Brotherhood of the Wolf (Pacte des Loups, Le) (2001) |
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Brotherhood of the Wolf (Pacte des Loups, Le) (2001) |
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| BUY IT |
| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Action |
Menu Animation & Audio Scene Selection Anim & Audio Theatrical Trailer Featurette-The Legend Featurette-Making Of Deleted Scenes-6 Filmographies-Cast & Crew Storyboards-6 Interviews-Cast & Crew |
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| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 2001 | ||
| Running Time | 133:20 (Case: 137) | ||
| RSDL / Flipper |
RSDL (71:49) Dual Disc Set |
Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 2,4 | Directed By | Christophe Gans |
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Studio
Distributor |
 Universal Pictures Home Video |
Starring |
Samuel Le Bihan Mark Dacascos Vincent Cassel Émilie Dequenne Jérémie Rénier Monica Bellucci |
| Case | ? | ||
| RPI | $39.95 | Music | Joseph LoDuca |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) French Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) |
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles | English | Smoking | Yes |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | Yes | ||
Wolves usually hunt in packs, but the region of Gévaudan in the middle of France during the mid 18th century is finding out the hard way that sometimes nature takes a different, terrifying turn. An animal, more the size of a cow than a wolf has for the last 2 years terrified and ravaged the locals. Over 100 women and children (but strangely no men or males over 16) have been killed by the creature whom the locals have named 'The Beast of Gévaudan'. Some say it is a wolf, or a pack of wolves, but most others including the few who've seen it and the fewer who have survived its attacks describe it as something else; a demon, a monster, a werewolf or perhaps even the devil incarnate. Whatever it is, it kills mercilessly and holds the entire area in a grip of fear. In desperation, King Louis XV dispatches someone who might be able to determine what the beast actually is, and hopefully dispatch the animal in the process.
Grégoire de Fronsac, famed taxidermist, botanist and scientist has been chosen by the King to find the beast. Fronsac (Samuel Le Bihan) has a 'helper' in the name of Mani (Mark Dacascos), a Mohawk Indian who Fronsac had met during his travels in New France. Mani, while quiet and contemplative, is a force to be reckoned with and a man whom it would be wise not to cross, as some local ruffians find out at the start of the film. Fronsac and Mani come to the house of the Marquis d'Apcher, a local aristocrat whose grandson Thomas (Jérémie Rénier) takes an immediate interest in Fronsac's charge to find the beast. As Thomas is interested in the work of Fronsac, so Fronsac himself becomes very interested in Marianne de Morangias, the youngest child and only daughter of the influential Morangias family. While Marianne (Émilie Dequenne) has the expected demure and proper exterior, beneath lies an inquisitive, rebellious and independent soul. As much as Fronsac is drawn to Marianne, he has work to do and he sets out to track down the beast. An enormous hunt is arranged with literally thousands of hunters from across France and beyond lured by a huge bounty to hunt down and kill the animal. Unfortunately, though hundreds of wolves are killed, the beast remains elusive. Disheartened by the lack of success and the increasing hostility towards himself, Fronsac decides it is time to move on. However, just before embarking on a trip overseas, young Thomas d'Apcher comes with an offer to Fronsac and Mani to once again hunt the monster who continues to ravage the countryside. While at first apprehensive, the promise that Mani is to lead this renewed hunt for the animal, along with the promise of a reunion with Marianne is too much to ignore and the hunt is renewed in earnest.
But as Fronsac is drawn closer to catching the beast, he begins to wonder about the real origins and indeed the motivations of the animal. He sees other forces at work other than just some wild creature that preys on hapless peasants. And as he gets closer, he finds that there is indeed more at work than meets the eye. Soon all the local elements will come into play, from the Catholic Church, the Government under King Louis XV to the local aristocracy including Jean-François de Morangias (Vincent Cassel), the disfigured brother of Marianne. Fronsac is about to discover the truth, but the price will be very high.
