The Shark Hunter Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		3.0

The Shark Hunter Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 16, 2026

Enzo G. Castellari's "The Shark Hunter" (1979) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new program with Franco Nero and Enzo G. Castellari; new program with producer Enzo Doria; vintage trailer; and more. In English or Italian, with optional English and English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

After Jaws, the Italians produced all kinds of different genre films about killer sea creatures, not all of which were giant sharks. They were silly films. However, some stretched their narratives with genuine enthusiasm, which made them enormously entertaining. Many of these films managed to attract fine European and American actors, too.

Enzo G. Castellari’s The Shark Hunter is one of the better amongst these films, though it should not be placed next to Michael Anderson’s Orca, undoubtedly the best in the entire bunch. The Shark Hunter works well almost exclusively because of its star, Franco Nero, whose unsurprisingly enthusiastic performance legitimizes its story in the most efficient way possible.

After hiding on the Caribbean Island of Cozumel for years, former American secret agent-turned-shark hunter Mike di Donato (Franco Nero) launches the final phase of a masterplan that would make him filthy rich. Donato confronts several thugs beating up veteran professional diver Acapulco (Jorge Luke) and, after earning his admiration, invites him to be his partner in a risky job. Donato needs Acapulco to assist him while recovering one hundred million dollars from a plane at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. The location where the plane is, which only Donato knows, is a massive shark cave, and even a tiny error can prove deadly. Once the money is successfully extracted from the plane -- using a giant hose hooked to a power generator that will suck and deposit it into a balloon on the surface of the Pacific Ocean -- it will be split in half. Fifty million dollars will go to Donato, fifty million dollars to Acapulco.

But shortly after Donato and Acapulco become partners and begin preparing for the risky job, Donovan (Mike Forrest), a prominent member of The Organization, arrives in the area with his paid mistress (Mirta Miller) and starts looking for an experienced shark hunter to help him make his vacation more exciting. When he locates Donato, Donovan expresses his desire to be his partner as well, but under vastly different conditions. After Donovan, Captain Gomez (Eduardo Fajardo), a senior boss in The Organization, and several of his associates appear, too. Unlike Donovan, Captain Gomez locates Donato and dispatches Ramon (Werner Pochath), a professional bouncer, to deliver a message that he intends to be in charge of the risky job.

Even though The Shark Hunter is a member of the large family of Italian copycats that emerged after Jaws, it works with the same blueprint that produced Peter Yates’ The Deep and J. Lee Thompson’s Cabo Blanco. In all three films, a sunken fortune sends American opportunists on a collision course with very bad people who plan to eliminate them as soon as they help them recover it. The Shark Hunter is simply a smaller film done with plenty of Italian flair, relying on a single star to make it attractive. (In The Deep, Nick Nolte is surrounded by such fine actors as Robert Shaw, Louis Gossett Jr., Eli Wallach, Jacqueline Bisset, and Dick Anthony Williams. In Cabo Blanco, Charles Bronson is paired with Jason Robards, Fernando Rey, Dominique Sanda, and Camilla Sparv).

The Italian flair that gives The Shark Hunter its identity and makes it enjoyable is a mix of two things. The first is Nero’s unsurprisingly enthusiastic performance. The second is Guido and Maurizio De Angelis’ soundtrack -- specifically the “Il Cacciatore di Squali” track and its variations -- which infuses the narrative with a rich Italo Disco vibe.

*Castellari plays one of the nastiest guys who are dispatched to rough up Nero. In another sequence, Castellari also attempts to take out Forrest's character with a sniper rifle. Instead, he seriously injures the latter's paid mistress.

The Shark Hunter Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Shark Hunter arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films.

The technical presentation of The Shark Hunter is very frustrating, but not for the reasons highlighted in the short message that precedes its opening credits. (You can see the reasons here).

The current presentation of The Shark Hunter is a reconstruction job. According to Severin, it combines footage from two 35mm prints, both with obvious limitations introduced by aging. Despite several notable bumps and frame skips, visible scratches and marks, I found the reconstruction job to be very nicely done and pleasing. It is exactly what I expected, given the lack of proper elements. Unfortunately, the final product is very oddly graded. There is obvious tealing of the kind that plagues Criterion's recent 4K restorations of Night Moves and Sorcerer, creating similar or replicating the same anomalies that are present there. For example, numerous primaries are collapsed, while various ranges of supporting nuances are lost. The age of the 35mm prints is not a contributing factor. All of these anomalies have been introduced during the grading process. As a result, a lot of the color degradation creates wild, digitally looking visuals, like the ones seen here, here, and here. Unsurprisingly, even in the best-looking areas, balance is still off by a lot, and the dynamic range of the visuals remains problematic. (These particular anomalies are extremely similar to the ones seen on the recent, also compromised by tealing applications, 4K restoration of Convoy). There are no traces of problematic degraining, sharpening, or contrast boosting adjustments. Ultimately, I think that this release is a rare misfire for Severin Films because with a proper grading it easily could have been as satisfying as its recent releases of Rats: Night of Terror and Hell of the Living Dead, both sourced from challenging elements as well. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

The Shark Hunter Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH (for the English track) and English (for the Italian track) subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed The Shark Hunter with the original English track. Given the nature of the reconstruction job, I thought that it was very nice. Guido and Maurizio De Angelis' Italo Disco soundtrack, which is a massive treat, sounded lovely on my system. Yes, there are obvious fluctuations and numerous spikes and drops in dynamic activity, too. However, they are practically unavoidable because even pristine audio tracks of Italian genre films from the 1970s have them.

The Shark Hunter Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Deep Bond - in this new program, Franco Nero and Enzo G. Castellari recall how they collaborated on The Shark Hunter and how the film had to be altered on the fly, in Mexico, after the original screenplay for it was lost somewhere in America. Castellari reveals that the film and its production were "nonstop fun", and he and Franco did enormous improvisational work because it was possible to "change it at any time". Franco also notes that they had the best underwater cameraman, Ramon Bravo, a Mexican, who specialized in sharks. At the end of the program, Nero and Castellari, who think of each other as "brothers", reveal their greatest regret -- a final western that never materialized because they trusted the wrong German producer. The program was produced by Federico Caddeo in 2025. In Italian and English, with English subtitles. (43 min).

• Money and Fins - in this new program, producer Enzo Doria discusses his background and comments on his involvement with The Shark Hunter. The program was produced by Federico Caddeo in 2025. In Italian, with English subtitles. (4 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for The Shark Hunter. In English, not subtitled. (5 min).

• Soundtrack - the original soundtrack for The Shark Hunter is presented on a CD. 22 tracks. Total length: 54.45 min.

• Lobby Card - a reproduction of an original lobby card with vintage poster art for The Shark Hunter.

The Shark Hunter Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Years ago, in some markets, The Shark Hunter was as popular as Django, and in West Germany, it was even promoted as Django and the Sharks. However, while The Shark Hunter is a member of the large family of Italian copycats that emerged after Jaws, it works with the same blueprint that produced Peter Yates' The Deep and J. Lee Thompson's Cabo Blanco. I like it quite a lot and was thrilled to see that Severin Films announced a Blu-ray release of it shortly before Black Friday. Unfortunately, while the reconstruction job that was prepared is quite nice, the film is very oddly graded. If you decide to pick up the Blu-ray release, do so when it is discounted.