Shadow of the Hawk
Jan-Michael Vincent stars as Mike, the grandson of Native American shaman Old Man Hawk who is called back to his village to help defeat evil forces threatening the tribe. After years of living in the city and working in a business world altogether apart from his roots, Mike is contacted by a freelance reporter, Maureen, who was enlisted by Old Man Hawk to track his grandson. When Mike assents to returning with Maureen, they find that the village is beset by the evil spirit of an ancient sorceress, Dsonoqua, animating beasts and objects and causing strange, deadly accidents. Only the heir of the tribe’s shaman can stand in the way of the evil and protect his people, but will Mike be able to harness his power in time?
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- Cast:
- Jan-Michael Vincent , Marilyn Hassett , Chief Dan George , Anna Hagan
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Reviews
Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!
Save your money for something good and enjoyable
Really Surprised!
Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.
This is my first review . This show is well worth a watch, It shows very well how we can deny who we are all we want but it will still affect you. The conflict of serving self vs serving all is clear, excepting who you like it or not. The 1970's was not the best time for accurate depiction of native American tribal rites but they did fair,I'm sure Dan George did his best. After all he was chief of the Burrard Band of North Vancouver, British Columbia. I myself have been through a dream quest I found some of the things in the movie similar. I personally enjoy every show Dan George has been in, he adds a bit of real to his parts. I thought Jan-Michael Vincent did a pretty good job making his character believable. The obvious thing to me was the evil spirit has decided to return and the tribal shaman feels he's to weak to stop it alone, so off he goes to get his heir (grandson Mike) to help him. I'm no shaman but I think the training takes awhile but Mike is a natural and with a little guidance from Hawk he takes to the fight all the while evil followers try to stop them. The way evil works is really shown well in this film. In short remember when it was filmed and enjoy its a great show with many life lessons .
A likable enough film that didn't really grab a hold of me. Chief Dan George, previously seen in Little Big Man, made earlier and Outlaw Josey Wales, made the same year was born in 1899 on a Canadian Indian reservation and here plays an old medicine man seeking to pass on his powers (and responsibilities) to his grandson as he makes his way back to his village for the last time. There are some amazing sequences, notably a hand to hand fight with a black bear and others involving a strange car and a rope and slat bridge high above the rapids. Indeed the Canadian location shooting is ever impressive and if the tale starts to drift towards the end there is enough here to engage those looking for something a little different.
What the hell are you supposed to do when suddenly one night, during your birthday celebration moreover, your old and physically exhausted grandfather shows up on your doorstep and begs of you to disregard everything and drive 300 miles to bring him back home? You could refuse and put him on a bus, seeing that he also managed to find his way there alone perfectly fine, but – like the cute woman accompanying him already pointed out – he is your grandfather and you just don't do a thing like that. So what other option is there but to politely offer a ride to both gramps and the lady? During the road trip, however, granddaddy reveals he's entangled in a spiritual battle with a ancient witch called Dsonqua and you are involved through your bloodline. A-ha! That immediately explains the eerie hallucinations you're having about wicked witch masks inside the pool and outside your bedroom window! All this is what's happening to Jan-Michael Vincent in "Shadow of the Hawk"; an above average compelling and atmospheric 70's thriller with a good cast and astonishing Canadian filming locations. Especially the first half of the film is more than fascinating to observe, what with all the mysterious Indian mythology and the genuinely creepy images of the witch's frightening mask. Unfortunately the film loses quite a lot of its pace and interest halfway and ends up being a rather dull and unmemorable supernatural hocus-pocus thriller. The most exciting moments of "Shadow of the Hawk" occur during the road trip, like for example the crash into an invisible wall, whereas the long-anticipated climax battle against the witch and her disciples is tedious and disappointing. George McGowan, known from the nature-revolts classic "Frogs", directs with a noticeable disinterest, but luckily the cast is excellent. Chief Dan George and Jan-Michael Vincent (one of my personal heroes of the 70's) are terrific and very believable as the Indian saviors. "Shadow of the Hawk" is quite difficult to track down these days, so make sure you only take the effort in case you're really interested in the film.
This movie like a lot of them made in the 70's contains an interesting plot and some substance. It gives a subtle touch of spirituality and some thrilling scenes of action and even creepiness. The characters seem convincing in their roles and the old man ( played by Chief Dan George) has a lot of personality in which he speaks very little being a very wise powerful medicine man. The other characters seem to pull of f their roles as well with the acting being realistic and not forced or awkward. I found the suspense in this movie to be "real" without all the special effects thrown in to make it look over the top and ridiculous like a lot of action flicks out there today. I guess you can think of this movie as one that leaves you with a good feeling at the end. The score of nine may seem a little high but I feel it really deserves it , due to it's subtle way of telling the story and leaving it up to the person watching the film to exercise their imagination. Also I think being someone who saw this film when it originally was released it brings back some memories and didn't disappoint years later when I watched it again for maybe the third or fourth time. A lot of movies that you had watched growing up appear a little different as you remember them but this one is in good standing. I also think that this movie is my favourite among the Native North American themes.