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    • BLU-RAY REVIEW

    Hunter, The

    Featured In Issue 168, July/August 2012

    Picture4
    Sound4
    WSR Score4
    Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
    (Studio/Distributor):
    Magnolia Home Entertainment
    (Catalog Number):
    10470
    (MPAA Rating):
    R
    (Rating Reason):
    Language and brief violence
    (Retail Price):
    $29.98
    (Disc Type):
    Single Side, Single Layer (BD-25)
    (Widescreen Edition):
    Yes
    (Full Screen Edition):
    No
    (Running Time In Minutes):
    102
    (Color Type):
    Color
    (Chaptered/Scene Access):
    Yes
    (Closed Captioned):
    Yes
    (Regional Coding):
    A
    (Theatrical Year):
    2011
    (Theatrical Release):
    Yes
    (Direct-To-Video Release):
    No
    (Disc Release Date):
    07/03/12
    (THX® Digitally Mastered):
    No
    (Director):
    Daniel Nettheim
    (Screenplay/Written By):
    (Story):
    (Music):
    (Director Of Photography):
    (Production Designer):
    (Visual Effects):
    (Costume Designer):
    (Editor):
    (Supervising Sound Editors):
    (Re-Recording Mixers):
    (Executive Producers):
    (Co-Producers):
    (Producers):
    (Academy Awards):
    (Principal Photography):
    (Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
    (Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
    (Disc Soundtrack):
    DTS HD Lossless 5.1
    (Theatrical Sound):
    (Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
    (DTS Bit Rate):
    (Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
    (Additional Languages):
    (French Language):
    (Spanish Language):
    (Chinese Language):
    (Subtitles):
    (Cantonese Language):
    (Mandarin Language):
    (Japanese Language):
    (Italian Language):
    (German Language):
    (Portuguese Language):

    In The Hunter, Martin David (Dafoe), a skilled and focused mercenary, is sent into the Tasmanian wilderness on a hunt for a tiger believed to be extinct. Hired by an anonymous company that wants the tiger's genetic material, Martin arrives in Tasmania posing as a scientist. He proceeds to set up base camp at a broken-down farmhouse, where he stays with a family whose father has gone missing. Usually a loner, Martin becomes increasingly close to the family. However, as his attachment to the family grows, he is led down a path of unforeseen dangers, complicating his deadly mission. Based on the novel by Julia Leigh. (Gary Reber)

    Special features include commentary with Director Daniel Nettheim and Producer Vincent Sheehan, a making-of featurette (HD 32:50), seven deleted scenes with optional commentary (HD 06:39), the theatrical trailer, up-front previews, and BD-Live functionality.

    The 1080p AVC picture is stylized with a grayish tint to the otherwise cinematic appearance. Colors are slightly desaturated and blacks appear more gray than true black. Contrast is generally well balanced, with revealing shadow delineation. The forested canopy is rendered with lush natural greens and browns. Fleshtones are sucked dry of color, leaving a pasty, white appearance. Resolution is nicely
    revealing of texture, including Willem Dafoe's craggy facial features. Overall, the visual mood is rugged but engaging nonetheless. (Gary Reber)

    The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack really captures the sonic nuances of the harsh Tasmania wilderness environment in which the story is set. This is an impressive holosonic® soundtrack that sounds enveloping, with an aggressive surround presence. Atmospherics such as wind, birds, rain, insects, and animal sounds are nicely dimensional. The orchestral music score is quite percussive, with natural deep bass extension enhanced with non-exaggerated .1 LFE energy that, at times, is quite powerful. Dialogue sounds effectively integrated spatially, for a natural presence. This is a quite dynamic soundtrack, with spikes of intensity and a consistently enveloping soundfield. (Gary Reber)

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