North Star

Plot synopsis:
In June 1941 Ukrainian villagers are living in peace. As the school year ends, a group of friends decide to travel to Kiev for a holiday. To their horror, they find themselves attacked by German aircraft, part of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. Eventually their village itself is occupied by the Nazis. Meanwhile, men and women take to the hills to form partisan militias.
The full brutality of the Nazis is revealed when a German doctor (Erich von Stroheim) uses the village children as a source of blood for transfusions into wounded German soldiers. Some children lose so much blood that they die. A famous Russian doctor (Walter Huston) discovers this and informs the partisans, who prepare to strike back. They launch a cavalry assault on the village to rescue the children. The Russian doctor accuses the German doctor of being worse than the convinced Nazis, because he has used his skills to support them. He then shoots him. The peasants join together, and one girl envisions a future in which they will "make a free world for all men".

Tags: revenge, cult, murder, violence

Review:
RELEASED IN 1996 and directed by Nils Gaup, "North Star" is a Western that takes place in Nome, Alaska, during a gold rush in 1899.
James Caan plays the love-to-hate mogul who denies mining claims to foreigners and attempts to kill a half-breed Indian (Christopher Lambert) for the claim to a cave filled with gold, which the Natives use in their ceremonies.
The half-breed ends up abducting the mogul's woman, played by the beautiful Catherine McCormack, who you might remember as Wallace's doomed wife at the beginning of "Braveheart" (1995).
The Winter chase is on!There are elements of other Westerns here, like "Death Hunt" (1981), "Valdez is Coming" (1971), "The Far Country" (1954), "North to Alaska" (1960) and "Dances With Wolves" (1990), but that's to be expected.
On the originality side, it's one of the few fully Winter Westerns of which I can remember beyond "The Great Silence" (1968) and "The Hateful Eight" (2015).
Of course, films like "Will Penny" (1967), "Jeremiah Johnson" (1972), "A Man Called Sledge" (1970) and a few others have some fairly long Winter sequences.While Caan's villainy is too over-the-top for my tastes (although he does it well), I found "North Star" to be a well-done Western, except that the final 11 minutes or so feel rushed.
The locations, sets and cast are all first-rate even while the storytelling has somewhat of a comic booky Grade B vibe.But the filmmakers seemed to hurry the ending.
At the end of the day "North Star" is a worthwhile 'modern Western' that attempts something unique even while being a pastiche of the genre.THE FILM RUNS 88 minutes and was shot in Norway.
I really liked this film.
James Caan was outstanding and intense, plus there was overall great character development throughout - it's not a simple "Western".
Although Christopher Lambert's leading role is controversial, it may be due to character baggage from his other better known roles such as in Highlander.
This is my first direct exposure to the actor/producer, and from a fresh perspective his performance seemed fully resonant with the tone and flow of the movie.
The settings are beautiful, and even though filmed in Norway, it adequately characterizes the Gold Rush as an Alaskan phenomenon..
However when his men only wound Saanteek and kill an old Indian, Saanteek returns to take revenge on McLennon and to protect his land.Why did I bother to tape this film?
The film industry is a funny thing isn't it  James Caan was at his peak in Godfather and Rollerball, while Lambert had his `peak' with Highlander  but now they both wind up in this, although for Lambert he hasn't fallen too far.
The characters never get interesting and the plot never ever gets any tension involved at any level.
The way the ending is forced into a face off is clumsy and typical of the whole film.Caan is OK because he never seems to take it totally seriously  certainly the plot `twists' around his character are impossible to accept without laughing.
The sets and costumes are good and set the period well  shame the film lets them down.Overall this is totally lacking in interest, plot, characters and any sort of action or tension whatsoever.
Had "North Star" been made in the 1940's or 1950's and had starred John Wayne or Charlton Heston, it would have been hailed as an exciting wilderness adventure, featuring excellent chase sequences and solid characters.
However, it was made in 1995, and while the story had a good deal of potential as a great, if mindless, adventure story, it unfortunately is too tame for modern viewers.
While the characters are effective and the story is loaded with some great stuff, it simply pales to films of its kind, including "Cliffhanger" and "White Fang."That said, the cast is excellent, if a little miscast.
James Caan is the villian, a man maddened by the isolated confounds of Nome Alaska.
Having lived there for many years, I knew many people in his situation, and he does as a good a job as possible showing the effects such desolate surroundings can have on the human spirit.
He nails the performance and shows why he's the celebrated actor that he is, and he makes dialogue such as "Nobody dies until I tell them to die!"  sound miraculously believable.Christopher Lambert also brings passion to the role of the half-breed Indian who is trying to protect his land from Caan.
While it is obviously a miscast (he's part Eskimo like I'm Clark Gable!), he does a commendable job as a man torn between loyalties, protecting a land from a native people who don't necessarily trust him.
I don't think he was the ideal choice for the role, simply because he's obviously French, but the subtly and haunted characteristics that he demonstrates here shows a great deal of flair and concern for making this film work.
Between he and Caan, not to mention an altogether underused Catherine McCormick, they almost manage to lift this tame adventure story above standards.
Only style and more over-the-top actions scenes would have, and that is where the movie is lacking.
