User reviews

The story is very linear, and you've seen it all before. There are a few amusing incidents along the trail, and the acting by Scott Wilson, Kris Kristofferson, and David Huddleston is really pretty good. Some of Scott Wilson's religious ramblings seem strange and unnecessary. To keep things interesting, you have father-son relationship wrangling, beautiful scenery, and a very appropriate musical score. The movie moves slowly at times, but character development is above average, thanks to the deliberate pace. Despite a couple lapses in logic, the script is totally acceptable. What you wind up with is a fully developed, familiar story, that most viewers will enjoy. Recommended. - MERK

The Tracker is a made for HBO western movie starring Kris Kristopher son.Kistopherson is perfect for this role and in my opinion, very underrated as an actor. He must come out of retirement to track down a vicious gang. Scott Wilson is great also as the leader of the gang as well as a psychotic holy roller. The story moves along at a steady pacea looks great as well. The acting and characterization is also pretty solid and has the right amount of action and gunplay. Overall, I thought The Tracker was quite good and should please most fans of the genre. It definitely is deserving of more fanfare and was a well made western.

Notable TV Western with Kris Kristofferson's stoic acting as a tough tracker who sets out in pursuit some cruel outlaws . A series of vicious crimes by a renegade bunch of gunfighters , led by "Red Jack" Stilwell (Scott Wilson) and his henchmen (John Quade , Don Swayze..) lead to a legendary tracker , Noble Adams (Kris Kristofferson) , is pulled out of retirement to capture Stilwell , dead or alive , being accompanied by the local sheriff (David Huddleston) . Reluctantly, needing more men, he allows his son Tom (Mark Moses) to ride along. They track down the heinous villain and meet a band of nasty bounty hunters 8Leon Rippley , among others) .As the group sets after them , as Stitwell leads his men in a manhunt throughout a long and risked journey . Along the way , they manage to escape from the ominous gang and then things change . He thought his days of violence had ended... But the battle between good and evil is never over. Noble thought he left behind.

Thrilling Western in traditional style in which a two-fisted tracker joins his son and a sheriff to chase a really dangerous killer and his hoodlums . A charming and agreeable Western with good performance by the protagonist quartet : Kris Kristopherson , Mark Moses , David Huddleston and the extremely nasty Scott Wilson . This fine Western contains thrills , adequate action set-pieces , chases , go riding , and taking place impressive quick-draws . This special Western picture with breathtaking duels concerns three pursuers pit heinous bandits resulting in a deadly gun-battle and it turns out to be an enjoyable as well as appropriate homage to the traditional style Western . There's a particular family relationship , father : Kris Kristofferson and son : Mark Moses , revealing to Tom a whole brutal side of ruthlessness . This ¨The Tracker (1988)¨ contains strong performances augmented by blazing guns , hobbled by an uneven writing . Nevertheless, it doesn't have much interest at times , neither intensity enough , though Kris Kristofferson captures his role pretty well playing an expert and silent gunfighter who proves his excellent skills against the violent band . John Guillermin's slick direction , awesome interpretation and interesting story and script from Kevin Jarre enhance interest in this television nice Western . Standing out the great Kris Kristofferson as the merciless tracker who he seeks justice and vengeance . Star Kris Kristofferson is a detached figure in Western genre , being one of its main representatives , performing a lot of them in the Seventies , Eighties and Nineties , as cinema as TV , such as : ¨The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James¨ , ¨Pat Garret and Billy the Kid¨ , ¨Heaven's Gate¨, ¨Outlaw Justice¨ , ¨Dead man's gun¨ , ¨Stagecoach¨ and modern Western as ¨Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia¨ or ¨Convoy¨ and several others . Adding other notorious secondaries as John Quade , Don Swayze , Geoffrey Blake , Leon Rippley , Karen Kopins and the recently deceased Ernie Lively , Blake Lively's father.

