Chasing the Deer

In the time leading up to Jacobite rising of 1745, a young Highlander called Euan (Lewis Rae) and his father Alistair are press-ganged into the Jacobite army to fight for the Young Pretender, Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Euan's group of warriors are captured by Hanoverian loyalist troops and he is forced to join the Duke of Cumberland's army as a drummer for the British. Major Elliot (Brian Blessed), a Hanoverian officer who has lost his own son, forms a protective relationship with Euan. Father and son end up fighting on opposing sides at the Battle of Culloden (1746). Euan is killed, and Alistair runs to his aid. Seeing a Jacobite soldier standing over the body of his favourite soldier, Major Elliot kills Alistair.{{cite web|last1=Russell|first1=William|title=Culloden of high ideals?|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12692836.Culloden_of_high_ideals_/|website=Glasgow Herald|accessdate=23 March 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170323134859/http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12692836.Culloden_of_high_ideals_/|archivedate=23 March 2017|language=en|date=22 Aug 1994|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Review for Chasing the Deer (1994)|url=https://www.imdb.com/reviews/29/2904.html|website=IMDb|accessdate=23 March 2017|archive-date=21 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321181937/http://www.imdb.com/reviews/29/2904.html|url-status=dead}}

File:Culloden (David Morier).jpg in 1746]]

File:Inside Fort George 17 July 2011.jpg

The budget for Chasing the Deer was limited, and in order to raise money for the production, the filmmakers crowdfunded the film by inviting individuals to invest £1000 each in the project. In return for their contributions, the 374 investors were allowed to appear in the film as extras.{{cite book|last1=Holder|first1=Geoff|title=The Little Book of Scotland|date=2014|publisher=History Press|isbn=9780750956864|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5BA7AwAAQBAJ&q=Chasing%20the%20Deer%20scottish%20film&pg=PT135|accessdate=23 March 2017|language=en|chapter=Scottish History on Screen}}

For the battle scenes, notably the depiction of the Battle of Culloden, the filmmakers engaged a Scottish Historical group, The Clan Wallace, to perform historical combat. The group also performed in other Scottish historical films such as The Bruce (1996) Highlander (1985) and Braveheart (1995).{{cite book|last1=McArthur|first1=Colin|title=Brigadoon, Braveheart and the Scots: Distortions of Scotland in Hollywood Cinema|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=9781860649271|page=128|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XMOUo5VUkoQC&q=Chasing%20the%20Deer%20scottish%20film&pg=PA128|accessdate=23 March 2017|language=en|chapter=5. Scotland and the Braveheart Effect|date=26 September 2003}}

Chasing The Deer was filmed on location in Scotland, including Culloden, Fort George, Kingussie, Ruthven Barracks, and the Cairngorm mountains.{{cite web|title=Chasing the Deer (1994)|url=http://www.scotlandthemovie.com/movies/fdeer.html|website=Scotland: the Movie Location Guide|accessdate=23 March 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331132041/http://scotlandthemovie.com/movies/fdeer.html|archivedate=31 March 2016}} Some internal sequences were filmed in England at Hagley Hall in Worcestershire, and battle scenes at the nearby Wychbury Hill.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}}

The film soundtrack was scored by English rock musician John Wetton includes music by the Scottish celtic rock group Runrig and the ex-Marillion singer-songwriter Fish, and features Wetton's song "Battle Lines".{{cite book|last1=Romano|first1=Will|title=Prog Rock FAQ: All That's Left to Know About Rock's Most Progressive Music|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|isbn=9781617136207|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UIqkCAAAQBAJ&q=%22Chasing%20the%20Deer%22%20film&pg=PT307|accessdate=23 March 2017|language=en|chapter=21. My Own Time|date=November 2014}}

• Brian Blessed as Major Elliot
• Iain Cuthbertson as Tullibardine
• Matthew Zajac (as Mathew Zajac) as Alistair Campbell
• Fish as Angus Cameron
• Brian Donald as Old Campbell
• Sandy Welch as Old Cameron
• Peter Gordon as McKinnon
• Carolyn Konrad as Morag
• Lynn Ferguson as Shonagh
• Lewis Rae as Euan
• Simon Kirk as Sgt. Kirk
• Andy McCullogh as Sgt. Monroe
• Callum McDougal as a Crofter
• Steven Cooper as a Crofter
• Michael Leighton as O'Sullivan
• Dominique Carrara as Charles Edward Stuart
• Robert McIntosh as McDonald of Sleat
• Jacqueline Pirie as Mary
• Jock Ferguson as Lord George Murray (general)
• Kim Durham as Sir John Cope

Murray Pittock's critical assessment of Chasing the Deer considered that Holloway's production was influenced by Peter Watkins's 1964 film Culloden in its portrayal of the conflict as a clash between haphazard, tribal Jacobite warriors and the forces of modernity.

However, Time Out contrasted Chasing the Deer unfavourably with Watkins's film for its small cast and over-reliance on a smoke machine, but singled out Brian Blessed's performance for praise.{{cite web|title=Chasing the Deer|url=https://www.timeout.com/london/film/chasing-the-deer|website=Time Out|accessdate=23 March 2017|language=en}} Writing in the Glasgow Herald, William Russel found the script and acting style clumsy and the cinematography unimaginative and restricted. However, he also praised Brian Blessed's portrayal of Major Elliot, the choreography of the battle scenes and the choice of "stunningly beautiful" Highland locations. Empire awarded the film two stars out of five, citing the low-budget production values and the use of "Tourist Board footage of lush countryside and antlered animals in order to fill gaping holes in the plot."{{cite web|last1=Westbrook|first1=Caroline|title=Chasing the Deer Review|url=http://www.empireonline.com/movies/chasing-deer/review/|website=Empire|accessdate=25 March 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170325130736/http://www.empireonline.com/movies/chasing-deer/review/|archivedate=25 March 2017|language=en|date=1 January 2000|url-status=live}} Chasing the Deer has been credited with helping to raise cultural awareness of the historical events at Culloden.{{cite book|last1=White|first1=Leanne|last2=Frew|first2=Elspeth|title=Dark Tourism and Place Identity: Managing and Interpreting Dark Places|year=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9780415809658|page=273|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sJ0PYNGhwe0C&q=%22Chasing%20the%20Deer%22%20film&pg=PA273|language=en}}

The film opened on 9 screens in Scotland on 16 September 1994 and grossed £17,062 in its opening weekend.{{cite magazine|magazine=Screen International|date=23 September 1994|page=38|title=UK This Week}}

• {{IMDb title|0109405|Chasing the Deer}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20170814173000/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7d6701f8 Chasing the Deer] at the British Film Institute{{better source needed|reason=Help request: a live link can be searched for at https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/search/expert - if available, replace the archive URL with the live link. Or if none found, remove this 'better source needed' template. | date=October 2023}}

{{Reflist}}

Category:1994 films

Category:British war drama films

Category:Jacobite rising of 1745 films

Category:Crowdfunded films

Category:Films shot in Highland (council area)

Category:Films set in 1746

Category:1990s war drama films

Category:1990s historical films

Category:Scottish films

Category:1994 drama films

Category:1990s English-language films

Category:1990s British films

Category:Charles Edward Stuart

Category:Prince William, Duke of Cumberland

Category:English-language war drama films

Category:English-language historical films