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The Company of Wolves by Neil Jordan
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DVD detailsActor: Angela Lansbury, David Warner, Micha Bergese, Sarah Patterson, Tusse Silberg Director: Neil Jordan Cinematographer: Bryan Loftus Writer: Neil Jordan Editor: Rodney Holland Producer: Chris Brown Producer: Nik Powell Producer: Stephen Woolley Writer: Angela Carter DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Original Language) Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen Picture Format: 1.78:1 Running Time: 95 minutes DVD Release Date: 2002-10-15 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Studio: Henstooth Video
DVD Reviews of The Company of WolvesDVD Review: Angela Carter's genius Summary: 4 StarsMovie goers these days may be coming to their senses, suffering month after month the same cookie cutter plots, characters, CGI, *s*t*a*r*s* appearing over and over like a familiar pickpocket or scam artist at the intersection. I don't want to mention any names but one in particular moves like concrete through the recent Terminator clone. Really, how many more scenes of robot feet crushing human skulls can one sit through?
Producers take no risks these days and certainly would never risk the sort of exotic and arabesque excursions into dark human themes that make a movie like THE COMPANY OF WOLVES. The immortal Angela Carter originated the story and collaborated on the movie adaptation, retelling the folktale of Little Red Riding Hood, bringing up from the blood depths as only she could the predatory nature of human sexuality, and the link of myth to our animal origins. It's a remarkable movie contrasting the plaster construct of societal rules against the organic thrust of existence in all its violence. Her characters move carefully, subdued to stifled whispers, cowed by the unfettered nature that howls all about them, that swallows them whole. The performances of David Warner, Angela Lansbury and Stephen Rea as a young brides-groom going with the wolves in a full moon before he can consummate his marriage, haunt the montage with an understated sense of doom. The jungle forest where the wolves run wild and free is littered with dolls and toys. The very streams seem to run with the blood of fresh kill. The colors do that to you, fill your mind with the smell of rapacious abandon. You can feel the sensation. Not bad for a B movie. Not bad at all. I congratulate the lot. If you ever get the chance, find Angela's book SAINTS AND STRANGERS and read the similar story, "Peter and the Wolf." She wrote wonderfully in her life. Her loss to us by cancer is incalculable.
Despite the occasional clumsy special effect, THE COMPANY OF WOLVES works quite well and is a welcome change of scenery from the usual formulaic dreck of recent years. This dvd version is in widescreen and not quite for the little ones. Rated R. It's one to see over and over again.
DVD Review: Serious Audio problems detract from this film (VHS version) Summary: 2 StarsThis movie is more fantasy, and artsy dark fantasy at that, than a typical horror movie, which is something I like.
However I can't comment on the movie itself too much, because I really just couldn't get passed the serious audio problems.
The voices are quiet and have a rather muffled sound the majority of the time, and as a result I can understand very little of what was is said. The music some times is also way too loud.
Thanks to the quiet muffled voices and loud music I found myself constantly turning the volume way up, and then way down.
Makes me wonder if the DVD has subtitles, and/or has remastered audio, if so I may pick it up.
DVD Review: you have such big teeth grandma... Summary: 5 StarsOk this is a great movie, the narrative implications are those of a coming of age and a young womans personal stages of sexual awareness. It begins at the funeral of the sister of a young woman and her journey to sexual maturity and the conflict is created by repeated use of Werewolves...sound strange, it is. This is a cautionary tale told to the young woman in allegory by her Grandma (while she is dreaming)the bottom line ...men are wolves...? your guess is as good as mine. It is a fairy tale and not true straight up horror but the Monsters are plenty horrific and we even are fed a segment complete with girl in red cloak as if the as if the connection to " Red Riding Hood " wasn't obvious enough. I love this movie because of it's stunning images and a healthy dose of real good Werewolves, never dull and just enough to ponder here plot wise that you may just miss some context if your not careful. I had heard of it for years and had some trouble getting it, but lucky you it now is available in a great looking DVD by Henstooth Video, a great film to watch with a significant other in the dark by a cozy fire...
DVD Review: Lovely concept, poor execution Summary: 2 StarsThe concept of lycanthropy as a metaphor for sexual initiation is an interesting one, full of implications to keep a graduate student writing for days on end. Unfortunately, this film fails to adapt the concept smoothly, and its jarring visuals (really, could we not find even a couple of wolves for shooting, instead of using Belgian sheepdogs?!) undermine its attempts at real art.
In the end, I couldn't decide if the confused scripting was a comment on the conflicting and tangled mythology of sex presented to most adolescents, or if it were simply a conflicting and tangled screenplay. In the end, it failed to move me.
With its intriguing premise, it should have been better than it was.
DVD Review: ...And Puppy Dog Tails... Summary: 5 StarsIf you think that all men are pigs, guess again! Nope, they're werewolves- voracious beasties that long to lure innocent girls from the path of chaste virtue. I've always known this to be true. THE COMPANY OF WOLVES takes us into a 12yo girl named Rosaleen's (Sarah Patterson) dreams of encroaching adulthood. We see her struggle between being a child and becoming a woman. This is all done with dream imagery, using metaphor and symbolism to illustrate Rosaleen's internal battle. We are transported into Rosaleen's mind, an ancient fairy-tale world full of superstition and dread. Granny (Angela Lansbury) tells her stories within dreams, meant to warn Rosaleen of the dangers of losing the innocence of youth. This warning is mostly about those charming, sly young men who make deals w/ the devil (Terrence Stamp) in order to get hairy and stalk unsuspecting maidens. Watch out Rosaleen, they have only one thing in mind! TCOW is sort of a companion to the GINGER SNAPS movies. This time we have the guys on the prowl, seeking to deflower the unwary and devour those who would try to stop them. I really enjoyed this film, and highly recommend it to those who like movies that are outside of the usual hollywood formula... P.S.- Sarah Patterson has returned to making movies after disappearing for so many years. Hopefully, she will stick around...
Description of The Company of WolvesThe story unfolds as young rosaleen lies dreaming in her bed. A violent nightmare transports her back in time to a world of primeval forests & werewolves. She learns her only sister has been killed by a wolf. Her granny weaves vivid tales of folklore & fantasy with warnings of beasts that lurk within men. Studio: Henstooth Video Release Date: 10/15/2002 Starring: Sarah Patterson Angela Lansbury Run time: 92 minutes Rating: R Director: Neil Jordan The tangled forest is misty with mystery, the thatched cottages are cute and quaint, and the dashing rogues are devious charmers, but this revision of "Little Red Riding Hood" is not your usual fairy tale. In the troubled dreams of an adolescent girl in the hormonal rush of puberty, it becomes a veritable werewolf story with lush storybook imagery, gothic horror flourishes, and decidedly sexual implications. Director Neil Jordan, who collaborated with author Angela Carter in this 1985 adaptation of her story, applies a knowing intelligence to the bittersweet tale. The often startling transformation effects may appear primitive compared to modern movies, but the delight is in the dark imagination, dense textures, and fantastical wonders of this dream world. Angela Lansbury is the story-spinning granny and David Warner the understanding woodsman father, and watch for a devilish cameo by a sinister and seductive Terence Stamp. --Sean Axmaker
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