunter with something of a paean to a lost time when real Native American tribes roamed the western states. The latter angle emerges when we discover that somehow actual Indians are still living in the mountains, apart from the modern era, and circumstances are conspiring to expose their existence.

What's particularly nice about the film is that it doesn't stray much from this core story. There isn't some epic romance, apart from with Nature, but there could be. Equally the central protagonist doesn't make any grand speeches, and he's neither good nor bad, but his actions speak for him. The outside world also isn't portrayed as particularly malevolent but more somewhat less than careful.

This is all great but somehow the arrival of the lost tribe just isn't as awesome as you would expect. They are suspicious of course but they don't feel especially alien and like refugees from the past. Instead they become comfortable with the strangers very quickly and their existence causes barely a ripple. It's a shame because the moment of contact could have been delivered with real impact.

So there's plenty to like with "Last of the Dogmen" and it's definitely worth your time should you stumble across it. But is it worth making a special effort to enjoy? Probably not unless you really fancy a story that doesn't try to be all things to everyone. It sticks to the script and there's nothing wrong with that.

This is one of the best movies of its kind that I have ever seen. I am Northern Cheyenne and the premise of the movie is based, I believe, on the legend of the Lost band of Suthai ( a Cheyenne band) I particularly enjoyed seeing Eugene Black Bear (the old Cheyenne Chief) Eugene is a Cheyenne and a Sundance Priest in real life. The Cheyenne language was spoken well and accurately. I would enjoy seeing a sequel to this film.

The scenery steals the show in this film! It is beautiful! Berenger is a treat to watch here, too as a tired old bounty hunter with a faithful dog & a good horse. The ending is worth it, too. Anything with American Indian culture in it hits a warm spot. "The Original Americans" should always come out on top. (Hail Dances With Wolves!)

So go rent or buy this film for a fantastic treat of natural beauty in the woods.