Product Details

• Actors: James Caan, Christopher Lambert, Catherine McCormack, Burt Young, Morten Faldaas
• Directors: Nils Gaup
• Writers: Gilles Béhat, Heck Allen, Lorenzo Donati, Paul Ohl, Philippe Schwartz
• Producers: Anne François
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• VHS Release Date: October 21, 1997
• Run Time: 88 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304372744
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #60,307 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

An unusual Western, North Star trades red rocks and green cactus for a landscape of spectral white, with dogsleds instead of horses and fur instead of rawhide. But there are always bullets, bad men, and saloon brawls! Christopher Lambert (Highlander) stars as the half-Native American protagonist Hudson Saanteek, who is fighting to protect native lands from a predatory mining company led by Sean McLennon (James Caan) and his brutal right-hand man Reno (Burt Young, Rocky). While escaping from McLennon's clutches, Saanteek is forced to kidnap McLennon's mistress, Sarah (Catherine McCormack, Dangerous Beauty), launching a perilous chase through the frozen mountains of Alaska. Despite some moments of clumsy editing and a wooden performance by Lambert, North Star has some surprising virtues--the Gold Rush setting gives the movie an uncommon look (helped by some superb cinematography) and the story, though conventional, moves along effectively. Caan and Young turn in solid performances (the bad guys always get the best scenes, after all) and McCormack is lovely and vulnerable. Not a great movie, but for fans of the Western genre, this is an intriguing entry, with some visually striking sequences. Directed by Norwegian filmmaker Nils Gaup, who also made the acclaimed original version of Pathfinder. --Bret Fetzer

Product Description

Set in Alaska at the turn of the century, "North Star" tells of a half-Indian, half-Caucasian trapper and hunter (Christopher Lambert) who owns the rights to a rich gold lode that he refuses to mine because it is on sacred land. When a corrupt miner (James Caan) attempts to take over the rights to the hunter's mine and those of many other hard-working miners, the two men are drawn into a violent confrontation that highlights their differing attitudes about the rich frontier of Alaska.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars North Star Shines Bright, March 22, 2005

By 

Steamboater - See all my reviews

This review is from: North Star [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. At first, I thought it would be another cheapie with an artic theme or one of those Disney concoctions suitable for a teen crowd. Not so,. Production values are first rate. Burt Young never looked so good. James Caan plays the psycho greedy bad man sans black hat, and even Christopher Lambert comes off well as a half indian-half white trying to prevent Caan and company from stealing claims to the gold diggings. (Someone mentioned the voice-overs didn't match the lip syncs; I never noticed there was any lip syncing and I don't think there was.) This film is pure adventure from start to finish and one that's a bargain at the very cheap price it's listed for at Amazon.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good Norwegian Western, July 13, 2000

By 

"3rd-man" - See all my reviews

This review is from: North Star [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Now here is a film with an interesting pedigree. Based on a novel by American author Will Henry, set in Alaska, but filmed in Norway by a British-French-Norwegian-Italian production. Whew! And with a cast that includes James Caan, Christopher Lambert, Catherine McCormack, and Burt Young, this film is about as multinational as it gets. Not that this is in the least bit unusual. Nils Gaup, best known to most people as the director of THE PATHFINDER, serves up another outdoor adventure set in the Arctic. Though hardly on par with his earlier effort, NORTH STAR is still a decent film on its own. At less than 90 minutes it is a briskly paced and beautifully photgraphed western. Christopher Lambert is either as good or as bad as he ever was, depending on how you feel about him. The idea of him playing a half-white, half-Indian named Hudson Santeek may strike some as ridiculous, but I think he's perfectly acceptable. Opposite Lambert is James Caan as xenophobic town patriarch Sean McLennon, who chews up scenery like there's no tomorrow. The conflict between them over a cave rich in gold but sacred to the people who raised Santeek results in a flurry of chasing, shooting, stabbing, and even a wolf mauling. Given all this, the climax and finale come off as rushed and rather disappointing. I must also admit that I liked John Scott's score in the European version much more than Bruce Rowland's in the American version. But that's a personal bias. The production values and technical aspects of the film are fine, the scripting and acting side less so. A shame considering the cast involved(especially McCormack, who is given too little to do), not to mention co-writer Sergio Donati, whose previous credits include ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST and THE BIG GUNDOWN. For all its flaws, NORTH START is still a good, solid, and enjoyable B-movie.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Lutefisk Western, November 9, 2007

By 

Jeremy W. Forstadt (Pawtucket, RI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: North Star [VHS] (VHS Tape)

James Caan plays Sean McLennon, a greedy land owner who starts grabbing up gold claims in 1899 Nome, Alaska through murder and intimidation. Christopher Lamber plays Hudson Saanteek, a half-breed indian who is fighting to keep the native people on one of the richest of these claims.

The movie is not spectacular, and it has been noted by others that Lambert's acting skills are notab;y less than those of Keanu Reeves. Caan's bad guy is played annoyingly smirky, and Burt Young does nothing to expand beyond his usual generic tough guy range. That being said, there is some nice photography of the frozen northern wild which is pleasing to the eye. Speaking of which, Catherine McCormack is also pleasant to look at, though ultimately I have to admit that the story is not terribly engaging.

Directed by Norwegian Nils Gaup and filmed in Norway with a largely Norwegian cast, NORTH STAR seems to get a little preachy on the racism side of things, which I don't mind as long as there is a story to back it up. Unfortunately, this movie falls considerably short.

Jeremy W. Forstadt