Brotherhood of the Wolf 3 Disc Set

[Requiem-for-a-Dream]

I work at a video store and was looking in one of the pre-order books and came across something awesome. In Canada, Brotherhood of the Wolf is coming out in a 3 disc set!
In America, there's only a single disc version coming out, which is a shame for you poor souls. I, for one, can't wait for this deluxe DVD treatment. So, to all fans of the movie, I just thought I would make you aware of this new discovery.

Matt

[Horror_Fanatic]

Here is the cover art for it:

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/upcomingdvdart/1001/brotherhoodofthewolfdvd.jpg

Looks good, but I didn't really like the movie. Sub-titles piss me off.

[Tarantino]

Congratulations, you get 2 more discs of the worst movie I watched all year, plus a higher price!

That movie blows.

[[SD] Bob Plisskin]

From the rules and guidlines:

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">10) Post constructively (no bullshit):
If you've come on our board to start shit, or just "talk stupid" (ex: "who thinks movbies have top little lesbian sesxm and people being cut off"), please don't bother, because we're not into that here. We expect people to THINK before they post and to try their best to make actual points and bring relevant conversation to their topics. Basically, don't come here to dick around...post constructively.</font>

If you dont like a movie and somebody's asking about the DVD don't state you don't like the movie, this forum is for talking about DVDs not your thoughts on the movie. ok?

&lt;OB&gt;

[ninja555]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Tarantino:
Congratulations, you get 2 more discs of the worst movie I watched all year, plus a higher price!

That movie blows.</font>

damn straight

but aside from that I'm sure the three disc set will delve deeply into the making of the brotherhood of the wolf. However what the hell can they put on an extra 2 DISCS!? Half the time I get way fuckin more than I want or need about the movie on the DvD. And brotherhood of the wolf is a movie a slept through. I hope you drink a few cups of coffee before popping in that second or third disc there.

[This message has been edited by ninja555 (edited 08-24-2002).]

[[SD] Bob Plisskin]

from now on all none constructive posts, just slamming the movie will be deleted.

- if you have a problem with this, e-mail me.

&lt;OB&gt;

[This message has been edited by [SD] Bob Plisskin (edited 08-24-2002).]

[Tarantino]

"From the rules and guidlines:

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10) Post constructively (no bullshit)

Tell me, how many posts here are actually 'constructive? Not many...but who cares, we're all having fun here...it's all for fun.

If you've come on our board to start shit, or just "talk stupid" (ex: "who thinks movbies have top little lesbian sesxm and people being cut off"), please don't bother, because we're not into that here.

I wasn't trying to start shit with anyone, I wasn't talking stupid.

We expect people to THINK before they post and to try their best to make actual points and bring relevant conversation to their topics. Basically, don't come here to dick around...post constructively.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I did think before I posted. And again, who here really posts constructively, unless it's some kind of announcement or petition?

If you dont like a movie and somebody's asking about the DVD don't state you don't like the movie, this forum is for talking about DVDs not your thoughts on the movie. ok?"

He wasn't asking about the movie, he was announcing a movie, in which case I gave my opinion. If this forum is about DVD's, why can't I give my thoughts on it? That seems lame.

But I guess I'm not the moderator, am I? I was just having fun. I'll try to post more...um...'constructively'.

[Requiem-for-a-Dream]

Actually Horror-Fanatic, we actually get a different cover than the US version as well. Our DVD cover is the original poster art. And to all those bashing this movie, why the hell are you posting in this topic if you aren't interested in this movie? Seems fairly odd to me.

Matt

[whitemat]

I for one am jealous. I'm gonna buy the one disc version but I wish I could get that 3 disc.

The rest of you guys are crazy, BOTW was one of the best movies I've ever seen, the cinematography, the action, the action, the fighting, the story, Monica Bellucci. How could anybody think this is a bad movie?

[Requiem-for-a-Dream]

You can probably import it if you order from a Canadian chain whitemat. To those who think it will be the same as the one released in France will be dissapointed. It's a normal DVD case with 3 discs in it. But man it looks awesome!