This would have to be one of the most important action films to come out in the last 10 years. Yes, I know that is a bold statement, but it is one that I stick by. Firstly, 'action' is probably too restrictive a word to use in describing this film, as suspense, mystery, horror, fantasy and even romance are all very integral parts of this movie. The reason that this film is so important and well regarded worldwide is the fact that it took a genre of film, that being the epic monster movie, and moved it to an entirely different level. This is further amplified by the fact that this film did not originate in Hollywood, but France. Historically, whenever 'action' and France is mentioned in the same breath, Luc Besson immediately comes to mind. For many filmgoers worldwide, it may be the only name that comes to the fore. Director Christophe Gans has definitely changed this. Even though this film plays with history, perhaps even rewrites it, this is essentially a French story. Although very much unknown to the outside world, the legend of The Beast of Gévaudan is well known to the French and to many it came as a surprise that a film of the legend had never been made. This is a wrong that director Christophe Gans has well and truly righted and it is most important that this story was told first and foremost by a Frenchman.
Having received a script of the basic story, Christophe Gans began to bring together the various elements that would make up the finished film. Not content to go half way, Gans decided that he would have to pull out all the stops if he were to bring this story to a modern audience. A long-time fan of film of this genre, he knew the level of work that would be involved in bringing the story to life. He also knew the responsibility, for if he was to do this film right and bring justice to the story, he would be making a document that would stand as world class filmmaking, artistry and most importantly, entertainment. I can say that beyond any shadow of a doubt he succeeded. This was due to the complete attention paid to the many facets of this production.
Casting was very important and Christophe bore this in mind when choosing the various actors to bring the film's characters to life. Because of Christophe Gans' directing style, this was even more important than usual. Christophe likes the actors to bring the characters to the fore, and it is his belief that at the point of casting the direction of the actor is mostly complete. As with any element of a film, a tool or technology or device is brought to use in order to service the story. The director is charged with using the various tools and techniques to convey his vision to film. Gans sees the actors as a tool to bring the story and characters to life and he feels that it is his job to capture the 'life' that each actor has brought with him or her and commit it to film. In essence, Gans grasps the performance of the actor, rather than try to create it himself. This was unusual for some of the actors at first who didn't quite know how to react to a director that to some extent didn't direct. Over time, and during many rehearsals, the cast began to see how the director would work. Once the actors understood that it was up to them to provide the performances and the director's job to commit that element to the film, the actors in the film began to settle into their roles.
The group of actors chosen to provide the performances in this film were varied. For the principal cast, the director chose some of the bright young up and comers in French cinema. This was done to bring a vibrancy and accessibility to the film and it also served the storyline. Backing up the main cast were some well known actors that have graced the French cinema screens for many years. Heading up the cast in the role of Fronsac is actor Samuel Le Bihan who is known for his role in Trois couleurs: Rouge (Three colours: Red) in 1994. Samuel brings both strength and venerability to the role as Fronsac, as well as a physicality that the character possesses. His offsider, the Indian warrior Mani, is played with an understated charisma by American actor Mark Dacascos who, although being Hawaiian, does look the part of a Mohawk Indian. His prowess in the area of martial arts was quite important to the portrayal of the story here and after working with Mark on the film Crying Freeman, director Christophe Gans knew that he had his Mani. The two female leads, who both play quite different roles, are equally good. Émilie Dequenne who plays Marianne is like an angel, while Monica Bellucci is suitably dark and mysterious as Sylvia, the prostitute that may be more than she appears to be. The rest of the cast round out the film and all turn in excellent performances.
Okay, so you have a dedicated director, a competent cast and an interesting quasi-true legend; so why is this film so important? The answer lies in the execution of the film. Taking different elements of filmmaking from different genres, director Christophe Gans decided to include something out of the ordinary in the action portion of the film: martial arts. While the inclusion of this fighting technique could have made for a ridiculous film for a director who didn't have the respect for the genre, Gans' integration of the style into this film is masterful. Of course people in 18th century France didn't know Kung Fu, but this is storytelling and the inclusion of martial arts into the action sequences of the film works to make this a film like no other. If you haven't seen the film, then the end result is hard to describe, but it is well integrated and not as intrusive as you might think.
