The Fruit Hunters

Mouth-watering documentary on exotic fruit hunters including a major Hollywood star
This DVD came at a perfect time as I had just installed my new 39" flat screen 1080 TV and bought a new Bluray Player. Though the film is only being released on DVD (not BD), the images are sharp and colorful and a great test for the images of the new TV. And if you have an HD TV you will find your mouth watering from all the gorgeous images of unusual fruits.

But that's not enough to make you want to get this DVD, so I'll move on. My fellow Top 100 reviewer, K. Harris, has already covered some of the background on the 95-minute film so I'll try to add info, rather than repeat it.

As was noted filmmaker Yung Chung - director of the wonderful 2007 documentary "Up The Yangtze "traveled the globe to follow five "fruit hunters" - individuals who have a passion for finding unusual fruits. He travels to Indonesia, Honduras, Hawaii and California. The California connect give the film a "Star" attraction as it focuses on film actor Bill Pullman, who - for 20 years - has...

An Obsession With Fruit: An Unusual Nature Documentary That Takes You Around The Globe
I watch such a wide array of documentaries that almost no subject really surprises me. I must admit, however, that I never considered that there was a portion of the population considered to be fruit enthusiasts! "The Fruit Hunters," therefore, was an intriguing examination of a novel concept. Writer/director Yung Chang (Up The Yangtze) adapts Adam Gollner's book of the same title to provide an unusual nature documentary. Lighthearted, but lovely, it lacks the seriousness of Chang's best known features but that's not necessarily a negative. People are passionate about all kinds of things (many of which don't make sense to others in the population), why not love fruit? "The Fruit Hunters" tells the story of adventurers who traverse the globe in search of the exotic, naturists who seek to save dwindling species, and passionate foodies looking for the next great discovery. And it made me more than curious to seek out some of the profiled fruits!

Perhaps my favorite...

Interesting but ultimately unsatisfying for fruit lovers
I just finished watching this, which I missed when it played locally and have been anticipating with excitement for a while. I don't know all of the fruits in the film and ultimately feel like they could've focused on that more. I know a good variety of them; cherimoya (my favorite, I have a tree in the yard now), mangosteen, durian, atemoya, miracle berry, breadfruit, etc. I've learnt about all of these in my spare time and felt that the movie was a good introduction for newbies but came up shy on data for those wanting to learn. The interviews with the various gardeners were the most interesting part. Those expert opinions should've been utilized more; there're many rare fruit groups now and people that grow these in their gardens. Focusing on their exploits would've made this a hit for me. I'm going to borrow the book, I've skimmed through it and feel it will be more thorough. If anyone knows a detailed film, please share!

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