Death Hunt (1981)

At first glance Death Hunt might look like the kind of movie that plays on daytime tv while you're waiting to get your tires rotated. But if you are anything like me, you'll glance over your shoulder at the just right time and double take at the prospect of Charles Bronson and Lee Marvin sharing the screen. If that still isn't enticing enough, it's understandable since neither of the stars were exactly riding high at that point. Marvin, in particular had turned down the role of Quint in Jaws and his death came only a year after the film's release. But give Death Hunt just a moment of your attention and none of that would be apparent. From beginning to end this is the screen's two greatest tough guys at the top of their game.

The plot is a loose retelling of an incident in 1930's Yukon, where "The Mad Trapper of Rat River" led the Canadian mounted police on a grueling pursuit before finally being slain. Bronson takes up the role of the trapper and Marvin is the police sergeant who would prefer to sit around and drink. Death Hunt is not quite a masterpiece but it's one of those no frills, go for broke pre-Die Hard action movies featuring some stunning scenery and surprising brutality. Required viewing for when it comes to time to separate the men from the boys. Also Carl Weathers.