Film Treasures is an invaluable UK based site and resource allowing film collectors to order imports directly from here without having to worry about excruciating long waits, customs issues and the likes from your favourite labels like Severin, Unearthed and Vinegar Syndrome. Stocking merch such as shirts and vinyl as well as the actual movies it’s a one stop shot for the discerning collector. Following its success owner Graeme Lloyd has decided to go a step further and tackle the minefield that is rights issues and actually source some releases of his own. Setting up Treasured Films he has more than successfully done this with first release Antonio Margheriti’s Vietnam war actioner The Last Hunter (1980) a classic from the Italian exploitation genre and a film many were keen to upgrade from previous DVD and now redundant US and German blu-ray releases.
Older film fans may remember this from video shop days of glory when it was released here in 81 via Inter-Light. Caught up in the whole video nasty purge it found itself thrust into the spotlight as a section 3 title due no doubt to its somewhat over the top gore and SFX which is still likely to have a visceral impact on those watching it today. Antonio Margheriti had been working cross-genre since the late 50’s and was adept at everything from Westerns & peplums to gothic horrors, sci-fi and giallo. Moving with the times he was not averse to pumping up the violence either and lumped in with all the gut-munchers actually scored a DPP section 1 prosecuted title with Cannibal Apocalypse (1980). This was perhaps unfair as it too had its genesis in the Vietnam War with surviving POW’s returning to an inhospitable America with an unfortunate taste for human flesh. It’s actually a lot more palatable than other more notorious excesses.
The Philippine setting was utilised by many a film crew for all manner of jungle adventures and indeed with The Last Hunter many locations that had formerly been used in Coppola’s epic blockbuster Apocalypse Now (1979) are featured here. That’s just one of the things going for the film and another is that it features a veritable who’s who of Italian staple stars of the era. Heading them up is actually New Zealand actor David Warbeck as the action hero of the title. One could perhaps cruelly say that he got the lead as John Saxon wasn’t available but I have always loved Warbeck and he plays man on a mission Henry against hostile forces well and with suitably rugged flair. Warbeck made this just before joining up with Lucio Fulci and starring in The Black Cat and The Beyond. It’s actually quite cool too noting similarities between him and Saxon who took the lead in the aforementioned Cannibal Apocalypse.
After a friend and comrade goes boocoo dinky dow on r&r in a Vietnamese “house of fun” he is dropped behind enemy lines and quickly outsmarted by a snake, losing kit and rifle in the process. He meets with a designated squad led by Sgt. George Washington (Tony King who would later kind of reprise his role in Ruggero Deodato’s Atlantis Interceptors 1983) who seem straight out copied later by John McTiernan in Predator (1987). This small task force is also notable for including Bobby Rhodes of Demons as Carlos and investigative photo-journalist Jane Foster played by Zombie Flesh Eater’s swimmer and Mia’s sister Tisa Farrow. Naturally there is plenty of bonding and quick wit among them as they head deeper into the jungle on their undisclosed mission.
It’s obvious that inspiration was taken from bigger budgeted US Nam counterparts. At one stage our heroes pitch up at a captured cave system and a group of stoned out their brain and horny US grunts commanded by the somewhat deranged Major Bill Cash (Caligula, Salon Kitty and Tenebrae star John Steiner). He may not be quite up to the gonzo standards of Robert Duvall and Charlie may not be surfing but wait till you get a load of the capture a coconut game under enemy fire! Another selling point for the film is that it is undeniably action packed. Margheriti and his crew have a huge fondness for blowing things up and take to the task with relish. Nothing and nobody is safe and the killings are brutal, guns’ grenades napalm and flamethrowers are trotted out and grizzly squib shots splatter the canvas in gore. The adrenaline is kept up throughout the 96-minute running time through village massacres, ambushes, inevitable capture and torture and a somewhat deranged conclusion containing the addition of Zombie Creeping Flesh actress Margit Evelyn Newton. If all that’s not enough soundtrack fans can revel in the score by Franco Micalizzi which moves from pumped and pimped up strident funky tones to eerie synthesized mystic jungle warbles. If you have never had the pleasure before, The Last Hunter really does have it all and is great fun with it. Dardano Sacchetti’s script may not be the most original but that’s all part of the pleasure here and along with the political incorrectness of the time, they simply don’t make em like this anymore.
