University of Virginia Library

'Trail Of The Hunter'
Travelogue Of Death

By Carl Erickson
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

Travelogues are the mainstay of
practically every small-town
theatre. They are inexpensive to
purchase; they can be shown over
and over again; and there are always
some people in the audience who
marvel at colorful shots of nature's
beauty, if not at the vulgar tourists
who destroy it.

Mainstays though they may be,
travelogues are sure to bore any
person who attends movies with
any regularity. Soon one mountain
begins to look like any other and
you can almost swear that the
narrator never changes.

The one consolation given to the
viewer is that the average travelogue
runs only ten minutes, time enough
to go outside in the lobby, smoke a
cigarette and return in time for the
feature. Alas, such is not the case at
the Cinema this week as "Trail of
the Hunter" begins its run. Ninety
minutes full of glorious nature,
"Trail of the Hunter" makes one
long for the aesthetic beauty of
downtown Charlottesville.

Besides being nauseatingly
picturesque and boringly long,
"Trail of the Hunter" is quite
hypocritical in its content. As the
title suggests, the film follows the
adventures of some modern-day
hunters (and fishers) in their search
for entertainment. The audience is
treated to excellent slow-motion
shots of many of the world's
beautiful animals. We see their
muscles rippling. We follow their
graceful strides. We marvel at their
speed and agility. Then we watch
them die as the hunter's bullet
strikes them. What's going on here?

The narrator tells us that many
of these animals were threatened by
extinction years ago when hunters
ran amok. Then the hunting season
was closed so they could flourish
again. Why? So that the hunters can
begin killing them again?

The narrator goes on to say that
he only kills what he is going to eat.
Why, then, does he travel to Alaska
to kill a bear? Is he so selective?
And why does he call the dead
animals trophies? And why does he
feel obligated to justify each of his
killings?

But, go see "Trail of the
Hunter" if you can't stand the sight
of: pheasants, ducks, geese, bears,
moose, deer, antelopes, panthers,
bobcats, mountain lions, buffaloes,
elks, mountain goats, quail, or
rabbits. More important, go see
"Trail of the Hunter" if you delight
in seeing beauty destroyed in
beautiful Technicolor.

(Now At The Cinema)