I cannot recommend this film highly enough. It is a real treat to see a story or genre that has been done to death and have someone breathe new life into it. Here we have a double treat with a story that is mostly unknown outside of France along with a fresh approach by director Christophe Gans. This film was more-or-less ignored at the cinema with a limited theatrical release in late 2002 which came about a year after the film was shown during the 2001 Melbourne Film Festival to much excitement. Finally we have it here on DVD. Do take the time to take in this exciting film. You won't be disappointed.
This film is presented on this disc in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and is 16x9 enhanced.
The image on offer throughout this program is very clean and sharp with no real issues of clarity. Much of this film takes place either at night or within darkened environments and so the amount of detail that should be visible is fairly important. In this regard the disc doesn't let us down with a good level of shadow detail visible throughout. I didn't detect any problems with low level noise.
Colour use during the feature is quite important to the context and portrayal of the film. Here we have such diverse locations as some formal courts of 18th century France, a rain-swept countryside, a dungeon, a peasant's hut and many others. The filmmakers capture each divergent location and its feel and commit it to film in a very competent way. Colour's commitment and portrayal on this disc is equally good with a very engaging image available during the movie.
While MPEG artefacts are a problem with the Region 1 Canadian 3 disc version of this film (and presumably the Region 2 French 3 disc version as well), we can be thankful that more care has been taken to present a very clean and reasonably artefact free transfer here. There is some minor pixelization during the horseback sequence at 29:05 that is noticeable if looked for, but this is not a real problem and for the most part an isolated case. This is a very watchable compression job that may be thanks to the lack of audio tracks on our disc in comparison to those that were made available on the Canadian disc. Of course this could be a double-edged sword, but more on that later. Quite a clean print was used to transfer this film to disc, although not as clean as the print used for the Region 1 Canadian version, which features fewer film artefacts. Again, this is a minor aside and I had no complaints about the quality of the print used. The perpetual legend of edge enhancement lives on and is visible here on this disc such as at 64:33 around the woman and the tree. It is not terribly distracting, but is fairly noticeable throughout the film during various scenes. Grain was visible from time to time with a noticeable example at 89:18 on the wall behind the horses. The overall quality of the film stock used during this production seemed to vary from scene to scene. At times I got the impression that grain was more evident at some time compared to others, and the same went for black levels where strong blacks were clearly evident in one scene whilst another would have a brownish tint to what I thought should be black. This could have been due to either the quality of the film used or perhaps it might have been related to lighting. I am not 100% sure, so I thought I would point this out as you may notice it as well. Again, this is one of those things that doesn't detract from the film, but something that I did notice during the many times I've watched this film on various discs.
There is one subtitle option available on this disc, that being an English option for those who've selected to watch the film in its original French version. As my French isn't what it used to be, I can only speculate on its accuracy and for the most part, I found the English subtitles to convey well the meaning of the film. There is a difference between the subtitles made available on this Region 4 disc and those available on the Region 1 Canadian disc. I did find the ones on the Region 1 Canadian disc better and slightly more accurate, but I really didn't feel that I was missing out on too much with those on offer on the Region 4 disc.
This disc is RSDL formatted with the layer change taking place at 71:49 near the end of Chapter 12. A good layer change that I didn't find distracting.
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Unforgivable.
I'll just let that word hang there for a moment to adequately convey the sheer and complete disappointment in what we have been given in regards to the audio options on this disc. There is NO excuse for not presenting a film's original language in the best manner possible. Therefore, to offer this film with audio that presents a dub (in this case an English language dub) in a better manner than that of the film's original language is unacceptable. This is on par with the Region 4 version of Das Boot which presents the film in English Dolby Digital 5.1 (dub) and the original German in Dolby Digital 2.0 surround encoded only. There is absolutely no excuse for offering up a substandard language option for a film...ever. To present such a film as this with a paltry French 2.0 surround encoded track as the only original language option when other versions available in other regions get not only full Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes but in some cases dts 5.1 tracks as well is completely unacceptable. While the French dts track available on the Region 1 Canadian version is of reference quality, at the very least Universal could have afforded us a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix in the original French. While I'm not of the opinion that dts is the be-all-and-end-all of DVD audio (anyone who reads my reviews will be aware of this), the French dts mix of this film is absolutely spectacular and one of the best mixes I've heard on any disc. It is a real shame that it isn't offered here. There are 2 audio tracks available on this disc, these being a French Dolby Digital 2.0 surround encoded track (sigh) and a dubbed English Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. I listened to both tracks in their entirety.