Matt

[[SD] Bob Plisskin]

hey Tarantino, I don't mean to offend anyone and the comment wasn't really aimed at you or anyone inparticular. It just seems that everytime I open up a thread somebody says "this movie sucks" which is not really what we're looking for here. This is the DVD forum and as such we're not looking for thoughts on the movies unless specifically asked. I respect your opinion, and you have a right to air that opinion but there are plenty of other forums for that, people may be offended in this forum specifically and also one of my major gripes is that Joblo actively discourages un-confounded opinions, fair enough you or I has a view on a movie but why? This is a discussion board and as such we try to get some intelligent conversation going.

Another thing is that it's not really very respectful is it? I mean certain people are obviously looking forward to such DVDs but if they get 6-7 replies saying this movie sucks they're going to think twice about posting the next time, and one of my main aims when I took over as moderator of this forum was to raise the number of return visitors we get in here.

So please keep all negative views on specific movies to oursleves unless asked for them, and keep the talk to home cinema.

hope you understand,

&lt;OB&gt;

[Requiem-for-a-Dream]

Bob Plisskin, thank you for bringing that up, I find it happens a lot when I post about an upcoming DVD or movie people tend to bash it and I feel hesitent to post another topic.

Matt

[Tarantino]

Bob,

I got it, I see where you're coming from...no hard feelings either way, it's cool.

I slip once in a while, it happens. I'll keep those 'bashing' posts to a minimum.

Thanks for seeing it both ways though, and not flipping out like some mods would.

Good times.

[sloopyfan]

Brotherhood Of the Wolf was a really cool movie, too busy at times but thoroughly enjoyed it and it has been on my list of movies to get since I saw it back in January. I would love to get the three disc set.

I have a few questions
is it region 1?
Will it be in all French or can I get English menues and subtitles?

If it is just in French I will try find a copy, I need to learn French anyway for school I am two classes away from graduating and I haven't taken my first two since my sophmore year four years ago.

[Requiem-for-a-Dream]

It's going to be a region 1 I believe (it is a Canadian release) and it will probably have the option whether to watch it with subtitles or dubbed. I don't know much more about it until the next magazine comes in next month.

Matt

[pat00139]

Hey Requiem, where do you work? I haven't heard anything about this.

Do you know what the extras are? I'm having a hard time finding them.

[Requiem-for-a-Dream]

I work at Videoflicks, it's in the newest booklet. I might be able to photo copy the page if my boss will let me if you don't believe me. I don't remember the extras but I'm going in tomorrow so I'll post them if they are even listed yet. Also, we have all the dates for the odd horror dvd titles. If anyone wants the release dates for any specific movie I'll see if my magazine has a listing.

Matt

[Requiem-for-a-Dream]

Director and actor commentary
making of
deleted scenes
The Legend
filmographies
documentary
story boards
photo gallery
bonus rom

Those are the special features listed thus far. Release date posted in book for Canada is October 1st.

Matt

[pat00139]

Thanks a bunch, dude. I'll definitely get this one now.

[Requiem-for-a-Dream]

pat00139, no problem, I can't wait for this dvd set either.

Matt

[Wurms]

I don't think I will get the big dvd set. If the US version is uncut with original language and eng subs then I will save $20 and just get that. I like this movie and a big fan of Mark Dicascos (DRIVE rules!!!) but like $35 for the 3-disc set is a bit much when you can get the single for probably around $15 the first week it comes out.

I don't take highly to special features anymore. They use to pull me in but now I just want great picture and sound quality, original language, uncut, and the trailer. I love watching the trailers to films I love because it brings back cool memories when I drooled over it for months before I saw it http://www.joblo.com/ubb/smile.gif

Other then that special features do nothing for me unless it is something ground breaking like Bullet Time on The Matrix. That was a cool special feature. But I am sick of these HBO specials where they interview the cast and everyone kisses each others ass.

[Kim_EZ]

I enjoyed this movie, but I won't say it was a favorite.

