Director: Christophe Gans
Starring: Samuel Le Bihan
Genre: Fantasy/Horror
Studio:   Release date: 2002   Rated: R
Language (Country): ( France / Canada )
Summary: The Film:
"The Brotherhood Of the Wolf" is one of the most beautifully filmed, over-the-top, chaotic and fascinating films I've seen in quite some time. It is a horror film, it is a martial arts picture, it is a period piece, it is a mystery, it is many things and remarkably, the ambitious epic largely succeeds at any genre it touches. The film is reportedly based upon the real "Beast of Gevaudan", which terrorized the French countryside in the 1700's, but the film takes that tale and launches the story into something that, while not perfect, is delightfully ridiculous and wholly entertaining.

The story opens in 1764, where Grégoire de Fronsac (Samuel Le Bihan) has arrived in the area to hunt down the creature, reportedly a wolf-like beast whose terrifying attack is shown in one of the film's opening scenes. Accompanied by Indian companion Mani (Mark Dacascos), the two start their investigation into the beast's whereabouts. The film provides Fronsac's character with not one, but two love interests to spend time with during his investigation - there's Marianne (Emilie Dequenne), a wealthy aristocrat and local prostitute Madame Sylvia (Monica Bellucci, the stunning actress from "Malena").

Of course, there's more than meets the eye, as the two warriors come upon a wild conspiracy behind the beast's existence, not to mention suspicious characters - such as one-armed and short-tempered Jean Francois (Vincent Cassel, star of Mathieu Kassovitz's stunning French drama "La Haine"), Count De Morangias (Jean Yanne) and the local priest Sardis (Jean Francois Stevenin).

Gans' film has the right idea about the tone, which is genuinely creepy and grounded, keeping the over-the-top picture from going too far overboard. The mostly serious performances also considerably help the audience's involvement with the characters. Gans also uses a rather "Jaws"-like way of presenting the beast, keeping the creature largely covered for most of the film and allowing our imagination to work out what the beast must look like. The mixture of genres could certainly have been a mess, but Gans merges martial arts with poltical drama with romantic period quite passably, aside from a few exceptions where the fight scenes, while amazing, don't quite fit.

The film's look, tone and atmosphere are also extraordinary. The fight sequences certainly are one of the aspects that benefit most from the film's extraordinary cinematography and editing. Superb trickery, such as variable motion, freeze frames and other aspects really give many scenes a very dynamic and visually rich appearance. The production design, which occasionally is warmer and brighter and occasionally looks a bit like Burton's "Sleepy Hollow", is also exceptional.

The film isn't without flaws, though: the 144-minute tale is clearly trying for an epic feel, but occasionally goes on a little too long for its own good, making for a few patches scattered throughout the movie where the pace drags somewhat. Small moments of the story could have also used either some filling out or clarification.

Overall, while "Brotherhood" seems to have been inspired by many sources, director Gans has still managed to create a movie that feels fresh and largely exciting, managing to stuff a lot of material and a whole lot of different genres into one well-crafted film.


The DVD:
Video: TVA's Canadian edition of "Brotherhood of the Wolf" is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and looks terrific, if slightly - and I do mean slightly less crisp and sleek than the US release. Possibly this is due to the additional DTS soundtrack taking up further space. The differences, however, are certainly quite minor and both offer excellent viewing experiences.

Sound: TVA's Canadian edition of "Brotherhood Of the Wolf" offers both the English and French Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks heard on the US release, as well as a French DTS 5.1 track. As tremendously entertaining as either of the Dolby Digital tracks are, I did feel that the DTS track provided a noticable, mild improvement. Surround effects seemed slightly more seamless and further into the listening space with the DTS soundtrack, while the DTS track also provided greater clarity and a bit stronger, tighter bass.

Extas: This is a 3-DVD set from Canadian distributor TVA. The extras are spread across all three discs and all of the supplements are in French. The commentary tracks on disc one are not subtitled, so non-French speakers will not find them much use. However, the lengthy video supplements on discs two and three are subtitled in English.

Commentaries: The first disc offers two full-length audio commentaries: one from director Christophe Gans and the other from actors Samuel Le Bihan and Vincent Cassel. There's only one problem: both commentaries are in French, with no subtitles. So, unless you can speak French (I can't), these commentaries are not going to be of any use.

Making Of (disc 2): This nearly 80-minute "making of" is split into several sections: "Genesis", "Casting", "Artistic Direction", "The Fight Scenes", "The Beast", "Digital Effects" and "Epilogue". The feature is a briskly edited and highly informative collection of interviews (director Christophe Gans, the producer and many other members of the production) and interesting behind-the-scenes clips. It's clear from the opening moments that this isn't the usual promotional fluff; all of the participants come prepared to talk in great depth about nearly every aspect of the picture. The section regarding the fight sequences is particularly interesting, as director Gans and the film's choreographer discuss blending styles and themes to create action sequences that seem at least somewhat different than the usual. The digital effects section, which shows some "non-beast" scenes before/after, is also quite fun to watch.

Deleted Scenes (disc 2): Director Chrisophe Gans introduces 5 deleted scenes in a feature that runs just under 40 minutes. Unlike the US version, the scenes can be selected separately.

The Legend (Disc 2): This is an interview with naturalist Michel Louis, who discusses the history behind the actual beast and also chats about the translation of the story to screen and his book about the subject.

DVD-ROM: No, there's no interactive "Brotherhood of the Wolf" game. Included here are simply the weblink and French/English press kits.

Also On Disc 2: The film's trailer (a different trailer than the US one), filmographies.

Documentary (Disc 3): This is seemingly a continuation of the feature-length documentary from the second disc. Surprisingly, this documentary - which goes even further into the production - also runs nearly 80 minutes. This documentary definitely leans more towards on-set footage and providing the viewer a glimpse of the rather chaotic "Brotherhood" experience (which, as we learn when the documentary opens, involves a having to deal with some nasty weather). As informative as the more interview-heavy other documentary was, this piece can't help but seem a bit more entertaining, as it doesn't shy away from showing a few of the problems that the crew had on-set trying to capture scenes. This documentary is certainly a good pairing with the other one included, as where that provided a fine general overview, this piece provides more specifics and is almost completely very unslick, up-close on-set footage.

Storyboards (Disc 3): Storyboards for twelve sequences: "Epilogue", "The Beast's Lair", "The Clearing", "Thomas' Hallucination", "The Fighting Ring", "James's House", "First Shepherdess Attack", "Second Shepherdess Attack", "The Wolves Massacre", "Attack Of Cecile and Louis" and two more.

Photo Album (Disc 3): Split into sections: "The Beast", "Portraits", "Fronsac's Notebook", "On-Set Pictures" and "Posters".


Final Thoughts: A breathtaking, violent, beautifully filmed and intense picture, "Brotherhood Of the Wolf" is certainly worth watching. Those who have not seen the film already may want to check it out as a rental first, but those who are already fans of the film will be delighted by TVA's 3-DVD edition, which offers excellent audio/video quality and superb supplements that include two feature-length "making of"'s. Recommended. This Canadian release must be imported through retailers such as amazon.ca.


Content: 3.5/5
Video: 4/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 3.5/5
Replay: 3.5/5

Highly Recommended

Aaron Beierle (DVDTalk.com)