The dialogue quality on the original French track was quite good with no apparent problems with clarity of the spoken word. The supplied English dub was also fairly clear with reasonable approximations as to the character and stature of each character attended to. I have heard far worse dubs, such as the Italian dub provided on xXx where the voice of Vin Diesel's character Xander sounds like he's in his late 40s rather than the mid 20s he's supposed to be. Personally, I hate dubs and will listen to them only if required to (such as when reviewing a disc) but I do understand that there are those who, for whatever reason, are unable or unlikely to watch a film with subtitles. If this is the case with you, then you can rest assured that a quite reasonable dub is provided here. I had no major issues with audio sync on this disc. On a technical note, I did detect some obvious 'stepping' or 'popping' during some passages during the film, most particularly in the English Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. It was somewhat audible in the French Dolby Digital 2.0 surround encoded mix, but was not quite as prominent. This had a similar sound to that reported on the Region 4 disc of Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring in relation to pitch correction. This audio artefact is most noticeable at 119:33 and is also noticeable at 125:46 and 127:17. Although thinking this could be due to a pitch correction problem, I soon dismissed it as a probable cause as I also found the same audio artefact on the Region 1 Canadian 3 disc version English audio track. On the same disc, the French Dolby Digital 5.1 mix also exhibits this artefact, but to a reduced extent. It is not audible on the dts track.
The musical score for this film was provided by popular television score composer Joseph LoDuca. If the name sounds familiar, it may be due to his scores for the cult classic Evil Dead series as Joseph did the scores for all three films. Other credits include work on the popular Hercules and Xena television series'. The score composed by Joseph LoDuca is quite fitting for the film and works quite well. It is never over the top and bombastic, but rather insightful and complementary, as a film score should be.
There is quite a bit of surround activity to be heard during the English 5.1 dub of the film's audio. Stand-out examples can be found at 66:23, 73:08 with gunshots, 93:32 in the cavern and also at 111:40. These examples are much more subdued during the French Dolby Digital 2.0 mix with the rears quite active for a matrixed Pro Logic mix, but far less effectively than they would be in a full blown 5.1 track.
The subwoofer is also quite active during this film with quite a bit of contribution including highlights at 46:07, 56:16 during the flashback, 70:07 during the attack, 81:06 during the trap sequence and 93:57 during another flashback. The LFE contribution is again important in the 2.0 mix of the film, but not as focused or pronounced as it is with the 5.1 track.
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There are quite a number of interesting extras available on this 2 disc set. A footnote: The rental version of this title looks to be Disc 1 of this 2 Disc set. Therefore, what I've reviewed here is most probably the retail version that we will get here in Region 4 at some later date.
The menus are 16x9 enhanced and most feature animation and audio.
Selecting the Extras icon, we are taken to a menu which offers us the following:
Theatrical Trailer - 1:50
This is the international trailer with an English voice over. I would like to have seen some more international trailers including the original French ones, but this is fairly good and creates quite a bit of tension and interest in the film. Presented in 2.35:1 without 16x9 enhancement. Audio is English Dolby Digital 2.0 surround encoded.
The Legend - text introduction, then featurette - 17:21
This is an interesting interview with author (and zoo director) Michel Louis who wrote the book La Bête du Gévaudan (The Beast of Gévaudan) in 1992. This historical account is the genesis of the film we have here. Michel makes much mention that the filmed version is very much a fictitious account of the Beast's reign and not really rooted in historical fact. Despite this, the author seems to accept the reworking of the tale and helps by telling us much of the 'true' history of the Beast and its possible origins. Worth looking at after watching the film, but don't spoil the whole thing by watching this first. It is much more fun coming to this film with as fresh a palate as you can bring. This interesting interview is presented full frame with audio in French Dolby Digital 2.0 with English subtitles that automatically default to On.