I watch anime and a lot of foreign movies so subtitles are no problem for me. I prefer them over dubs.

[therealjohng]

If I order this from Canada (The 3 Disc Set), will it play on my player here in the States?

[[SD] Bob Plisskin]

yes, but make sure you don't get the french version!

&lt;OB&gt;

[therealjohng]

French versiion? I thought the movie was french.

Do you mean the French DVD?

[[SD] Bob Plisskin]

well although it appears that was a joke, it is also somewhat true, Canadian release are required by law to be released twice, once with english as the primary language and once with french, if you get the french version you may find it hard navigating the menu. It all depends on whether they have two versions or just one with two options.

&lt;OB&gt;

[therealjohng]

Sorry Bob. Yeah that was a joke.

Thanks for the info!

[Requiem-for-a-Dream]

I'm picking up the 3 disc set tomorrow. I had a look at it today and it's awesome!!!!!!!!!!! I'll post my review once I get through all the goodies.

Matt

[pat00139]

I got the set for a lot cheaper than I thought I'd have to pay for it. I love the set. I don' t have any time to watch it though... Gonna have to wait a while.

[Pootie]

cmoonnnnnnn guys cant we all be friendly little schmoes here. im gonna rent it tomorrow or so after i rewatch panic room. i heard it was good so bleh im gonna spend 3.66 to rent it (or my awsome spiderman blockbuster card)

[rushmore beauty]

Originally posted by Horror_Fanatic
Here is the cover art for it:

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/upcomingdvdart/1001/brotherhoodofthewolfdvd.jpg

Looks good, but I didn't really like the movie. Sub-titles piss me off.

I live in Calgary, Canada and I just rented the 3-disc set. It was awesome. But that's not the cover art dude.

[Requiem-for-a-Dream]

Well, I would have posted my review but I had to bring my copy back because the DVD kept skipping. Well, it looked awesome enough but I now have to wait until monday to receive my replacement.

Matt

[Requiem-for-a-Dream]

The 3-disc set is perfect for all who love the movie. Yes it will play on your DVD if you live in the US and ordered from Canada. Unfortunetely all my copies were scratched to shit (faulty batch of DVDs) so I had to settle for the 1 disc version. Even though I haven't seen all of the supplements I can assure you they won't dissappoint. The documentaries are very long, the deleted scenes are worth watching (supposedly) and the soundtrack is amazing. Sorry to get your hopes up on the review.

Matt

[g05]

i want to get the candadian version because of all the extra goodies. i know that the u.s. version has deleted scenes and that's pretty much all. can anyone tell me what those deleted scenes are? is there extra fight or beast footage?


g.

[pat00139]

Hey,

Ok, so Matt hasn't posted his review yet. I'm done mine, so I figured I'd post it. It's huge, and it includes everything on all 3 disks (except for the DVD-ROM stuff, but I think that's just mostly web-related stuff). You can go to my site for more reviews.

The post was too long, so you can read my full movie review on my site (in my profile).
Here it is, enjoy:

Brotherhood of the Wolf
movie 5/5
DVD 5/5

disk 1:
Movie
This version has 8 minutes not shown in theatres. It adds a little bit of story. It’s mostly around the middle, after Grégoire de Fronsac leaves Gévaudain and before he comes back. The premise is pretty simple, but the plot gets slightly complex as the movie moves along. The story is about a beast who goes around killing women and children, which the King doesn’t like so he sends a scientist (the aforementioned Grégoire, played by Samuel Le Bihan, who I have only seen in ‘Rouge’, but I don’t remember seeing him in there, so I don’t know big his part was in that) to investigate and, if possible, bring the beast back to Paris. It’s simple, but it gets pretty hairy near the end, where a lot of people seem to be turned off by the movie.