There's a magnificently atmospheric cinematography , heightened by professional cameraman George Tirl providing vivid photography from Durango and Silverton , Narrow Gauge Railroad, Colorado, Bonanza Creek Ranch Santa Fe, Galisteo , San Ildefonso , New Mexico, Diablo Canyon, Santa Fe, New Mexico . The motion picture was competently directed by John Guillermin . This Brit craftsman filmmaker directed several films of all kinds of genres , getting several hits and some flops , as he made the following ones : "The Blue Max" , "Walz of the Toreadors" , "Never Let Go" , "Death on the Nile" , "King Kong" , "King Kong lives" , "Towering inferno" , among others . Rating : 6.5/10 . Better than average . Essential and indispensable watching for Western enthusiasts . The flick will appeal to Kris Kristofferson fans .

I'm not sure why I put off seeing this western for so long - maybe because it was made for cable, and I thought a cable western couldn't compare to a big screen western. Anyway, I am glad that I finally saw this. Like many modern day westerns, this one has a lot of elements that make it raw and tough. But interestingly, the general tone isn't that. Instead, there is a creepy tone playing in the background for the most part. It's a creepiness that really makes it feel like anything bad could happen at any moment, and it's really effective. Elsewhere, the movie comes across as a professional exercise, ranging from being well acted to having good production values. Are there any flaws? Well, the only real flaw I found was that the script is (mostly) pretty predictable. But at least it's handled in a first class manner that will make it all the same pleasing to western fans.

I saw this movie when it first aired. I would rate it much higher but the script was terribly clichéd despite the wonderful performances. Also, David Huddleston is one of my favorite character actors but he was miscast as a lawman in this film. The guy looks like he weighed 300lbs, and there is no way he could have made such a journey tracking those killers. Man, I felt sorry for his horse! I also felt Mark Moses appeared a little too old to portray a wet behind the ears kid. Scott Wilson was simply excellent. He created a full dimensional character instead of a cardboard character for the hero to shoot at. I also enjoyed the Mormon character who came to warn the gang that Noble Adams, the other side's avenging angel, is hunting them. That performance was also excellent. I cannot complain about the action sequences because they were portrayed realistically and brutal. Noble Adams was not in a mood to be nice when violence erupted.

"The Tracker" is just an old TV-movie from the 1980's you might think, but thanks to Kevin Jarre's well-written story the film works very well, better than most modern action-oriented Westerns. But the film has also Kris Kristofferson in the main role, and he is suitable as Noble Adams. I think Kristofferson clearly shows that he handles his role very well, and one of the main reasons why the film works the way it does.

Thanks to very few flaws in the script, this Western works very well. Even if "The Tracker" could be better and would fit nice as a movie for the cinema, it is highly recommended for any fan of the Western-genre.

Rating: 6+ of 10.

Reading the comments here I expected a better movie.

The plot is predictable as is the character "development", in particular the father-son relationship. For me, for example, it seems inappropriate that the father denies his son respect after he has beaten up a tough bounty-hunter, but is filled with pride after his offspring has hustled a horse on emeter upon an ascending hill-slope.

The dialogues are flat, the action is mostly unconvincing. Kristofferson and Wilson do a good job, but they do not really throw themselves into this movie.

All in all, I found the movie boring and, at some points, even ridiculous.

Can anyone tell why a Philadelphia-bred lawyer has a punch worthy of a box champion (well, it is mentioned he learned that from his professor, an academic, not a boxer himself, I presume). Well, even if we let that pass, why then can Adams Junior ride a horse like a prairie "indian", sharp-shoot in full gallop, and even draw faster than a die-hard criminal. Well, maybe I wasted my time on the wrong university ...

I know this a TV movie, not a big cinema production. Anyway, only 4 stars out of 10.

Made for HBO and aired in the winter and spring of 1988 only to be soon forgotten, THE TRACKER is an exceptionally rendered Western and one of the best movies of the genre in the post-Eastwood era. A simple yet interesting premise is blended with tight action and deeply effective characterization to give any Western fan a highly satisfying experience, as it was for me when it originally aired. Adding to its strengths are the evocative and atmospheric soundtrack and the superior scriptwriting, creating a palpable old west atmosphere and fully believable characters who are not overacted or overdrawn. Of special note is Kris Kristofferson's understated and restrained performance, which results in a serious and fully credible character in the form of the tracker Noble Adams. Scott Wilson as the protagonist is excellent as usual, with strong contributions by all cast involved. I urge any true Western fan to obtain and watch THE TRACKER; it is an experience to be enjoyed and appreciated.

