Does anyone recommend the Capstick hunting videos? They are on sale at Midway for $15 per copy. The titles are -

Capstick Botswana Safari
Capstick Hunting the African Elephant
Capstick Hunting the African Lion
Capstick Hunting the Cape Buffalo
Capstick Hunting the White Rhino
Capstick's Last Safari

Are they worth watching?
Thanks

They are IMO not worth buying. Which is maybe why they are trying to sell them "cheap".

Sorry.

Disagree, loaned all six to a client and when he returned them he told my secretary he and his wife watched them all twice. They really enjoyed them. I just checked the Midway site and all of their videos are $14.95, wish I would have found this before I bought the PHC videos and others from Sportsman videos for the full price.

btt

Personally, I didn't think they were very good. That's why I gave mine away.

Regards,

Terry

I have and have watched them all several times. The best in my opinion is the elephant hunting.

quote:

Originally posted by ErikD:
They are IMO not worth buying. Which is maybe why they are trying to sell them "cheap".

Sorry.

Sorry ErikD....I beg to disagree....and of course this is a bunch of personal preference.....but I liked the Capstick videos and learned a lot from them. I'd recommend them at $15 each.....it beats the hell out of watching reruns of Archie Bunker!!!!!

IMO they are an adjunct to the books and offer an insight to the Man. They were well worth viewing for me. Perhaps those who have been to Africa numerous times see them in a different light.
I will gladly lend you one or two if you want to see them first before deciding to buy. I would however suggest you could sell them all anytime you wanted for the same price. I think maybe Midway is cleaning house to offer them as DVD's which are cheaper to buy, ship and stock. Several companies I work with are doing the same as they phase out the vhs tapes.
Frank.

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
it beats the hell out of watching reruns of Archie Bunker!!!!!

Well, when you put it that way, I'd have to agree with you!

But compaired to lots of other hunting movies I think the "Sportsman on film" series with Capstick was of lesser quality. It seemed to me that Capstick should have stuck with what he was good at; writing. I also seem to recall that I wondered if Capstick was drinking a bit much at the time when his last few films were made. Just an impression I got while watching them.

I've previously owned or borrowed all of the Capstick movies and would gladly have donated them to Dogcat, but I already gave mine away to another AR member...

This topic is such a coincidence...I just got "Death in Silent Places" today from the library. Funny...I tried buying it from a bunch of places and never could find a copy. Anyway, ended up getting it at the local library today and have already read the chapter on cape buff. Excellent.

I think I'll buy the buff video...What is "Midway?"

I had bought 3 of Capstick tapes thru E bay.
Dont like any of them.I guess its a personal thing.
To me there is little if any usable help/info,
some tidbits of history,scenes are boring.
I like his books though

They are OK for their entertainment value.

Some of the comments should be viewed as "semi-fiction".

Ken Wilson is a long time friend and mentor. He makes a solid product, but not the best or prettiest little hunting motion picture in the business.

www.sportsmenonfilm.com

www.safarivideo.com

www.sabletrailvideo.com

www.huntersvideo.dk

These are my 4 favorite hunting video makers.

I got them and enjoyed them tremendously BUT they are very funky...kind of like amateur hour, and Capstick is kind of a weird guy at first, very guarded when he is pontificating, but he has every right to do this, and eventually he wins you over...takes some geting used to..odd when he explains why he hunts wearing a beret (?) and monocle...and he has some bizarre turns of phrase, AND they all run around in ultra tight geeky shorts and tennis shoes..the Ken what's his name in all the videos looks lke a refugee from Starsky and Hutch - BIG hair BIG 70s/80s glasses BIG GREEN NYLON ballcap....

but it all works......I ended up diggin' the funky aspect of it. And they do a lot of hunting. The elephant video puts you right there in the grass when a bull pops out of nowhere..pretty hairy

I like his books very much-you can get them all on amazon

Most of his videos were pre-hype like they are now. The elephant hunting one is good.

I think it was in his first video, where things seemed to be overdone, where he made the comment about reloading on the run. I thought that was kind of stupid when I saw it...but he was right.

I would trade my hunting career for his any day.