Commentary 1: director Christophe Gans
Right off, I’ll say that I’ve never heard so many different movie references in a commentary before. I loved listening to this guy talk. The variety and vast knowledge of movies this guy has is wonderful. It’s refreshing to hear someone who has this absolute love of film like this guy has. Don’t get me wrong, no one is a director if they hate movies, but sometimes you get that feeling while listening to them talk. Not Gans. He loves movies and he let’s you know what he loves (which is pretty much anything, except for most Hollywood movies). His favorite genre is spaghetti westerns, he loves John Carpenter, and (I’m guessing) Mario Bava also. It’s amazing to think that ‘Brotherhood of the Wolf’ had inspirations from such varied sources as westerns, ‘Jaws’, ‘Suspiria’, ‘Mimic’, Hammer films, ‘Nanook of the North’, Walt Disney cartoons, Chang Chen (or Hong Kong movies in general), Jean Cocteau (especially ‘Beauty and the Beast’), Russian and French cinema from the ‘20s, ‘Tomb Raider’ and ‘Turok’, and ‘Zambala’ (or comic books in general). Apart from the various and many references, he also talks about the technical aspects of the movie. For example, while shooting the dinner scene, he did 47 set-ups in one day, without changing the lighting, and even had 2 cameras on one dolly track. He also gives us his insight into what he wanted to accomplish with the different scenes, along with his theories about filmmaking (like not giving away too much information at once, which he thinks American movies do too often), the symbolism of the movie (the weapons during the final battle actually represent something), the choice for the actors (they were chosen during the writing stage, and all the people whom they wanted are in the movie, except one guy who had a theatrical engagement), and the weather problems (one simple shot had to be redone 4 or 5 times, sometimes shot at different locations, because it kept raining when they started filming). He also admits that some scenes he doesn’t like too much, and that, as a director, he likes the first half of the movie better than the second. There are some dead moments, especially near the end, but what he says more than makes up for the more or less 7 minutes of total dead air. One last thing is that there is absolutely no overlap between this track and the second one. I found that amazing considering the amount of stuff the 2 actors talked about. Learn French if you don’t already know it, or watch it with someone who understands French, because it’s definitely worth it. This is one of the best tracks I’ve heard.

Commentary 2: Actors Samuel Le Bihan and Vincent Cassel
These guys have a lot of fun talking about the movie. It’s mostly just tidbits spread throughout the 2 and a half hours. The do talk about some of the shots and how they were done, as well as some of the cut scenes. There are many funny moments which you can only appreciate if you understand French (that would mostly be because the track is in French and has no subtitles). At one point they haven’t talked for a little while. Vincent chimes in ‘Well... um...’ They both laugh. Sam: “Yeah, um... what about the costumes?’ Or ten minutes into the movie, they don’t seem to have much to say, and Vincent says ‘Two and a half hours is long, isn’t it?’ It’s actually funnier while listening to the track. They also talk about the cast and some of the crew members. It’s a good track that never really goes dull. The two actors always have something interesting to say. There are many pauses, but they don’t really last more than about 30 seconds. Well worth listening to if you’re a fan of the movie... and if you can understand French, I suppose.

disk 2:
Les Entrailles des Loups (Making-Of)
This is a great making-of featurette. You can look at different chapters or watch them all at once. It runs well over an hour (about 78 minutes) and talks about its genesis (10:28), casting (9:36), art direction (11:19), fights (17:55), the beast (13:15), the CGI (9:46) and the critics’ reaction to the movie as an epilogue (5:46). Everybody and their studio exec speaks in this thing. All the principle cast (which includes Samuel Le Bihan, Vincent Cassel, Marc Dacascos, Monica Bellucci and even Emilie Dequenne) , the writer, the producer, the director, the fight choreographer, the production designer, the costume designer, the animatronics people, the computer effects people, the cinematographer, and even the exec who brought to script to Christopher Gans (the director) have something to talk about. The featurette is completely done through interviews with the people mentioned above. The whole thing is done very well. The director’s views about genre flicks is especially interesting to me. Philip Kwok’s thoughts about French stuntmen – and French moviemaking in general – was slightly comical, and was to be expected if you know anything about Hong Kong moviemaking.