After the usual copyright warning and distributor's logos we are taken to Disc 2's Main Menu which presents to us:
The Making Of The Brotherhood of the Wolf - The Guts of the Beast - 78:14
Beyond the usual hype and promotional megatrailers that sometimes masquerade as 'Behind the Scenes' docos, this interesting and comprehensive featurette looks at the various aspects of the film's production from its genesis and first working scripts to the principal photography of the film and the extensive post production elements that were needed to bring the film to life. This featurette features many behind the scenes looks and interviews with both the cast and crew. This featurette is broken into seven parts that are titled:
Deleted Scenes - 5 in total plus a compilation of deleted footage to music
Here we have a selection of 5 deleted scenes with introductions and postscripts by the film's director Christophe Gans. These range from the semi-completed to the completed and were removed from the film for various reasons including pacing and continuity. These are presented in 2.35:1 without 16x9 enhancement and audio in French Dolby Digital 2.0. On offer are:
While in the final version Mani takes on the 'peasant ruffians' by himself, in this version Fronsac steps in as well and proves himself as a man of action as well as words. The director finally decided to make Mani the man of action and Fronsac more of the thinking type.
This scene shows Mani's connection to nature and its creatures as he uses a raven to find the body of a lost villager. Cut because the scene it led to was moved to a different part of the film.
Some interaction between Fronsac and The Priest Sardis that doesn't contribute enough to warrant its inclusion in the final cut.
A nice romantic scene set on a frozen lake that sets up the the continuing romance between Fronsac and Marianne. It reminded me of some of the imagery seen in the 1992 Sally Potter film Orlando and is interesting to see. Dropped because of the concentration on the action direction of the film over the romance aspect.
A literal 'behind the scenes' look at the brothel that is Tessier's with Sylvia taking Fronsac to a secret area where people can watch the various patrons and their hosts 'at work'. Cut because of pacing and because the scene did not quite fit into the final version of the film.
This is a collage of scenes and footage that was shot for the film but never used. A great way to see some of what was captured but in the end never used. Set to music with little dialogue.
Filmographies
These are text based filmographies that give the viewer a look at some of the work that the actors in the film have done. Available for your perusal are filmographies for:
Storyboards
This feature starts with a text intro and then offers us the following options:
Interviews (cast and director) - 49:00
This section presents interviews with the same persons that have filmographies featured on the disc. These are longer interviews with the principal cast along with the film's director with each covering the various aspects of the film's content, style and conception. All are in French with default English subtitles with the exception of the interview with Mark Dacascos which is in English. It's interesting in that Mark starts his interview, decides that he can open the start of his interview better, asks the interviewer if he can begin again and does so. All this is presented and is probably left in as the person editing the interviews didn't have English as a first language. Not distracting but something that I noticed while watching. The interviews in order are:
There is censorship information available for this title. Click here to read it (a new window will open). WARNING: Often these entries contain MAJOR plot spoilers.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
For all intents and purposes, there are three versions of this film available. They are the Region 1 US disc, the Region 2 HMV Exclusive 2 disc version (as we now have here in Region 4) and the Region 1 Canadian 3 disc Director's Cut disc that mirrors the Region 2 French 3 disc set, although the Region 1 Canadian version features (thankfully) English subtitles. There are various other single disc versions available worldwide, but these three versions would be the most common. So much was my anticipation of this title that I even seriously considered purchasing the Region 2 French 3 disc version of the film even though it featured no English subtitles in any part of the film. Eventually, saner heads prevailed but it was a real temptation.
For this disc, I think it would be better if we detailed the contents and merits of each version on their own rather than the traditional Region vs Region format. What you see here and what you yourself find important will determine what version you might choose to take advantage of.
Region 1 US single disc version
Region 2 UK HMV Exclusive 2 Disc Set and Region 4 2 Disc Set (as we have here)
Region 1 Canada 3 Disc Collectors' Edition (Director's Cut)
For those whom are interested in what's the latest, this is what's on the 4th disc. As is the case with the original Region 2 French 3 disc version, there are no English language or subtitle options.