They were killing animals in this movie

--they got in in the screams of one shot horse, which was shot in the side from within some bushes. It was in a lot of pain as it fell sideways

--From another horse that was shot they were able to get its death throes into the overhead mike, good sound effect on that one

--I enjoy westerns, but cringe w/ the older ones as many times they have no problem with animal suffering and brutality

--Not sure if the dog was actually killed or not,

--I didn't consider the last twenty minutes worthy to be watched

I am a big Western fan..and it seems the older I get, the more I like them..However, I had not watched this film before..and I really liked it a lot..It had all the prerequisites of great Western..Terrific scenery..good musical score..a time tested plot..and very good characters..It reminded me greatly of 1 of my favorite films, The Last Hard Men...where Charlton Heston/James Coburn starred as the retired lawman and escaped convict..Both films shared 1 thing that is hard to find in a western..a general sense of foreboding where at every turn there was danger lurking in every turn.. In this film's case 2 terrific actors, Kris Kristofferson and Scott Wilson who as leads developed a personal hatred for each other..Both films had young men finding their way in a world they had not experienced in the manner of the lawman, which made the lawman uneasy for relying on him as a back-up..and both films had the beginnings of a love interest that involved a kidnapped hostage and young apprentice..I highly recommend this film, and then decide which 1 you enjoy better..In my case, for different reasons I give it a tie!!!

(1988) The Tracker WESTERN

Initially from HBO, which started out with a great premised, but then it turned into predictable mode. The weakness is that it's supposed to be a two hour movie, and that a great portion of this film felt that it just dragged it's viewers into nothing. It stars Kris Kristofferson as Noble Adams, who is supposed to be a well known renown tracker. His only son, Tom Adams(Mark Moses) has just come into town after graduating from becoming a lawyer. After he first informs his dad that he's moving to San Francisco for a lawyers gig, he then decides to wanting to go with his dad into the tracking of this demented serial killer, after a veteran sheriff approached him about it. Noble Adams tells his friend that he's retired, and reluctantly agrees to become a sheriff just for this very last time, and that was when Noble Adams son agrees to become a sheriff as well. I think viewers suspect that Noble Adams never wanted his son to actually know what he does for a living, which is the reason why he sent him away to get a proper education to become a lawyer. This has a little familiarity from "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", except that it was done first and that it's still a way better movie overall. When viewers are looking at the title "tracker", viewers are going to expect to see some 'tracking' tips, but the thing is that after seeing this one, it still feels quite tame considering the movies you can see before, from such movies as "The Bravadoes" and "True Grit". With this film, you eventually know when things get to happen, and that it doesn't end very well either, just as I've said before, because it's supposed to be a two hour movie.

As a major Scott Wilson fan I think he should have received a lot more credits for his character in this movie. He was in nearly every part as the second main character and was brilliant as the obsessed Stilwell.

Like he uses in all his movies, his southern accent (which is genuine) and expressive eyes, bring out the best in this talented actor.

To play along side the likes of Demi Moore, Sylvester Stallone and not to mention staring in a movie written by the Pope himself called Our God's Brother (1997), should show just how good an actor he is.

Renegade Mormon psychopath (!) Scott Wilson and fellow prisoners, including John Quade and Don Swayze, bust out of prison and go on a bloody rampage. Famous retired tracker Kris Kristofferson is pressed back into service by lawman David Huddleston to help catch them and ends up bringing his eastern educated son. Upon hearing that Kristofferson is tracking them, Wilson ups the ante by kidnapping two young girls.

This is one grim, eighties style western that never lets up in terms of action and suspense. The teleplay by Kevin Jarre (who also wrote Tombstone) has a lot of psychological depth, with Kristofferson revealing to his son a different, more violent side and in turn teaching the young lawyer how to be a man.

It's good to see character actor David Huddleston in a non-comedic hero role. Scott Wilson is also good as the pitifully disturbed heavy, probably his best role since In Cold Blood. Kristofferson gives a better performance here than in Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid.

Director John Guillerman also scored big with faux spaghetti western El Condor, with Jim Brown and Lee Van Cleef. He does a great job capturing the great natural beauty as well as the dark side of the old west.