Needless to say the presentation, newly scanned in 2K from the negative here is the best I have ever seen it and this is no simple cheese and tomato margherita but comes absolutely loaded with extra toppings. Along with the rigid box, outsize poster, art-cards and extensive booklet with writings on the film we get the following features. Firstly, commentary track fans are catered for by Nathaniel Thompson, Troy Howarth & Eugenio Ercolani but my first port of call was 61-minute documentary on the director paid in tribute to his career by son Edoardo Margheriti. Described as an “outsider,” Antonio’s films were not specifically marketed for Italian audiences but abroad, hence the reason many were attributed to the directorship of Anthony Dawson. Starting his career of well over 50 films with low budget sci-fi films he gained experience working with MGM on Arabian Adventure ‘The Golden Arrow (1962) and started exploring various genres. For me a favourite was black and white, atmospheric gothic horror ‘The Long Hair Of Death’ a labyrinthine trawl through secret passages, witchcraft and curses taking no shortage of ideas from Mario Bava and even getting Barbara Steele playing the lead. There’s stacks to discover here from clips of long forgotten films that are ripe for rediscovery, to archive interviews with the director, his peers such as Luigi Cozzi and early stars like fresh-faced 23-year-old Franco Nero. His career could have certainly been different if he had taken up an offer of a fan of his early films, one Stanley Kubrik but although an offer was made for collaboration on 2001 A Space Odyssey, knowing it would “sweep his life away” Antonio turned him down! Doing similar with Dino De Laurentiis and effectively turning down an Oscar for King Kong (1976) he continued in his own much smaller world. Some may consider it all massive missed opportunity as despite some gems there was also plenty of well-intentioned cheese to follow in future years. These include such delights as ‘Killer Fish’ (1979), the comic book heroics of ‘Yor The Hunter Of The Future’(1983) and The Ark Of The Sun God (1984) which itself is just getting a 4K release via 88 Films. There is certainly a reason Tarantino cites Cannibal Apocalypse as one of his favourite films and who knows, if he hadn’t plumped on re-imagining Enzo G. Castellari Inglorious Bastards (1979) he may well have turned his attention to it or even The Last Hunter. Although you would be hard pushed to define Margheriti as an auteur there is no denying he had built up a fine body and broad cross-section of work before passing at the age of 72 in 2002. This is a perfect crash course into his “explosive” cannon of work.
Apocalypse Hunter (18 mins) is a video essay by Eugenio Ercolani contextualising The Last Hunter’s placement in Italian cinema as well as providing the evident links between it and the US Vietnam blockbusters. He also talks about the various actors in the film and provides the ties to other films which I mentioned earlier, unravelling a bit like a family tree.
Edoardo is back for ‘From Dawson To Dawson’ a 28 minute interview piece where he talks specifically about working with his father over the time period from Cannibal Apocalypse to the 12 or so Philippine features. He was assistant director on many of these and involved in many aspects of the film-making. He mentions the cluttered area where it was not unusual bumping into a similarly engaged Deodato or Fulci as well as some of the unfortunate, tragic perils of the area such as a plane crash on the last day of shooting Tiger Joe killing Cinematographer Riccardo Pallottini as well as others. Margie Newton is next interviewee behind the lens (13 mins) where she talks particularly about her two cult films, Bruno Mattei’s critically underrated ‘Hell Of The Living Dead’ and The Last Hunter. The good news is although her main career only lasted just over 10 years until the early 90’s she does not seem averse to making a return; especially if Dustin Hoffman or Tisa’s sister Mia come calling.
Leaving virtually no aspect uncovered next a “Jungle Boogie” with composer Franco Micalizzi. His work on westerns, poliziotteschi and horror films had him tackling many different moods and emotions and anyone who has seen Giulio Paradisi’s outstanding Stridulum aka The Visitor (1979) will no doubt easily remember the frayed nerves his contribution left them with. His interview (16 mins) mainly pertains to the film in question, his ethos on work as well as some deep philosophical thought about art and creative forces in general. I expect a whole feature length documentary could easily be made out of his entire career. Last but not least we have ‘Mud And Blood: a new interview with actor and stuntman Massimo Vanni’ (19 mins). Jumping from punch-up to punch up in a wide variety of roles Vanni was no stranger to the Philippines working there a lot with Bruno Mattei on cheese-fests such as Robowar and aborted Fulci project Zombi 3 (both 1988) and was obviously used to working under tough and humid conditions. It all sounds like a fascinating way of life and no doubt one you needed a serious fitness regime and a head thicker than a coconut to survive.
One thing I noticed about the exhaustive extras is not once is anyone less than enthusiastic about things. So many people involved in these sort of films are prone to being less than glowing about their placement in the grand scheme of things. Perhaps The Last Hunter is a rare example of an Italian movie to rival those from America that it was paying homage to? You can make your own mind up on this by following the links and checking out this glorious presentation of the film yourself.
(Pete Woods)
https://www.treasuredfilms.co.uk/the-last-hunter-limited-edition
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