Disc 4 of the French 4 disc Ultimate Edition
This edition is essentially the same as the 3 disc version, but offers a fourth disc with some additional reference material on the history of the 'Beast' and the making and promotion of the film in both Europe and the United States.
Available on this 4th disc is:
So - my verdict? At the end of the day I would have to select the Region 1 Canadian 3 disc set as the clear winner. Yes, the Region 1 Canadian version does suffer from increased MPEG pixelization and more pronounced edge enhancement, but I believe this is countered by the inclusion of a spectacular French dts track that is a revelation. Some may feel that it is too loud and over the top, but it perfectly complements the goings-on on screen. The extras are comprehensive with almost every featurette that could be made about the film available. Also featured is an interesting booklet with more details about the making of the film. Our version is commendable in regards to its attention to detail in regards to the video compression job. Although the print used to commit the film to disc doesn't seem quite as clean as that used on the Region 1 Canadian version, it is still completely watchable. The extras provided, while not as complete as that of the Canadian version, are still commendable with some very interesting background and behind the scenes material available. While the Canadian version is the Director's Cut, our Region 4 version is a 'modified' version of the same with only the removal of the scenes pertaining to the character Bauterne, the King's Hunter. This, in my mind, didn't hamper the overall enjoyment of the film and seemed to speed up a film which is fairly long. The only issue I would have with the omission of all the scenes featuring Bauterne is the removal of Fronsac's dream sequence featuring Sylvia and the knife. This is covered in the making-of featurette (and shown in the Scene Selections Menu) and some viewers may find it strange to see the scene neither in the body of the film nor within the Deleted Scenes section of the extras disc. Also missing is Fronsac's creation of the fake beast as ordered by Bauterne. All other scenes added into the Director's Cut of the film remain intact and serve to enhance the story rather than change it. I found both versions acceptable. I haven't seen the Region 1 US version of the film (but will do so at the earliest possibe opportunity) so I cannot comment as to how its perhaps truncated form conveys the story.
The major (and it is very major) downfall of the Region 4 2 disc set is the complete lack of a 5.1 mix of ANY description in the film's original language. This is a most disappointing omission as even a basic French Dolby Digital 5.1 mix would have sufficed. Or better yet, sacrifice the English 5.1 dub and present that in Dolby Digital 2.0. A disastrous choice on the part of the distributors that sadly leads me to wholeheartedly recommend the Region 1 Canada 3 disc version as the clear winner. Rent the Region 4 disc to see if you like the film and, should you find it to your liking (as I have), track down the 3 disc set. You will not be disappointed.
This is an important film that clearly demonstrates that the slick, big action blockbuster is no longer the sole property of Hollywood. As Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon proved a couple of years back, other filmmakers outside the American system know how to make a viewer sit up and take notice. This film is a true testament to that fact. For the love of God, Hollywood, please stay away from this film. It doesn't need to be remade. It doesn't need to have Brad Pitt in the lead role. It doesn't need yet more obvious CG shots. It doesn't need a rock soundtrack. It needs to be watched and appreciated by an audience that enjoys a good tale well filmed. No remakes required, for this film is the real deal. Wholeheartedly recommended. It's just a shame about the lack of a 5.1 French audio track on our disc. The video is quite good with a competent compression job done that surpasses that found on the Region 1 Canadian disc. The audio is a huge letdown with the complete omission of a 5.1 mix of the film's original French language audio. The 5.1 English dub is okay as dubs go, but nothing is a substitute for the real thing, and this disc does indeed lack the real thing. Disappointing in the extreme. The extras are quite good with many behind the scenes insights and fascinating interviews. The Region 1 Canadian 3 disc set covers even more than this 2 disc set does, but what we do have here is quite good.
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| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Panasonic DVD RA-61, using S-Video output |
| Display | Beko TRW 325 / 32 SFT 10 76cm (32") 16x9. This display device is 16x9 capable. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to DVD player, Dolby Digital, dts and DVD-Audio. |
| Amplification | Yamaha RX-V2090 |
| Speakers | VAF DC-X fronts; VAF DC-6 center; VAF DC-2 rears; LFE-07subwoofer (80W X 2) |