Customer Reviews

The Hunted [VHS]

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

One of Mr. Lambert's best films, The Hunted finds Paul Racine (Lambert), a New Yorker on business in Japan, who meets the lovely Kirina (Joan Chen) in a bar late one evening and goes back to her place for a night of passion. But when Paul wants to continue seeing her, Kirina sadly tells him that he can never see her again. Unknown to Paul, Kirina is marked for death by the boss, Nemura (James Saito) who hires the cunning and ruthless ninja, Kinjo (John Lone), to carry out his deeds. But a mistake in door keys causes Paul to return to her apartment only to witness her demise at the hands of Kinjo, who fatally wounds Paul, who sees him without his mask (he took it off at the request of Kirina to show her the face of her assassin). Rushed to a hospital, Paul recovers while having reacurring dreams about Kirina (in lovely black and white w/Kirina in color). He is later approached by Takeda (Yoshio Harada), a master Samurai and his wife, Mieko (Yoko Shimada (James Clavell's Shogun)), who both urge him to move as quickly as possible, as Kinjo will surely come back to finish him off. Several hours (and dead cops) later, Paul leaves the hospital and attempts to meet up with Tekeda and Mieko at the train station to escape Kinjo. After evading the ninjas (in a fairly believable way), Paul makes it to the train while still being persued by the ninjas sent by Kinjo to kill him. Many dead and bloodied ninjas later (at the hands of Takeda), Paul is taken to a school, owned by Takeda, to hide out until the threat is over. With a satisfying climax, this film not only has plenty of action to satisfy all, but the added bonus of fine acting by the cast (Lambert, Lone, Chen, Harada, Shimada) which makes it a most enjoyable film to watch again and again. Plus you can't beat the music, which adds another layar all by itself. I really loved this film, seeing it in the movie theater, buying the video, laserdisc and finally the DVD, which includes Cast and Crew Bios for Christopher Lambert, John Lone, Joan Chen, Director J.F. Lawton, Production Notes, Universal Web Links, and the Original Theatrical Trailer. Enhanced in the Widescreen Format (1:85.1), The Hunted is the perfect East meets West action movie.

Two ancient traditions collide in the heart of a modern day Japanese city when an unwary American businessman witnesses the execution of a beautiful Japanese woman by a infamous ninja cult.

Paul Racine (Christopher Lambert) alone and lonely in a foreign land meets Kirina (Joan Chen) in the bar of his hotel. Hoping for a little company for the evening he strikes up a conversation with her which evenutally leads to a night on the town and ends in Kirina hotel room for a fleeting moment of passion.

Just as unexpectedly as the evening began it abruptly ends when Kirina turns somber and introspective just before asking Paul to leave. Somewhat bewildered he reluctantly grants her request all the while wondering what went wrong. What Paul didn't know was Kirina had a good reason for asking him to leave. She is slated to be executed that very night. It was time to prepare herself for the arrival of the ninja assassins.

As the assassination is being carried out Paul unexpectedly walks back into Kirina's room and witnesses her murder. Miraculously he survives his wounds and the posionous substance administered to the tips of the ninjas weapons, awakening days later in a hospital bed with a fantastic story that nobody seems to believe. According to the authorities ninjas were a part of Japan's past. They no longer exist in modern day Japan.

There is one doctor however who believes him. He knows the truth about the secretive ninja cult and knows that the ninjas will return to kill the only witness to the crime. He contacts Takeda (Yoshio Harada) the last great samurai and the only one who may be able to help Paul survive the ordeal to come.

At first Takeda's offer to help seems to be an altrustic act of kindness and courage, however as the story unfolds you discover the samurai warrior has an agenda of his own. He is using Paul as a decoy to lure his old enemy Kinjo out into the open for a battle to the death.

There are alot of things going on in this film with genre overlapping genre. Action/Adventure, Comedy and Romance are all intertwined with a subtle touch or Horror as the spirit of the dead woman returns to haunt both Kinjo and Paul. There are some wonderful fighting sequences coupled with surprisingly graphic violence and nudity. This is cleverly counterbalanced by some lighthearted comedic moments between Christopher Lambert and Takeda's perpetually inebriated swordsmith.

While the romantic elements are quite subdued they are touching nonetheless. The enchanting Yoko Shimada (Shogun) plays the part of Mieko, Takeda's devoted wife. Despite her love for her husband she can only watch him slip away as he becomes increasingly obsessed with his mission to kill Kinjo and destroy the ninja clan. While she sees strength and bravery in the old ways as embodied in her warrior husband she inwardly longs for a more gentle and forgiving way of life that she sees lived out in Paul. There are no romantic feelings expressed between Paul and Mieko but I think the ending implicitly indicates something more may exist.

The cast is excellent. Looking like he just stepped out of an old Akira Kurosawa film, Yoshio Harada is perfect as the brooding, unyielding samurai Takeda. Just as impressive is John Lone (The Last Emperor) in the role of the intense and haunted Kinjo, leader of the ninja clan. Christopher Lambert does an excellent job as the sometimes confused, sometimes brave American trying to stay alive while remaining true to his own beliefs in a culture he doesn't understand and Yoko Shimada is as always the epitomy of beauty, strength and compassion.

More than anything else this is a tale of two dedicated warriors forever trapped in their own personal histories and traditions. Unable to see beyond the confines of the past they have forgotten the true meaning of honor, striving to fulfill the letter of the law while forgetting the spirit behind it.

Looking at some of the reviews already on Amazon there appears to be quite a difference of opinion concerning this film. I guess this is one of those movies you either love or hate. In my case, I love it!