Okay, so everyone is divided as expected, but who's African hunting videos are good and a Ëmust haveË? In your opinions of course.

I've seen his Buffalo hunting video and his hunting Botswana video. I think we need to realize that these were pretty early films as far as hunting videos go and are a bit funky.

Overall I kind of enjoyed the buffalo video but I have to say that it was painfully obvious in the Botswana video that the almighty bottle had taken control of Mr. Capstick by the time it was filmed.

He looked shnockered or post shnockered through out the whole film.

Check out the links I posted previously I have over 350 hunting videos. Those four companies are my favorites. You can also get these ones and a whole lot more at

www.outdoorvision.com

quote:

I also seem to recall that I wondered if Capstick was drinking a bit much at the time when his last few films were made. Just an impression I got while watching them.

Yes....I, too, thought this to be the case. In retrospect I believe that the educational and entertainment value should be separated from this aspect.

PHC's personal life is not my business....and while being a "famous" writer puts him in the public spotlight and subject to such scrutiny, I personally know people with alcoholism issues that I have great admiration for by their courage of character in dealing with it.

It would be my hope that we could enjoy the hunting experience he bought to the screen in spite of such handicaps. Sitting back with a fine single malt and enjoying a campfire and the commeradie of good friends is not at all uncommon for outdoorsmen and a life deep in the things that make us rich! Some maybe more so than others.....I won't be the judge here.

personally the best video I know of was lverics. there were a couple of crapsticks that beach archie bunker, but not by much. Remember most of his stories came from ones he heard while he was a bartender and the safari lodge in vic falls.

Ha!

I love this post. Seems that a lot of folks are passing judgment on poor old Capstick, most by the unknowing and without a twit of as much expereince as he had.

I am not a stick hunter and I don't like the water-hole bowhunting videos at all.

Safari Video makes beautiful videos. Kind of big on hype!

Marc Watts a former CNN guy makes great videos. Really big on hype!

Hunters Video makes the most beautiful videos I have ever seen and every DVD comes in 6 languages.

Still love Ken Wilsons videos for their buddy style!

I can't really comment on his videos as I've never seen them. But I can say that I am having a hard time resisting a rifle in 470 capstick. =)

quote:

Originally posted by surestrike:
I've seen his Buffalo hunting video and his hunting Botswana video. I think we need to realize that these were pretty early films as far as hunting videos go and are a bit funky.

.

Gentlemen, the SPORTSMAN ON FILM videos were the first ever African videos, filmed in a broadcast quality filming! This set was an extention of Ken Willson's ZAMBIA SAFARI THE BANGWEULU SWAMP, and connected to the ZAMBIA SAFARI Luangwa Valley. Ken connected up in Botswana with Capstick for the filming of the Capstick set, consisting of the Capstick films HUNTING THE AFRICAN LION, HUNTING THE CAPE BUFFALO,and CAPSTICKS BOTSWANA SAFARI, were all one hunt, edited to make the four films! This was all filmed in one hunting season, and simply edited into all six films!

The Elephant hunt, the Rhino hunt were filmed the next season, and the CAPSTICK's LAST SAFARI was filmed a year before he died!

At the time of this filming, (1985, or 6)nodody else had done this on such a whirlwind scale. Before these films, only home movies, reformated of very poor quality of 8mm film were available. It isn't any wonder Ken looked like Starsky&Hutch, that was the way people looked in 1985!

Ken Willson was a pioneer in the African hunting film business! Sure they were a little hoaky in places, but you have to understand, it's hard for a person who in not a professional actor to come off very well when a microphone is shouved in your face, and you're expected to say something interesting! If you have seen all the SOF films, you will see they progressed in quality, and content, and they got to the Elephant hunt.

IMO, these films are classics, and like the silent films of the movie industry, they have to be taken as what they are, the first of there kind! NO, they are not the best of the African hunting films offered today, but all the films of today learned to make there African films by watching the Sportsmen on Film offerings. The one thing they didn't learn, however is, the films today seem to be nothing but killing, with none of the SAFARI experience that was included in all Capstick films!

I say they are well worth buying, especially at the price they are offered at today.