Still, it's not a bad film to watch during the dog-days of summer for a little pick-me-up.
North Star is unique for a European western in that it's set in Alaska, far from the sun baked deserts of the southwest.
Everything else is disappointingly typical.Caan plays a black-hearted land baron in 1899 Alaska who's systematically murdered and cheated his way into being the owner of the largest goldmines in the area.
He tries to kill Lambert, a half Eskimo who had the good sense to file a claim on his people's sacred (and gold rich) cave.It isn't boring but a chase movie where Christopher Lambert squares off against James Caan and Burt Young in a savage frontier battle for survival should have generated more heat than this, especially being that this is co-written by Sergio Donati, who also helped pen For A Few Dollars More and Once Upon A Time In The West!It's pretty straight forward and unpretentious but it made me wish it were more compelling.
The characters were pretty cardboard, though Caan seems to be having some fun swinging back and forth between greedy and treacherous to insane and out of control.Also, everyone appears to be under-dressed.
This movie takes place in Nome, Alaska during a snowstorm but everyone's dressed like it's Fall.Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson were better in Death Hunt, watch that one first!.
Lambert ruins his own film.
I'm sorry to say that this film only deserves 2 out of 10, due to the main character Christopher Lambert.The expectations to this film was great here, since it's partially filmed here in Norway.
(The snow scenes and great outdoor scenery is filmed at Mösvatn near Rjukan in Telemark, Norway, and the great Nils Gaup is the director.) Lamberts performance sucks big time!
This snow filled western (or northern) has great actors, but due to Lambert tragic figure, the whole film just crashes to the ground, though the story should be good enough.
In the latter part of the 19th century,Alaska is swamped with people claiming land for goldmines and a struggle ensues between a crooked businessman and a half breed over stolen land.
This is in all aspects a western but set in land covered with snow and with sledges more than horses.Film is actually mainly norweigian made but also has other countries involved in it's production,so may even come under the euro western genre.Film is slow paced but also strangely seems rushed at times especially at a rather lacklustre climax.James Caan as the villain of the piece plays it all wide eyed and mad looking which is a little over the top.Some sporadic violence and a couple of OK moments but not enough..
It's nice to seem them looking so good 25 years later even considering the material.When the movie starts I started to think of Jimmy Stewart & Walter Brennan in The Far Country.
It's supposed to showcaset this Highlander guy but he doesn't even rise to the level of Steven Seagal.I laughed and enjoyed Caan as a ruthless businessman turned psycho killer but somewhere Sonny Corleone is shaking his head.
I spotted plot elements from at least three other movies in this film- 1)the ruthless landowner/businessman abusing the honest foreigners (Heaven's Gate) 2)the kidnapping of the said baddie's girlfriend (Valdez is Coming) 3)the pursuit of the noble hero through the Alaskan wilds (Death Hunt) James Caan played the heel well and Burt Young stole the show as his henchman.
Christopher Lambert, however, looked like he was sleepwalking through his role, which ruined the pacing for me.
He could have livened up the movie had he shown some interest in getting revenge on those who wronged him.I don't think Nordic Westerns are going to catch on..
Christopher Lambert has quite a checkered list of elastic films where you either like his work or not.
For me the mid-90s chase adventure "The North Star" falls in the middle bracket not a terrible film by any standards, just lacklustre along with Lambert's performance.
In Alaska in the 1890s a half-breed trapper becomes the target of a crooked businessman who wants the land of his ancestors and the only way to do so is to kill the half-breed.
The plot's foundation harbours familiar trappings, but never really comes alive with no real momentum or character interest.
It's the villainous performances of an unhinged James Caan and a burly Burt Young that keeps it from freezing over.
Despite being made by one of Hollywood's most prominent film companies (Regency), and starring James Caan and Christopher Lambert, the distributor (Warner Brothers) doesn't seem to have done much (if anything) in the way of a theatrical release, at least on this side of the ocean.
It's not a TERRIBLE movie - the scenery looks nice at times, and the movie is never boring - but it comes across as flat.
Lambert is his usual vanilla self, and Caan at times doesn't seem to be taking this acting assignment with much seriousness.
There appear to have been cuts made to the story, either in the screenplay stage or in the editing room, which leads some parts of the movie to be somewhat incoherent or without proper explanation.
One explanation for this may be that this movie was a co-production between FOUR countries - maybe details got lost in the constant translation between the parties.
And in the last part of the movie, Caan's character starts doing some ludicrous things that no man with sense would do in his situation.
Pretty good if you like this sort of thing.
Hudson is a 'half-breed' who wants to preserve land that belongs to the Indians who raised him.
McLennon won't listen, because he despises immigrants as well as half-breeds, and anyone who stands in his way.
Later, one of these two problems is dealt with by a kidnapping, and so begins a wintry wilderness adventure.If you like scenes of sled dogs racing through the snow, this movie may be for you (though this wouldn't have been my first choice; it just happened to be on TV).
There's lots of excitement once the adventure gets going, and some strange plot twists.
James Caan made a deliciously evil and almost comical villain, at least at first.
The Indians talked mostly in a native language, which added to the realism, and I think most of them gave good performances.
