The Hunter Will Get You Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

The Hunter Will Get You Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 1, 2021

Philippe Labro's "The Hunter Will Get You" (1976) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new audio commentary by critics Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson; archival video interview with Philippe Labro; and vintage trailer. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The Hunter

I would like to quickly address a claim that has appeared on a few exclusive audio commentaries that are included on Blu-ray releases of older French crime films the folks at Kino Lorber are bringing to America via their partnership with StudioCanal. The information that I will share below isn’t new, but I sense that some film collectors are unaware of it.

Many of these older French crime films are transferred to Blu-ray from ancient European masters that were created during the DVD era, which is why they have a very similar ‘cold’ appearance. (The ‘cold’ is usually a combination of steely grays and greens, plus very similar ranges of light blues). This particular appearance has been described as a stylistic preference of importance in the work of the directors that made these films, which is a false claim. The reason why so many of these crime films look similar is because they were routinely transferred in the exact same incorrect manner, without proper reference work to ensure color accuracy. In France, the ‘cold’ appearance was consistently sought only by the great director Jean-Pierre Melville, which is why a few of his classic crime films have similar stylistic identities. Sadly, in recent years the same damaging practice of improper and very deceiving grading has made an even bigger comeback, which is why after they were restored so many classic French (and just as many Italian) films now boast virtually identical stylistic identities. Simply put, this isn’t how these films were shot and should look after they were restored.

Jean-Paul Belmondo is Roger Pilard, a mercenary who gets hired to do very, very risky jobs. His main employer is the French secret police, but legit evidence that the two parties are even aware of each other’s existence does not exist. When Pilard is paid to bring down a seemingly impenetrable drug-dealing business or well-connected sex trafficker, it is always in a simple transaction with untraceable cash from a top-secret fund that even senior government officials are unaware exists.

The few people that deal directly with Pilard refer to him as The Hunter. Pilard does not like them, but the money they pay him more than make up for the inconvenience of occasionally meeting them and listening to their requests. It is good business, and sometimes good business can be unpleasant business. If they keep paying him, Pilard will keep tolerating them.

Pilard’s latest job is to track down The Hawk (Bruno Cremer), an exceptionally elusive robber and serial killer who according to the police “recruits juvenile delinquents to assist him and then disposes of them in the same way he does other witnesses of his crimes.” Pilard begins looking for The Hawk, but getting his identity right and then forcing him to commit an error that will provide him with an opportunity to neutralize him proves to be a major challenge.

Philippe Labro’s The Hunter Will Get You (L’Alpagueur) comes from the 1970s and attempts to blend two completely different identities. The first is heavily influenced by the classic American gangster films that Labro was apparently a big admirer of. The second is that of a loose French crime thriller which welcomes the type of light humor Belmondo’s work was praised for in the 1960s. This is the primary reason why there is a great deal of stylistic overlapping in it that produces some very unusual contrasts. (This particular stylistic overlapping is what the best of Belmondo’s latter films became known for, including his popular comedies).

Belmondo is unquestionably the star of The Hunter Will Get You, but Labro does not require of him to be constantly before the camera. Large portions of the film are reserved for Cremer as well as other actors that play important secondary characters. As a result, Pilard’s difficult pursuit of The Hawk becomes a piece of an evolving and much more complex puzzle. (The most interesting subplot involves an incarcerated criminal with a reputation who together with prison officials is able to ‘release’ various inmates in exchange for a hefty fee. Pilard busts his operation after he enters the prison pretending to be a wealthy Canadian arms trafficker).

The mood of the film is shaped up by a terrific soundtrack courtesy of Michel Colombier, who worked with Prince on Purple Rain.

The Hunter Will Get You Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Hunter Will Get You arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from an older master that I don't find very convincing. It is a lot healthier than the one that was used for the recent release of Le Magnifique, but it has a wide range of limitations that give the visuals a very dated appearance. For example, virtually all indoor and nighttime footage reveals heavy black crush that wipes out native nuances and impacts depth. This is unfortunate because the density levels are very strong and these visuals hold up really well. The color grading is disappointing as well. It favors steely grays and blueish/greenish hues that essentially reset the film's color temperature to permanent 'cold', but it is awfully easy to tell that there should be a great variety of lush primaries and supporting nuances. Also, there are extremely light traces of filtering that further destabilize some of the darker color values. Image stability is very good. There are no distracting large debris, cuts, damage marks, warped or torn frames to report. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Hunter Will Get You Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The film has a very unique soundtrack that does some wonderful things to build up its ambience. The lossless track handles it really well, which surprised me quite a bit because the current master was almost certainly prepared during the DVD era. The dialog is sharp, clear, stable, and very easy to follow. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review.

The Hunter Will Get You Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a vintage French trailer for The Hunter Will Get You. In French, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Interview with Writer/Director Philippe Labro - in this archival video interview, Philippe Labro recalls how he pitched the idea for The Hunter Will Get You to Jean-Paul Belmondo, and discusses the film's stylistic appearance and attitude, the shooting process, the critical response to the film, etc. In French, with English subtitles. (27 min).

• Commentary - in this new commentary, critics Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson discuss the stylistic appearance and genre identity of The Hunter Will Get You, the careers of Philippe Labro and Jean-Paul Belmondo, French crime films during the 1970s, the impact American crime films had on French filmmakers (including Jean-Pierre Melville), etc. There are some specific observations about stylistic trends in French genre films from the same period The Hunter Will Get You emerged, but I found them problematic.

The Hunter Will Get You Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I am not as enthusiastic about The Hunter Will Get You as apparently plenty of other folks are, but it isn't because I think that it is a poor film. (For what it's worth, I do find the manner in which The Hunter uncovers the identity of The Hawk and then tracks him down unconvincing). Rather, it is because The Hunter Will Get You comes from the 1970s, and this is the decade that produced some of Jean-Paul Belmondo's most entertaining films. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from an older and pretty average master that was supplied by StudioCanal, but if you are even remotely interested in The Hunter Will Get You, you should pick it up. Why? Because this film has been awfully difficult to see in America for a long, long time, and because I am pretty sure that Kino Lorber's release will be the end of the line for it here. In other words, it is likely your last chance to own a physical copy of if. RECOMMENDED.