Adventurous and compelling, the movie The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot has been released on DVD and Blue-ray for home viewing. The indie production is very good, a bit chilling at times, but with some comic relief. The direction under the helm of first timer Robert D. Krzykowski is very good as he leads viewers into the realm of this strange story.
The two main antagonists of his story, Adolph Hitler and The Big Foot are well known in both reality and lore as being baddies and here they are not presented by any means as anything but the enemy. If you just let the adventure play out, you should enjoy this parody on the two icons.
Old Calvin Barr (Sam Elliot) looks back on his life as Young Calvin (Aidan Turner) who gets the call to complete an impossible task, kill Adolph Hitler (Joe Lucas). But let’s not get too far ahead of the story as we also find out about the man and the journey he took, prior to getting the dangerous assignment. It’s this part of the film that sets up Calvin as an unusual hero.
Thinking back when he first met Maxine (Caitlin FitzGerald) while working at a clothing store. The love of his life, she’s Calvin’s impetus to stay alive and shows the good heart of the man who finds himself in the middle of peril while serving in the US Military. This plus the actual journey before and after both assignments are what make this movie captivating and exciting to watch.
The writer of this adventure, Robert Krzykowski leads his audience through Calvin’s life using flash backs, until he gets his most difficult assignment from the FBI. He then lets Calvin out of his cage in a life and death duel with The Big Foot. His film moves at a slow pace building his protagonist Calvin so we get to root him on in both his challenges.
Combining Sam Elliot and Aidan Turner for the role of Calvin becomes the two actor’s most enjoyable accomplishments. Not only do they command the screen embodying their character, but bring a lot of adventure and strength to Calvin as well.
Elliot has always been the go to guy when you need a man who’s looked up to, and he accomplishes it here as older Calvin, a man living in his past and heartbroken. You don’t have to go much further back in his career of nearly a hundred credits to see Elliot’s contribution to film. Just check out The Hero (2017) and his Oscar nominated role in A Star is Born (2018) to see the richness of his performances and the dedication to bring his characters to life.
As the younger Calvin, Turner’s character misses a chance at romance when he goes into the service during World War II. Instead he unwittingly becomes the hidden hero by taking down the most despicable leader of a country gone mad with power. As Calvin, he’s crafty, smart and determined to fulfill the assignment trusted in him, even though it may cost him more than he had bargained. Aidan Turner has built an exemplary career already in just 19 credits. Splitting his roles between film and TV, he’s been Mitchell in “Being Human” for 22 episodes and more recently in the starring role for the TV Series of Poldark for 35 episodes.
The cinematography takes center stage in some scenes, especially the scenic views of the mountains and downward shots of cliffs in Calvin’s trek to take down Big Foot. The sound track is very good and includes “Lonely is the Night” performed by Billy Squire, “Use Me” sung by Bill Withers, and “Baby Sittin” by Earl King Johnson.
BONUS FEATURES:
(They are included on both the DVD and Blu-ray)
“The Making of The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot”
“Deleted Scenes” approx. 8 minutes depicting a total of 6 scenes that at least one probably should have been left in the movie.
“Elsie Hooper Short Film” the approximately 3 minute film uses puppetry along with humans to play out this short movie about a kidnapping involving Big Foot.
“Concept Art Gallery” original drawings from their storyboard of the film
”Composer Joe Kraemer Interview” how he got involved in the project and he discusses some of the scenes that needed a special score.
“Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Robert D. Krzykowski” You can turn this on after you have watched the film for more insight about the film during specific scenes.
Previews accompany both the DVD and Blu-ray
The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains language, violence, and some scary moments.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A very good film with an adventurous story. (4 out of 5 Stars)
Review by John Delia
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Sam Elliott, Aidan Turner, Ron Livingston, Caitlin FitzGerald, Larry Miller, Rizwan Manji, Ellar Coltrane, Joe Lucas
Directed and written by: Robert D. Krzykowski
Genre: Adventure, Drama
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, contains violence, language
Running Time: 1 hr. 38 min.
Video Release Date: April 2, 2019
Original Theatrical Release Date: February 8, 2019
Language: English
Reviewed Format: DVD
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 2.40:1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
Number of Discs: 1 Disc
Distributed by: Distributed by: RLJE Films
Released in: DVD, Blu-ray
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
