Company of Wolves [Blu-ray]

The screenplay of this film was a colloboration between director Neil Jordan (Interview With A Vampire, The Crying Game) and feminist author Angela Carter, and is based upon a short story by Carter from her collection of short stories 'The Bloody Chamber'. This story, in turn, is based upon the classic children's story 'Little Red Riding Hood', but is filled with dark, menacing, and sexual imagery, all of which are used in the screenplay to create this stunning piece of gothic 'horror'.

That said, I always balk when I see this film placed in the 'Horror' section of any store, and cringe whenever I read a synopsis describing this film as a story about werewolves. Both descriptions are very wide of the mark. This is a story about the transition from childhood to adulthood of a teenage girl, and the symbolism throughout the film is subtle and powerful simultaneously. As such, it pretty much goes without saying that if you are looking for a scary movie, you're probably in the wrong place.

The highlights of this movie are:- Angela Lansbury as 'Granny', who turns in a wonderful performance and really adds a touch of class to the film. Also, the set design and lighting is brilliant, evoking a truly gothic feel to the scenes. For example, most of the movie is based 'outdoors' (like in the woods or in the village), and yet you always get the feeling of an enclosed and somewhat foreboding environment. This feels exactly right given that the story is centred around the character of a young girl, whose world consists solely of the small and familiar surroundings of home, where the outside world is only known to her through the fantastic stories of her Grandmother, where men, wolves and 'straying from the path' are to be feared.

Another, and major, highlight of this movie is the wonderful soundtrack by George Fenton, which is worth having on CD itself. Combining adaptations of traditional folk music with eerie, ominous synth sounds does as much to enhance the gothic atmosphere as the visual effects and set design.

Other than that, the rest of the performances are generally pretty good, especially Neil Jordan's staple actor, Stephen Rea, as well as a fine cameo from Brian Glover and debut from the beautiful and talented Sarah Patterson as the lead charcter 'Rosaleen', who sadly hasn't done much else since as far as I know. The film is also quite famous for it's man-to-wolf scenes and an early use of animatronics. The effects, sadly, do look pretty dated now, but the context of the scenes in which they are used is untainted, and remain powerful scenes both visually and emotionally. The fact that Rosaleen, after witnessing the pain and anquish that such a transition entails, openly weeps and says 'I'm sorry, I didn't know a wolf could cry', is brilliantly emotional and indicative of her almost complete transition from unknowing child, to compassionate and knowing young adult.

All in all, this is a great movie that is so full of rich imagery and subtlety, that it promises to provide great re-watch value, and should not be considered as a 'horror-flick'... unfortunately, most stores don't have a section entitled 'Enchanting fantasy gothic adult fairytale stories'...

Sadly, the DVD isn't great. The packaging is pretty dreadful, with a lame colour drawing adorning the cover. The menu is something straight out of Hammer House Of Horror, and is daft. Annoyingly, the film is in 4:3 aspect ratio, despite a tantalising opening sequence which is in 16:9 widescreen, but sadly, as soon as the film begins proper, we are snapped back into pan and scan...The extras are not wonderful, but there is an extended trailer, which actually contains some different versions of scenes that made it into the final cut. These include a scene where Rosaleen reveals her age (13 and a half), which doesn't appear anywhere in the actual film!

By the way, this great film IS AVAILABLE ON REGION 2, and you can usually pick it up on Amazon Marketplace or ZShops, albeit at a slightly inflated price.

I'm a fan of this film (wonderful atmosphere, riveting special effects, lots of dry humour) but I was disappointed with the Blu-ray. It's not a film that boasts stunning image quality, and it was difficult to see the difference between this and the average standard definition DVD.

As the extras are limited to a director's commentary, I would advise saving some money by purchasing the much cheaper standard DVD.

This landmark film from 1984 is a dark interpretation of the well known fairy tale legend, Red Riding Hood. It's focus is on the splendid settings including the murky and dense forests, the wooden cottages where the villagers live in fear and danger posed by man-like beasts that prowl in the night during the testing Freudian times.

The film is composed of several scenarios where vivid and dreamlike sequences take shape creating a very unusual and altered perception of man's ability to determine and grasp fantasy from reality. Every scene is well done thanks to the execution and film direction by Neil Jordan whose original thinking and imagination has led to a superb adaptation based on Angela Carter's "The Bloody Chamber" book.

The dark, spooky atmosphere in this classic fairy tale re-telling is blessed by the use of ancient folklore and Old Wives tales which hint at casting a spell or curse on anyone who is uncivil to others or society. Angela Lansbury who plays the grandmother spins such stories to a young Rosaleen, a pre-pubescent teenager who is about to go on a journey of self-discovery both emotionally and physically to unravel the hidden delights of adulthood. Despite such tales, the girl is unaffected and her courage takes her to unknown paths through the dark woodlands where her character and judgement will be tested to forecast her values and beliefs she will behold in adulthood. Interactions with unknown strangers, mostly men whose eyebrows meet in the middle lend itself to a powerful experience for the innocent teenager.

In general, this film is more of a fantasy where the excessive blood and gore is barely a feature, and instead the portrayal of genuine, well-mannered men with their hidden devilish, cunning personality is the most threatening aspect and difficult to predict as to when one may strike. As with most modern vampire/werewolf stories, the main attraction that ensures the film's success is the character humour neatly stirred in to give all viewers a general taste and feel of scary and not too scary moments mixed into the plot. Stephen Rea's performance early in the film when he returned home as a filthy, long-haired, smelly hippie after sometime spent outdoors as a wolf had overturned the dining table during an argument - remember the same thing occurred in the 1994 "Interview with the Vampire" movie when a hacked-off silly, bearded, overweight rogue had lost a card game!

As well as the beautifully rendered scenes, the music is well composed which is suspenseful and adds to the eerie, tense atmosphere giving a sense that something is always happening and that there is always darkness and never daylight.
The best thing about this film was that no one could be trusted and anyone who thought they'd make good friends with someone were sure in for a big surprise! The friendly and seductive but sinister Terence Stamp is an example.
The constant nagging, bickering and annoyance by mainly the women towards their husbands or girls constantly rejecting the sexual advances of seemingly-friendly strangers are leads which drive man's desire and anguish to frighteningly transform into the werewolf at full moon . This was the message the film was sending out in that the men during those times were always the one in charge, and care should be exercised whenever household arguments or disagreements broke out to prevent the ultimate beast being unleashed from within himself should the dispute, whatever it may be turn too ugly.

The human-to-werewolf transformation scenes were well filmed and hand-crafted in 1984 and convincing using remote-controlled models for the wolf-like beasts, but compared to today's standards the scenes have shown signs of ageing. However in my opinion, the overuse of today's computer generated images could spoil a horror film making certain scenes look corny or just not believable.

The DVD for the U.K. region 2 is presented in a beautiful black tin box which reflects the show's class. This is now becoming a rarity, and the DVD is now commonly sold in a standard plastic box which is cheaper if purchased on-line. It is shown in 4:3 aspect ratio but not 16:9 widescreen as stated on the box and a good range of extras especially the expert 90 minute audio commentary available, but very well worth the buy. Apart from the DVD film disc, there is an excellent booklet included detailing events that took place behind the cameras, as well as a history of folklore legend and wild beasts, character descriptions and the actors' biographies in brief, all explained with colourful photographs taken from the film.
The running time is 90 minutes, but I felt it should have been a 2 hour-plus epic. It is also rated 18 and suitable for adults only. It is a box of delight and should be treasured forever. For best effect, watch this alone in the dark.