- Actors: Brian Blessed, Iain Cuthbertson, Jake D'Arcy, Matthew Zajac, Fish
- Directors: Graham Holloway
- Format: Widescreen, PAL, HiFi Sound, Colour
- Language English
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3 - 1.33:1
- Classification: PG
- Studio: Cromwell
- VHS Release Date: 24 April 1995
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00004CV3Y
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 5,689 in Video (See Top 100 in Video)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
'Chasing the Deer' is a tale set during the Jacobite Rising of 1745/46 based around a Highland tacksman and his son who are both reluctantly dragged into service on opposing sides, culminating in a tragic meeting at the disastrous Battle of Culloden.
The portrayals of the various well-known characters such as Charles Stuart, Lord George Murray and John William O'Sullivan are the commonly accepted views of their personas i.e Charles;an ignorant, arrogant, stubborn young man, Murray; a hotheaded but wise and battle-hardened commander and O'Sullivan as an excitable idiot. The portrayal of all i feel is fairly accurate, drawing conclusion from pieces I have read on the subject.
It is refreshing to see a decent attempt at telling the harsh realities of the '45 and how families could become embroiled in war on opposing sides, willingly or not. Such an instance of course occurred with the sons of the chief of Clan Chisholm during the rising as well as several others.
Budget constraints somewhat limit the effectiveness of the large-scale battle scenes at Prestonpans and Culloden as it often looks like twenty men against twenty rather than several thousand on each side.The fighting scenes are fairly realistic however despite a few invisible (but fatal) blows.
Some of the acting leaves a wee bit to be desired, such as the actor who plays the son, Ewen Campbell, but most play their parts competently, including a brooding cameo by the singer 'Fish',who incidentally is one who falls victim to one of the unseen but decisive blows.
Leys Castle Moor and the countryside around Inverness provides the backdrop for the battlefield scenes which ,to be fair, are not unlike Culloden considering it is barely five miles from where they were filmed.
To sum up, a good, realistic effort at telling the story and the film is undeniably entertaining although it is slightly on the short side. I live in hope that a big-budget film will be made on the '45, with more historical accuracy than films such as 'Braveheart' but losing none of the passion.
The portrayals of the various well-known characters such as Charles Stuart, Lord George Murray and John William O'Sullivan are the commonly accepted views of their personas i.e Charles;an ignorant, arrogant, stubborn young man, Murray; a hotheaded but wise and battle-hardened commander and O'Sullivan as an excitable idiot. The portrayal of all i feel is fairly accurate, drawing conclusion from pieces I have read on the subject.
It is refreshing to see a decent attempt at telling the harsh realities of the '45 and how families could become embroiled in war on opposing sides, willingly or not. Such an instance of course occurred with the sons of the chief of Clan Chisholm during the rising as well as several others.
Budget constraints somewhat limit the effectiveness of the large-scale battle scenes at Prestonpans and Culloden as it often looks like twenty men against twenty rather than several thousand on each side.The fighting scenes are fairly realistic however despite a few invisible (but fatal) blows.
Some of the acting leaves a wee bit to be desired, such as the actor who plays the son, Ewen Campbell, but most play their parts competently, including a brooding cameo by the singer 'Fish',who incidentally is one who falls victim to one of the unseen but decisive blows.
Leys Castle Moor and the countryside around Inverness provides the backdrop for the battlefield scenes which ,to be fair, are not unlike Culloden considering it is barely five miles from where they were filmed.
To sum up, a good, realistic effort at telling the story and the film is undeniably entertaining although it is slightly on the short side. I live in hope that a big-budget film will be made on the '45, with more historical accuracy than films such as 'Braveheart' but losing none of the passion.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
This is one of the very few films about the Jacobite rebellion of 1745 and so is to be welcomed for that. The film has many virtues, but could have been better.
Firstly there is no romanticism as most of the ordinary Scots shown here are either apathetic to the Jacobite cause or hostile to it, save for a single enthusiast. We also see alllegedly pro-government Scots wondering if they should show some support to the Jacobites as they might win.
The Jacobite forces prior to Culloden are noted as lacking suppleis, which is accurate.
The battle scene at Culloden is well done, but there were no cavalrymen, presumably due to budgetary considerations. Even so, this is a loss, for the regular cavalry played a key role in the battle.
Although Ruthven barracks are the setting for a number of scenes, the 2 sieges of the barracks are neither shown nor referred to.
However, the Jacobite army is shown as a purely Highland host, armed with swords and lochaber axes, whereas in reality there were many Lowlanders and more men had muskets as well as, or instead of, swords.
Cumberland and his forces are shown marching out of Fort George - which was not built until 20 years later and is in Scotland - they are meant to be in England. We also hear that prior to this Cumberland et al are in France, whereas they were not.
Charles Edward Stuart is happily not shown in kilt, but he remains remarkably calm during the stormy conference in Derby.
Finally the alleged emotional impact is lost because we can guess the ending and in any case, we don't see enough of the characters to bewail their fates overmuch.
Despite these criticisms, the film avoids many of the possible anachronisms and blunders that it could easily have included. Having Stuart Reid as the historical adviser certainly helped.
Firstly there is no romanticism as most of the ordinary Scots shown here are either apathetic to the Jacobite cause or hostile to it, save for a single enthusiast. We also see alllegedly pro-government Scots wondering if they should show some support to the Jacobites as they might win.
The Jacobite forces prior to Culloden are noted as lacking suppleis, which is accurate.
The battle scene at Culloden is well done, but there were no cavalrymen, presumably due to budgetary considerations. Even so, this is a loss, for the regular cavalry played a key role in the battle.
Although Ruthven barracks are the setting for a number of scenes, the 2 sieges of the barracks are neither shown nor referred to.
However, the Jacobite army is shown as a purely Highland host, armed with swords and lochaber axes, whereas in reality there were many Lowlanders and more men had muskets as well as, or instead of, swords.
Cumberland and his forces are shown marching out of Fort George - which was not built until 20 years later and is in Scotland - they are meant to be in England. We also hear that prior to this Cumberland et al are in France, whereas they were not.
Charles Edward Stuart is happily not shown in kilt, but he remains remarkably calm during the stormy conference in Derby.
Finally the alleged emotional impact is lost because we can guess the ending and in any case, we don't see enough of the characters to bewail their fates overmuch.
Despite these criticisms, the film avoids many of the possible anachronisms and blunders that it could easily have included. Having Stuart Reid as the historical adviser certainly helped.
Format:DVD
This film was sponsored by private individuals and companies - it's not a big studio release. Any independent British-made historical epic would be an amazing achievement, but this film could actually hold its own against the commercial competition. Without a big budget, the film focusses on the acting. The film begins in 1715 after the Battle of Sheriffmuir, then jumps to the arrival of Prince Charles Edward Stuart in Scotland in 1745. We follow the Jacobites to Edinburgh and then to Derby and their humiliating retreat back to face the Hanoverian army on Culloden Moor outside Inverness. A personal story is woven into this epic narrative. The film gives a balanced portrayal of both sides of the conflict, although I was a little disappointed that it did not carry on to look at the destruction of the Highlands. The battle scenes are realistic, under the circumstances, and were performed by battle recreationists rather than actors.
The most disappointing feature of this DVD is the quality of the picture - it looks as if it has been transferred from VHS tape. Strangely the picture quality of the theatrical trailer is better than that of the main picture.
The most disappointing feature of this DVD is the quality of the picture - it looks as if it has been transferred from VHS tape. Strangely the picture quality of the theatrical trailer is better than that of the main picture.
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