First off if your looking for another Highlander movie this isn't it. This movie came out shortly after Highlander III and I believe that the producers of the movie got Christopher Lambert so people who like Highlander would also go see this movie. But if your looking for a good martial arts movie with excellent swordplay then this is the movie for you. Christopher Lambert stars as a New York Businessman who is in Japan to close a major deal. While in Japan he witnesses a murder by Modern day Ninjas. Since the leader of the ninjas is foolish enough to remove his mask, Christopher see's his face and now to preserve his identity The assassin must kill him. Christophers only hope lies with a Kendo teacher who's ancestors were almost wiped out By the Assassin's clan 300 years ago. All in all an entertaining movie which I highly recommend. And there is even a bit of a suprise ending. Well worth owning. (which I am trying to do if the studio ever releases it again)

This movie may be the best samurai/ninja movie ever made. It has a decent plot, good characters incredible fight scenes, and even some humor. This element comes out in Paul (Lambert) and Oshima's unclear friendship. Like I said, great sword fights and there's enough violence in it so that gorefans don't get bored. But for the rest of us there's plenty of good plot twists and story elements to keep us entertained. The final battle between Paul and Kinjo (Lone) is probably my favorite part.

The Hunted was the type of movie that briefly appeared in theaters and then quickly vanished. I didn't get to see it until it aired on HBO. This was a film that I regret not seeing on the big screen. After it aired on cable for a short time, it vanished again. Why do such great films often get "lost"? This film is a must-see for fans of the genre or fans of Christopher Lambert.

Christopher Lambert is a bussiness man working in japan, when he meets a beautiful woman little does he know his life is going to get alot more complicated.The woman is killed and he has been marked for death by an ancient Japenese cult known as the Makato.This clan is widely known to have masterd the art of ninjitsu but he has seen the master of this cult and lived to tell about it his name is Kinjo and noone outside of his clan has ever seen him.Christopher Lambert only knows one way to get out of this fight to the death.It's an age old battle and now it has begun.

It was intresting to see in this DVD that this was filmed in Japan. You will also get a trailer and production notes it's a must see for fans of the martial arts genere.

Holy moly... I can't begin to tell you how pleasantly surprised I was after watching this movie. Don't let the boring DVD cover or leading man fool you. Christopher Lambert is just an ordinary business man visiting Japan. John Lone & Yoshio Harada make the flick. Tak Kubota as Oshima gave the movie a bit of comic relief as well. The fight scenes are absolutely astounding. I watched this movie dog tired & was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I had to recommend it to all of my friends the very next day. I'm watching it AGAIN as I am typing this review. Two words... "Train Scene." If you want to know what I'm talking about, BUY THE MOVIE.

Have you ever watched a flick that was so good, with the main characters being so ruthless & believable that you couldn't help but get goosebumps? Well, here's an excerpt from the film that will give nothing away but a brief foreshadowing of just how good the Samurai was:

Paul Racine: What do we do if he loses?
Meiko: Takeda will not lose...

Have you got goosebumps yet? Those of you expecting a cheesy movie w/ horrible acting, CGI & impossible stunts done with cables, turn the other way. I bought this movie site unseen & without any recommendation from anyone except the plethora of 5 star reviews from Amazon. It was well worth the money & you will not be disappointed.

Don't be fooled by the premise that Christopher Lambert is the "star" of the movie nor that the creator of the movie also created Under Siege, The Hunted is a movie that does an excellent job of portraying the beauty of sword play, the bitterness of revenge, and beauty of justice.

Paul Racine (Christopher Lambert) is an American on a business trip in Japan and ends up meeting Kirina (Joan Chen) at a bar at his hotel. His wonderful night with the beautiful Kirina ends with her life being taken by Kinjo (John Lone), the leader of a ninja clan that is thought to only exist in tales to scare children, and Paul is critically injured, but not killed, in the process.

Paul, unfortunately, is still hunted by the ninjas and is taken under the protection of Takeda (Yoshio Harada), a master swordsman. The movie flows through beautiful and semi-realistic sword play while the truth behind Takeda's true intentions and Kinjo's obsession with killing Paul (in order to relieve himself of the images of Kirina that are haunting him) are revealed gradually and lead to the final battle.

The movie portrays beautiful and realistic (except for a scene where Takeda deflects two throwing-stars with his sword) fighting scenes mixed with an almost classic ideaology of samurai and ninja conflict.

The DVD has basic bonus features, including cast and production notes and offers the movie in spoken french and english and sub-titled in spanish and english. Even if you are not interested in the bonus features, I would suggest at least purchasing the VHS of The Hunted.

This movie is one of the best with east meets west since RED SUN starring Charles Bronson and Toshiro Mifune.I have always been thrilled to see martial arts films.Samurai movies interest me most because of the swordplay that is displayed which is always superb as in this film.This movie is it because of the fight scenes and drums playing in the background by the taiko group KODO.These guys are dangerously skilled at playing drums.The rhythms these guys create are too much. I cannot sit still listening,it is great music to exercise or do aerobics to. My favorite is the guy who beats the 1,ooolb drum. I like this movie so much that I rent it repeatingly just to hear the drums because I cannot find the soundtrack anywhere.RENT THE MOVIE THEN BUY THE MOVIE.

This movie is probably one of Christopher Lambert's best to come out in recent years. For those of us who grew up to him wielding a sword in Highlander, we get a sense of nostalgia watching him dog his way through Japan, chased by a cult of ninja.