The Hunted

Cinephile deep dive

The take

William Friedkin directs. Caleb Deschanel behind the camera. Brian Tyler scores. Augie Hess cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Mid-budget at $55M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
• 2Earned back only 62% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
• 3Released 23 years ago.
• 4Directed by William Friedkin, shot by Caleb Deschanel. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 5Original score by Brian Tyler. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 6Editor Augie Hess shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 7Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio del Toro and Connie Nielsen carry the top of the cast.
• 8Marketing tagline: "Some men should not be found.".
• 9IMDB entry: tt0269347 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 10Classified under 14 themes, including "hunter", "fbi", "knife", "balkan war".

The technical file

Cinematography

Caleb Deschanel

Original score

Brian Tyler

Editing

Augie Hess

Production design

William Cruse

Costume design

Gloria Gresham

Makeup / hair

Cydney Cornell

VFX supervisor

Eric Brevig

Sound

Kevin O'Connell

Stunt coordinator

Buddy Joe Hooker

Runtime

94 min · 1h 34m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$55,000,000

Box office

$34,234,008

Return

62% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

The Hunted (2003) ↗

Also by

William Friedkin

• 
  The People vs. Paul Crump

  1962 · ★ 9.0
• 
  Putting It Together: The Making of the Broadway Album

  1986 · ★ 9.0
• 
  Tales from the Crypt

  1989 · ★ 8.0
• 
  Rebel Highway

  1994 · ★ 8.0
• 
  The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

  1962 · ★ 7.9
• 
  The Exorcist

  1973 · ★ 7.7

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  The Hunted - Trailer

  Trailer · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• JPV8522019-08-28
  ★ 7/10

  Decent enough thriller with some violent fight scenes, especially at the end, between Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio Del Toro. Really basic plot (barely one if I'm being honest) but still entertained, partially because it was filmed in my native state of Oregon.

  Read full review ↓
• CinemaSerf2023-09-03
  ★ 6/10

  This reminded me of "The Fugitive" but without any real sense of jeopardy. Tommy Lee Jones ("L.T. Bonham) is a retired expert in tracking and survival who is drafted in to help the FBI (who never appear to have the internal resources to carry out any sort of meaningful investigation by themselves!) catch up with a serial killer - one of his former pupils, no less. It's all been seen many times before, though Benicia de Toro as his antagonist does inject something desperate and evil into his role as "Aaron Hallam". It has plenty of pace and there is certainly a tension between the two stars as it starts to get a bit fuzzy as to who is the hunter an who is the hunted! Enjoyable enough, with quite an action-packed, intense ending, but nothing too original here.

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Alphaville Films

  US

• 

  Lakeshore Entertainment

  US

Key crew

• Executive ProducerSean Daniel
• Executive ProducerDavid Griffiths
• Executive ProducerPeter Griffiths
• ProducerJames Jacks
• ProducerRicardo Mestres
• Executive ProducerMarcus Viscidi
• EditorAugie Hess
• StuntsScott Wilder
• ADR Voice CastingBarbara Harris
• Unit Production ManagerMarcus Viscidi
• First Assistant DirectorJ. Michael Haynie
• Second Assistant DirectorMarty Jedlicka
• Second Assistant DirectorMichael Salven
• Stunt CoordinatorBuddy Joe Hooker
• Production SupervisorAmy Ness
• Sound MixerEdward Tise
• Sound MixerKirk Francis
• Boom OperatorKeenan Wyatt
• Boom OperatorDan Guachione
• Chief Lighting TechnicianColin J. Campbell
• Assistant Chief Lighting TechnicianHarold Groshon
• ElectricianMatthew May
• ElectricianMichael McDuffee
• ElectricianJames 'Biff' Thomsen

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• hunter
• fbi
• knife
• balkan war
• woods
• slaughter
• survivalist
• maniac
• special forces
• killing spree
• combat
• ex soldier
• dark past
• manhunt

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical2003-03-11R

Also known as

International titles

• La presaES
• 獵殺TW
• Veszett vadHU
• The Hunted (2003)US
• La CaceríaMX