Deleted scenes
All told, this runs 42 minutes and 46 seconds or so. All the scenes come with an introduction by Gans, who also talks about why the scenes were cut. It’s actually great because you see behind the scenes stuff from the cut scenes instead of seeing Gans for the whole time he speaks. The scenes themselves come up to less than 19 minutes. Here are the scenes:
-‘The Fight’ (11:00, for the whole deleted scene + intro and explanation/ 4:20 or so for the scene itself) is the first fight scene. In the movie, Mani fights the bandits and it’s over, but it was a longer scene. First Mani fights, then Grégoire, then both together. It’s a pretty slick fight, and was actually cut for a valid reason: Gans thought the movie stopped before the story started, so most of the audience would be lost as to wondering what was going on.
-‘The Crow’ (4:59/1:30) is a scene where you see Mani communicating with a crow. The second death scene (the one where the shepherdess tries to save a lamb), was originally much earlier in the movie. This cut scene leads to the discovery of the body near the river. The director thought that two deaths so close together would be pushing it a little so he put the second death later in the movie. So this scene was cut because discovering someone’s body an hour or so before they die in the movie doesn’t really make any sense.
-‘Fronsac and Sardis’ (3:59/1:30) is a short scene that shows Sardis is not quite the nice person he appears to be at the beginning of the movie.
-‘Frozen Pond’ (6:59/1:55) is actually written as ‘Frozen Pound’ in the English menu. It’s a gorgeous scene that was cut because of pacing. It’s a meeting between Grégoire and Marie (Emilie Dequenne) on a misty frozen pond with mountains peering out of the background. It’s really too bad it was chopped for the running time.
-‘The Tessier House’ (10:59/4:08) is two scenes where the first leads into the second. The second one is actually quite an important scene in its meaning. It shows that Sylvia (Monica Belluci) has mirrors in every room of her bordello. The meaning behind it being that she knows everything that goes on, including what’s going on with the beast. They were also cut for running time’s sake. It’s sad they were cut, but at least they’re on this disk.
-‘Deleted scene clips’ (5:49) is just a bunch of short clips what were shot but cut out of the movie. Some f them are really nice and would have been nice to see, some of them are just okay and were cut for obvious reasons.

Filmographies
Stars Samuel Le Bihan, Vincent Cassel, Emilie Dequenne, Monica Belluci, Jérémie Rénier, Marc Dacascos, and director Christophe Gans all have filmographies. There one big error in this here. Everyone is credited with having been in Brotherhood of the Wolf for 2001, except for Emilie Dequenne who is credited for the movie for 2000. Picky, but still big.

La Légende (or, The Legend)
This runs about slightly less than 17 and a half minutes. It’s an interview with author/historian Michel Louis, who talks about... well, the beast. He talks about the facts, and speculates about what it was and who brought it to the region. He says, for example, that it was probably a cross between a dog and a wolf, with 2 sadistic masters. He also mentions that one day, 40,000 hunters tried to find it but failed, and that officially 122 died, but it was actually much more than that. He finishes by talking about the movie – what was true and made-up – and what he thought of it.

Trailer
There is also a two-minute trailer on here, but it’s the French one, not the one that played in North American theatres. It’s a nice trailer. It’s intense and gives out just the right amount of info.

disk 3:
Les Coulisses du Tournage (Documentary)
This is a great addition to the set. It’s 77:46 long and is an actual documentary in the same vein as ‘Heart of Darkness’ and ‘Full-Tilt Boogie’. It’s divided into 13 chapters: Prologue (4:19), The Slap (8:56), The Tank (6:08), Vincent and Emilie (10:16), The Sherphardes and the Lamb (4:41), War Paint (3:21), The Log (11:03), Casting (2:31) (as in make-up arm cast, not actor casting), On La Croisette (4:46), Mani’s Fall (2:51), Return to the Pyrenees (8:24) and an epilogue (4:23).

It covers the movie kind of from beginning to end, focussing on certain scenes, most notably the first fight sequence. It’s great (well...) to see the troubles that they encountered while making this thing. The scope of this movie is enormous, 135 shooting days, 85 sets, 80 of which were outdoors, lots of CGI and lots of animatronics work. It was as ambitious as a big Hollywood project. It’s amazing that they actually pulled it off. The behind-the-scenes shots are also great, with many of the main actors talking about what’s going on. It even has a short clip of Marc and Christophe on a show, advertising the movie for Cannes!