This western may not stray to far from the norm but it does have a great cast and a good script. Kris Kristofferson is as usual great. So is Scott Wilson (I) who plays a crazed killer who thinks that he is on a mission of God. Mark Moses plays Tom Adams, son of Noble Adams, (K.K.) and does a fine job as the son who learns to believe in his fathers ways as his father learns to count on him. A fine movie made by the people at HBO. If you like westerns then you will like this one.

Kristofferson really put himself on the right track again with this film! After a few years of bombed films there is always one that brings you back and this wa it for him! If Kris made more westerns and stuck to his roots in the films he would be worth an Oscar!!!

The Western never quite seems to die, despite repeated pronouncements to that effect. Westerns are not cool, although their heroes can certainly be. But so what? Cool is far too transient to be taken seriously by anyone but marketers and adolescents. For the latter, knowing what's cool is merely practice for knowing something but without the burden of actual knowledge. It's a place to be for people who, in essence, know almost nothing and need something to grip. So, instead of dying, the Western seems merely to periodically cop some Z's than awaken again to take a currently acceptable shape. Witness HBO's critically well-received new series, Deadwood. What's the secret here? I think it's simple. The Western is simply too innately and indelibly cinematic to completely die. Also, if one has a knack for location shooting, westerns can be relatively easy to make - at least as easy as any feature film can be, although they can be hard to make well. For example, Lawrence Kasdan's Silverado, despite its excellent cast, top-shelf production values, and sprinkling of good moments, never quite managed to escape a certain perfunctoriness. Compare it to a similar ensemble work in the genre: Clint Eastwood's superb Unforgiven, and you can begin to get the almost indefinable sense of what makes a Western right. The Western requires a certain element of restraint to really work; restraint on all levels, behind and in front of the camera. The made-for-TV, The Tracker, also screened as Dead or Alive, is a blueprint for that restraint.

The Tracker is a simple manhunt story set in the canyon country of southern Utah. If you've ever spent time in the high country, especially when autumn is drawing its final breaths, with the first major snowfall just a hair-trigger pull away, you'll know how beautiful that time of the season is. A buttery light seems to glow out from everywhere: rocks, dust, the explosion of golden Cottonwood leaves. Into this beautiful and unforgiving world Kris Kristofferson's almost supernaturally tough Marshal Noble Adams pursues his quarry. And what a great quarry it is. The under-sung Scott Wilson plays Jack Stillwell, a bible-quoting maniac, kidnapper, and murderer; a cross between Donald Pleasance's vicious lay preacher in Will Penny and the Wild Bill character in The Green Mile. Stillwell is on the loose, out of his gourd, and loving every minute of his headlong ride to perdition. Marshal Adams, his longtime friend and deputy (the ursine David Huddleston), and Adams's son, on leave from school `in the East', whom the Marshal deputizes to give him some real work to do, set out in pursuit of Stillwell, and they're not coming back without him.

The story swings between Jack Stillwell's fever-pitch lunacy and Marshal Adams' granitic resolve. Kris Kristofferson was born to be a western lead; always displaying the entire palette of mood required for the work. His Billy the Kid is, essentially, definitive although I remain very fond of Emilio Estevez' wild-eyed embodiment in Young Guns. Despite the relatively unknown status of this film, Kristofferson's Noble Adams is one of the finest western characters ever portayed: American Gothic from the Dark Side in service of The Light and is also some of this actor's best work ever. Trailing Stillwell into country where, as a younger man, Adams lost his wife, whom it is clear that he dearly loved, pulls the the Marshal across hallowed ground to boot. Tragi-comic relief occurs in the form of grim humor when a pack of bounty hunters, knockabout cowpokes also tracking Stillwell and completely out of their collective depth, cross Adams's trail. They get one warning to drop their act which, of course, they ignore in a manner entirely consistent with a group intelligence just a notch or two above the pathetics who rode with Robert Ryan's Deke Thornton in the Wild Bunch.

Adams' weapon of choice is a long-barreled Sharps. The Marshal shoots well and the outcome is somewhat foregone, yet one still emerges with a certain compassion for the dull-witted.

And there you have it. And it's all you need. As a film, The Tracker is a very solid B movie; a perfectly good place for a western to be. But as a genre piece, once the action departs the somewhat too-manicured 1880's railhead set, it's right down the pipe: compact, credible, nonsense-free, poignant, and engrossing. Any fan of the genre should collect it.