This is formula tough guy vs tough guy manhunt. It's based on an actual incident, and changed to meet Hollywood iconic stereotypes of godlike men.In truth, the real manhunt was for a vicious killer, resulting in a little bit of what we see on film. As far as "literary license" goes, this is not as bad as most movies. However, the real killer was a killer, and was caught.Here, Bronson plays a man wrongly accused, as suits Hollywood. Thanks to Hollywood, people now see fit to judge guilt based on how they feel about the person politically. That's changed a bit in the last ten years, but in the seventies and eighties, it was very racist.Bronson's character is likable, though. He does what he needs to survive. As a story on its own, if one wants to call it a fiction piece, it works very well. Lee Marvin is a good grunting sort of mountie who takes on the aristocratic sort of mountie rookie, the idealist so popular in this era, who would learn that grunting is better than being civilized.The real story comes with the supporting characters. Three in particular, who have a later rendezvous with destiny. An old trapper, and a pair of trappers who are low in the pecking order, one of them completely on the bottom, the other who bullies him around.It is a story mostly of the pecking order of bullies in the savage wilderness. That part is done fairly well. It could have been much worse.

Here is a story set in Canada about Canadians and yet it was made by the US. I have to ponder why Canada didn't jump on doing this story themselves. If one wonders why Canadian movies are so lame (about failure, disease, depression, weird humor) I would say it is because culturally we have an aversion to examining ourselves in a critical fashion whereas other countries do it quite naturally. England has made films about notorious murders, same with Australia, or Germany (Tenderness of the Wolves), and of course, the US. This story would have been perfect material for a domestic movie--but I can find no evidence that Canada ever sought to make this story themselves. I can understand with the stars involved that they dramatized it and changed the facts, but if it were done with no stars, and kept to the historical story, it still would have been fascinating. But the government film funding bodies don't like stories that present Canada in a negative light. At least in the English side-I know Quebec has covered stories on its history in fictional fashion. I remember the furor over a Canadian murder case when a Canadian producer wanted to make a film about it and was harshly condemned, so the US made it-and Canadian crew people vowed not to work on it. This is seriously screwed up thinking. If Canada wants to develop a normal film industry it needs to be less reserved and more self-examining.... On the film itself, I agree with the sentiments that you wouldn't see this film made today-and if you did, it would star model-types. Character actors have really gone extinct. Some of the melodramatic touches in the film worked for me (the dog, the trapper Bill), others fell flat(the inserted love story). Still, Bronson was effective (you could totally believe he was a rugged mountain man) and Marvin had some good lines (I am sure Canadian government culture ministers would have axed his comment calling the trappers "savages" if it was made in country).

"Death Hunt" is based on a true story that I've never heard or read about before, so I will further refrain from commenting on how inaccurate the plot is or how badly the makers altered the truth for commercial purposes. The only thing I saw was an action/adventure movie in which my idol Charles Bronson is once again a lone hero fighting off a bunch of vicious men who are after him for unjust reasons. Charlie plays the massively skilled and seasoned Canadian Mountain trapper Albert Johnson; a respectable man who minds his own business and doesn't look for trouble anywhere. After a banal incident with some fellow Mounties, he's wrongfully accused of being the notorious "Mad Trapper"; a psychopath who prowls the mountains and allegedly kills people for the gold in their teeth. A second confrontation with the bloodthirsty Mounties generates a relentless manhunt through the ice-cold and devastating Canadian landscape. The fatigue Sergeant Edgar Millen from the Royal Canadian Mountain Police leads the hunt, though merely to prevent the others from blatantly executing Albert Johnson, as he still believes the man is innocent. In spite of the terrific ensemble cast and the most breathtaking filming locations there are to be found on this planet, "Death Hunt" sadly felt somewhat like a disappointing and routine action movie. In between the shootout sequences, which are admittedly very explicit and grim, there are overlong boring and pointless parts with nothing going on except the showing of beautiful snowy Canadian mountain scenery. Director Peter Hunt (I guess with a name like his you have to direct this movie) unsuccessfully tries to fill up these parts with irrelevant sub plots, like the appearance of the real Mad Trapper and the hostile competition within the RCMP. There even is a seriously strange and unfitting gay-love interlude that I fail to see the purpose of. Charles Bronson's acting relies on his charisma instead of on lines, as usual, and Lee Marvin looks as fatigue and fed up with life as his character. The best performances come from the supportive cast, including Carl Weathers ("Rocky"), Adrew Stevens ("The Fury") and Ed Lauter ("The Longest Yard"). Other reviewers already righteously pointed out the resemblance between this film and the earlier Charles Bronson film "Chato's Land". Both movie feature our testosterone-packed hero as a lone and introvert warrior versus suckers stupid enough to challenge him on his own turf. A vengeful bare-chested Apache in one film, a warmly dressed up Canadian Mountie in the other. Now who says Charlie isn't a versatile actor, ha!

The Yukon territory in 1931. Rugged, laconic loner trapper Albert Johnson (a splendidly terse and stoic Charles Bronson) saves a badly wounded canine from a brutal dogfight. The guys involved in the dogfight decide to pay Johnson a visit. Johnson shoots and kills one of the men in self-defense. Tough Mountie Sergeant Edgar Millen (a strong, steely turn by Lee Marvin) tries to arrest Johnson, but he gets away and so begins one of the deadliest manhunts in history. Director Peter Hunt relates the gripping story at a steady pace, vividly evokes the Great Depression period setting, stages the action scenes with rip-roaring flair, and frequently punctuates things with startling outbursts of raw, bloody violence. Bronson and Marvin both excel in the leads (their one big confrontation scene is a taut, crackling doozy); they receive fine support from Andrew Stevens as eager, by-the-book, fresh-faced rookie Alvin Adams, Carl Weathers as the jolly Sundog, Ed Lauter as gruff, huffy troublemaker Hazel, Angie Dickinson as the sweet, enticing Vanessa McBride, Henry Beckman as wily veteran tracker Bill Lusk, August Schellenberg as the hot-tempered Deak De Blearque, Maury Chaykin as the scruffy, dim-witted Claurence, Len Lesser as the grizzled Lewis, Scott Hylands as cocky airplane pilot Hank Tucker, and Willam Sanderson as the clumsy Ned Warren (he gets his arm caught in a bear trap). James Devis' slick, expansive cinematography, Jerrold Immel's rousing, majestic score, and the desolate wintry landscape all further enhance the overall sound quality of this cracking good and stirring picture.