Storyboards
There are 12 sequences to watch, and they are arranged more or less in the same was as in ‘Seven’, where the storyboards play out without having to manually advance them. In all, they last about 25 minutes. The 12 sequences are: First Sherphess Attack (1:44), The Wolves Massacre (1:06), Attack of Cécile and Louis (2:44), Discovery of Cécile’s Body (1:49), Fronsac’s Nightmare (0:21), Second Shephardess Attack (1:35), Jeanne’s House (5:50), The Fighting Ring (1:37), Thomas’ Hallucinations (0:45), The Clearing (3:50), The Beast’s Lair (1:12), Epilogue (2:27).

The movie was shot pretty much faithfully to the storyboards, with the exception of the two Cécile sequences. I actually preferred what was in the movie. The storyboards for that sequence are pretty hard to take, with the beast chasing Cécile, while in the movie, what happened is more implied than shown. It’s also better done in the movie, in that, in the movie, it’s very nice to watch with the snow and the creepy forest, and it advances the idea that Mani can communicate with animals and trees. It’s also more stylish in the movie. The Fighting Ring is also cut down (it’s the scene where the beast fights the dogs in the ring) for obvious reasons. After Thomas takes the strange herb, right before the Clearing scene, he was originally supposed to have a hallucination, but it was too expensive to do. It’s here in storyboards, but it’s so surreal that it’s pretty hard to imagine. It’s interesting, nonetheless, but it would have been nice to see it on screen, especially with Gans being such a visual director.

Album
There are five such albums: The Beast, Portraits, Fronsac’s Notebook, On-set pictures and Posters. I didn’t think there enough pictures, but I’m not really complaining considering the rest of the set. I would have preferred more on-set stuff, but, hey, I’m still happy.



Here are my final thoughts about this DVD set. It’s an absolute must-have for fans of this movie, and for anybody interested in movies at all as well. Without counting the first disk, this has over 3 hours and 40 minutes of stuff here. Add in the commentaries and it jumps to about 9 hours of extras. For a foreign movie, that is extremely impressive – and it’s not even a Criteron collection! This has a better treatment than most studio movies, and I for one am extremely appreciative. This set is full of information that any fan of this movie, or horror movies or movies in general, would enjoy. Thank you to the people who made this set possible, and thanks for spending the money for it. It shows you appreciate us fans, and I’m thankful for that.

Audio
I really wish I could have heard this movie in 5.1. You can actually hear this movie in DTS if you’re so inclined, but it’s only for the French version. English dubbed version is in DD5.1 only. The sound in this movie plays a big part, and it doesn’t disappoint. The great score and the nifty sound effects are all clear. The dialogue is also very clear, if you can understand French. Great work on this as well.

Video
2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. I’ve seen better video than in here. The colors are very vivid (thank god), but the definition isn’t as good as it should be. The biggest problem is there seems to be a lot of graininess. Maybe it’s because it was shot on DV. Throughout the movie, especially during the dimly lit scenes, it’s visible. I actually expected better, but I’m still happy. The details are still very visible, and the transfer is, apart from that one thing, great.

[Requiem-for-a-Dream]

I'm glad you posted your review, if you read my last post, I had to settle for the 1 disc version. Great in depth analysis. I saw bits and pieces from the 3 disc set but not enough to rate it.

Matt

[g05]

hey pat139,

excellent review i must say and thanks breaking down the discs and giving info. it's really helpful to the people who are not aware of what's on the 3 disc set. i just it bought it myself and i'm glad i did!

[pat00139]

Thanks, man.

I don't really like it when people just mention stuff in reviews without getting into them. So I just mention everything there is in a DVD and talk about it a bit.

In any case, glad you liked the review. I sure as hell don't regret buying the DVD one bit. I wish so many more foreign movies got that treatment.