Reidar Sorenson was also quite good as Bjorn, with a style that made me wonder if he has done Shakespeare.Still, this is not that special, and maybe there have been movies like this which were done better..
Had "North Star" been made in, let's say, the 60s or 70s, then I would be able to watch it and classify it as maybe an eight or nine-star film.
It's got the kind of plot that would suit a 90s movie, but the way it's made is far too reminiscent of the past.
And when you mix a film that looks modern with a style of the past, it comes out a bit campy.
For example, the screenplay seems like it was written a long time ago and went unchanged until just now.
Characters laughing at jokes and stuff that are not even remotely funny were common back in the 60s and 70s, but not in films of the 90s.
I hate to say it, but sound effects and stuff in this movie like that are also no better than the Westerns of long ago.
Even though it does seem like it's made in the wrong time and kind of cheesy, it is a film that you can sit down and watch without getting bored.
Sure, you'll be thinking a lot, "man, that was...weird" or "that wasn't very thrilling" or "that was disappointing", but it is a film where you want to see the rest of it.
That's what made me give this film five out of ten stars for a rating.
James Caan did a good job if he was trying to portray a psycho.
Christopher Lambert was far too soft looking for this part.
Burt Young and the other bad guys in the film were more buffoonish than intimidating..
Fairly decent movie trying to show early gold rush days up in Alaska.
Although to make the main character half Indian they just put tan makeup on C.
Lambert and make him talk slow at times.
12/05/2018 I never realized what terrible actors James Caan and Christopher Lambert could be but they outdid themselves in this turdkey - They Sucked!!!
From the erstwhile afamed "spaghetti westerns" by Sergio Leone, filmed here in Almería, Spain, naturally, we pass on to a new variety which might be called "northern" rather than "western".Totally filmed in Norway, the land of smorgasbord breakfasts, not in Alaska, we have here a typical sort of copy-Hollywood style of those westerns of yore, adopting similar recipes and formulas, but without anything even nearing the result.Lovely scenery, but most of this film goes to the dogs; by which I mean that the best of this film are the huskies and other dogs making up the sled-teams in this rather contrived effort to emulate what was once an admired cinematographic subject matter.
Tashunga was a quite good movie that was helped from a good cast including Christopher Lambert.
Lambert as always gave an effort like no one else and he was very good, Morten Faldaas was another who gave a fine performance.The film had suspense and great music..
First off, Christopher Lambert just vaulted to near the top of my least favorite actors list.
Here as the hero, Lambert is just plain boring.
All actors not named Caan or Young turn in performances that can only be described as awful.
The story of a land grab has been done over and over in uncountable westerns.
The editing is puzzling to say the least, with large moments of time obviously missing on the cutting room floor.
James Caan turns in a wonderfully bizarre performance as the heavy, and the snowy landscapes provide a nice backdrop and diversion from the sub par script and acting.
NORTH STAR is a virtual reprise of the 1981 Charles Bronson vehicle DEATH HUNT, which saw a posse headed by Lee Marvin searching the icy wastes for a fleeing trapper played by the DEATH WISH actor.
NORTH STAR sets its story in Alaska and features James Caan as the hunter and Christopher Lambert as his quarry.Despite a decent pacing and some good set-dressing - you never question the setting for a moment - this film has little to recommend it.
Lambert fans (are there any?) will be let down by their star's performance, which is wooden even by Lambert standards; little he says or does rings true, and he's almost entirely lacking in star presence.
There's a hollowness in the middle of the film which a proper actor should be filling with charisma, wit and heroism.James Caan is much better as the arrogant villain, a role he also played to the hilt in ERASER.
He chews the scenery and shares a decent rapport with Burt Young, playing a fellow bad guy for a change and doing well with it.
Catherine McCormack is once again wasted as a love interest, though, leaving 28 WEEKS LATER the only film I've seen that actually makes use of her acting talents.The pace is good and the outdoor wilderness scenes look fantastic, really bringing the chilly wasteland to life.
NORTH STAR fizzles instead of bangs, and that's why this wintry western has been long since forgotten..
I've probably seen James Caan more often as a villain than a hero, and the villain role suits him just fine.
He goes from bad to evil to maniacal in the course of the story here, with a twist in the picture that comes out of nowhere that attempts to explain his hatred of the half breed Hudson Santeek (Christopher Lambert).
That he's a half breed himself serves no purpose other than to cause this viewer to go "Oh!", so I don't know why that element was even introduced.While watching the film, I hearkened back to my childhood days with 'Sergeant Preston Of The Yukon'; this could have been an extended episode of that show.
I wonder if the actors got bonus pay for that.I caught this on the Encore Western Channel this evening, and I suppose the 'Western' connotation has some bearing, even if filmed as an Alaskan wilderness adventure.
It's got a typically 'B' Western flavor focusing on an evil town boss (Caan) swindling local miners out of their gold claims and leaving them dead in his wake.
I can't think of a Western that ever got the body/deed count as high as eleven like this picture did, which can only mean that Christopher Lambert was no Red Ryder or Durango Kid. For his trouble, the man should pour himself a brandy to warm up.