''Chasing the Deer'' (''later re-titled'' ''Culloden 1746'') is a 1994

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

directed by Graham Holloway and starring

Brian Blessed Brian Blessed ( ; born 9 October 1936) is an English actor. He is known for his distinctive bushy beard, booming voice, and exuberant personality and performances. He portrayed PC "Fancy" Smith in ''Z-Cars''; Augustus in the 1976 BBC television ...

, Lewis Rae, Iain Cuthbertson,

Fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

and Mathew Zajac. It depicts the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion, in which

Bonnie Prince Charlie Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (31 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, ...

landed in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, trying to claim the British throne. The title

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide, or obscure, clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to cr ...

ically alludes to the Jacobites as the

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...

in a deer hunt. The phrase "a-chasing the deer" appears in the refrain of the romantic Scottish poem by

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

, '' My Heart's in the Highlands'' (1789).

Plot

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,

. Euan's group of warriors are captured by Hanoverian loyalist troops and he is forced to join the

Duke of Cumberland Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British royal family, named after the historic county of Cumberland. History The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedom w ...

's army as a

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

for the

. 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 The Battle of Culloden took place on 16 April 1746, near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. A Jacobite army under Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, thereby endi ...

(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.

Production

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

extra Extra, Xtra, or The Extra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * The Extra (1962 film), ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * The Extra (2005 film), ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * Extra (newspaper), ...

s. For the battle scenes, notably the depiction of the

, 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 ''Braveheart'' is a 1995 American epic film, epic historical drama, historical war drama film directed and produced by Mel Gibson, who portrays Scottish warrior William Wallace in the First War of Scottish Independence against Edward I of Engl ...

'' (1995). ''Chasing The Deer'' was filmed on location in Scotland, including Culloden, Fort George,

Kingussie Kingussie ( ; ) is a small town in the Badenoch and Strathspey ward of the Highland council area of Scotland. Counties of Scotland, Historically in Inverness-shire, it lies beside the A9 road (Great Britain), A9 road, although the old route of ...

Ruthven Barracks Ruthven Barracks (), near Ruthven, Badenoch, Ruthven in Badenoch, Scotland, are the best preserved of the four barracks built in 1719 after the 1715 Jacobitism, Jacobite rising. Set on an old castle mound, the complex comprises two large three-st ...

, and the Cairngorm mountains. Some internal sequences were filmed in England at

Hagley Hall Hagley Hall is a Listed building#Categories of listed building, Grade I listed 18th-century house in Hagley, Worcestershire, the home of the Lyttelton family. It was the creation of George Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton, George, 1st Lord Lytte ...

in Worcestershire, and battle scenes at the nearby Wychbury Hill.

Music

The film soundtrack was scored by English rock musician John Wetton includes music by the Scottish

celtic rock Celtic rock is a genre of folk rock, as well as a form of Celtic fusion which incorporates Celtic music, instrumentation and themes into a rock music context. It has been prolific since the early 1970s and can be seen as a key foundation of the ...

group

Runrig Runrig were a Scottish Celtic rock band formed on the Isle of Skye in 1973. From its inception, the band's line-up included brothers and songwriters Rory MacDonald (musician), Rory MacDonald (bass, vocals) and Calum MacDonald (musician), Calum ...

and the ex-

Marillion Marillion are a British neo-prog band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becoming the mo ...

singer-songwriter Fish, and features Wetton's song " Battle Lines".

Cast

as Major Elliot * Iain Cuthbertson as Tullibardine *Matthew Zajac (as Mathew Zajac) as Alistair Campbell *

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 O'Sullivan may refer to: People * O'Sullivan family, a gaelic Irish clan * O'Sullivan (surname), a family name * Sullivan (surname), a variation of the O'Sullivan family name Places * O'Sullivan Dam, Washington, United States * O'Sullivan Army He ...

*Dominique Carrara as

Charles Edward Stuart Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (31 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, ...

*Robert McIntosh as McDonald of Sleat * Jacqueline Pirie as Mary *Jock Ferguson as

Lord George Murray (general) Lord George Murray (4 October 1694 – 11 October 1760), sixth son of John Murray, 1st Duke of Atholl, was a Scottish nobleman and soldier who took part in the Jacobite rebellions of Jacobite rising of 1715, 1715 and Jacobite rising of 1719, 1 ...

*Kim Durham as Sir John Cope

Reception

Murray Pittock's critical assessment of ''Chasing the Deer'' considered that Holloway's production was influenced by

Peter Watkins Peter Watkins (born 29 October 1935) is an English filmmaker, documentarian, writer, and Film theory, film theorist. He is known as a pioneer of the docudrama and the mockumentary genres, typically with heavy political content. His films presen ...

'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. Writing in the '' Glasgow Herald'', William Russel found the script and acting style clumsy and the

cinematography Cinematography () is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens (optics), lens to focus reflected light from objects into a real image that is transferred to some image sen ...

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 Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

locations. ''

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

'' 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." ''Chasing the Deer'' has been credited with helping to raise cultural awareness of the historical events at Culloden. The film opened on 9 screens in Scotland on 16 September 1994 and grossed £17,062 in its opening weekend.

External links

*
''Chasing the Deer''
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

References

{{Reflist 1994 films British war drama films Jacobite rising of 1745 films Crowdfunded films Films shot in Highland (council area) Films set in 1746 1990s war drama films 1990s historical films Scottish films 1994 drama films 1990s English-language films 1990s British films Charles Edward Stuart Prince William, Duke of Cumberland English-language war drama films English-language historical films