The Company of Wolves

The director himself said that this was really not suppose to be a horror movie, but when it was distributed throughout America it was labeled as such.

Okay, this really is not a horror film. It is a bizarre film that is a darker telling of the Red Riding Hood story. However, this film, in its own creative way, delves more into sexual issues. That is NOT to say that you will see a lot of sex, because there is very little of it-often just suggested. the main story, tells various side stories warning girls of the sexual appetite of men, the kind of men you want to avoid (the wolf kind), stay on the true path (keep you virginity), and so on. It is hard to describe this film, because the messages are revealed, often in very artistic/ bizarre ways. For example, when red riding hood climbs a tree in the woods she finds, in a birds nest, hatching eggs with porcliene babies in them, as well as a mirror, and lipstick. This, I interpreted, as being symbolic of a girl, gradually becoming a woman. The mirror and lipstick represented that stage in life when most girls become interested in their looks, regarding how to attrackted men. As for the porcliene babies...well, are babies that a girl can have as she becomes a woman.

Even though this is not a horror film, it can be intense, and gory at times. For example when the were wolf's/ wolfs head is cut off, and it lands in a vat of milk, but then becomes a human head again. Or, just the older male (wolf) showing subtle sexual interest in an underaged girl.

The film's costumes and backgrounds are beautiful. It reminded me of the fantasy forests of the movie "Legends." The acting is very well done, and overall this is a movie that is worth seeing.

Film Review: If you're a fan of dark fairytales, then this is a movie that you should absolutely look up. This is the textbook example of how one of these films is done correctly. It's very surreal and dreamlike, and they have a LOT of fun with the visuals. And if you're a fan of 80's special effects (especially gore effects on par with The Thing and An American Werewolf in London) then you'll especially love this!

Product Review: This is the first time I've bought a physical copy of the film, but I've looked up the different versions that one can get before I made my decision. If you're a fan of buying physical copies of movies for the sake of all the special features, and you also live in the US like me, you're gonna be SOL when it comes to this movie. In the first DVD release the only special features were apparently a trailer and a still image gallery. The bluray here loses both of those but gains a commentary track with the director of the film, which is the very reason why I bought it. Compare that to the steelbook box with behind the scenes footage, interviews and commentary that Europe got, it really feels like we missed out in the US.

The bluray box is a little thick compared to my other boxes, which honestly made me a little nervous that I accidentally bought a movie that I can't play. It IS region B, but I can get it to play on my computer tower just fine (I play the majority of my movies on my computer rather than my playstation 4). The picture quality is about as clear as possible, the reds and blues really pop. My only REAL issue with the physical product itself is that the box has no text on the spine. It's just straight black. All I can say is "really?", because now there's nothing to tell it apart on my movie shelf aside from the box thickness and the blank black space. Feel free to take that as a nitpick, but it's one of the most obvious things.

I am sad to see that this film is no longer being produced. This film is truly different and amazing. This film is no average werewolf flick. This movie takes elements of many werewolf legends and the story of Little Red Riding Hood and blends them together in something that is a truly disturbing mix. When I first watched this movie, I was pretty confused and then scared. I had a hard time as a young man trying to peice this all together, but as I've rewatched this over and over, I have really learned to appreciate this movie! This is the most artistic and perhaps most realistic look at werewolves that I've ever seen. The only werewolf film that I'd mention in the same breath with this is "An American Werewolf in London". ...and do not let the name Angela Lansbury on this movie fool you! I was almost as amazed by her appearance in this film as I was by the amazing and bizarre story! She is good in this (especially for people that didn't like, or hated, murder she wrote!)

I will end this review by saying that I really hope for a re-release of this film with a firm advertising campaign. I think that this movie would be considered a classic if it had the right type of exposure! At least let us have this movie on DVD! Please, movie re-releasing gods! Please!

Movie 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.

One of the more stylish yet less substantial werewolf movies out there, this movie features two highly memorable transformation scenes worth the price of admission alone.

As if Disney and Grimm had an R-rated lovechild, this film lays on the fairy tale allusions thick with dreams, wicked sisters, animated toys and uber-creepy gingerbread men.

After the tragic loss of her sister (Georgia Slowe) to the wolves of the dark magical woods, young Rosaleen (Sarah Patterson; Snow White) accompanies her grandmother (Angela Lansbury; Murder, She Wrote, The Last Unicorn, Beauty and the Beast) through the woods. Don’t eat the berries and be wary of the beasts that lurk in the shadows, Granny warns… Never eat a windblown apple, never wander from the path, and never trust a man whose eyebrows meet. That’s not exactly the kind of advice you’d hear from Confucius…or a grandma!

While knitting Rosaleen a red garment, Granny warns that sometimes a wolf is more than a wolf and that they come in various disguises. She goes on to spin a “once upon a time” about a unibrowed travelling man (Stephen Rea; Underworld: Awakening, Werewolf: The Beast Among Us) who turns out to be more than he seems. This story is one of several stories told to and by our Red Riding Hood Rosaleen in this pseudo-anthology which features three transformation scenes—and two of them are your reason to watch this movie!

The first transformation scene begins with a subtle change in eye color to a sharp yellow. He proceeds to tear away chunks from his cheek and his forehead, stretching and yanking flaps from his neck and his chin. It’s quite deliciously gross. After tearing away the last of his skin and hair with bony hands he uncovers a fleshless head of sinew from which springs and extends his canine muzzle. It’s all practical effects, of course, and weirdly off-putting—it actually reminds me of the modern “Bodies” exhibit. Finally, his neck extends like a turtle’s from its shell as it unsheathes!

This scene may not be as brutally long and painful as An American Werewolf in London (1981) or as grimy and sloppy as The Howling (1981) or its Wolfcop (2014) successor, but it’s quite effectively uncomfortable to watch.

Another transformation scene in the movie feels brief and comical, more akin to Howling 3: The Marsupials (1987).

If you love these transformations, you should check out The Best Transformations of Horror.

And a final transformation scene features a gross writhing tongue followed by the emergence of a wolf’s snout from a man’s wide open mouth (as seen on the movie poster) before it tears its way out of his skin as if it wore him as a suit (a more crude version of the “unzipping” werewolves we find in Trick ‘r Treat).

This film casts an interesting tone. The mossy, misty woodland scenes will remind you of Labyrinth (1986) and The Dark Crystal (1982)… just without the Henson Muppet creatures.

I have a major soft spot for this movie…perhaps it’s the transformation scenes, perhaps its dark fairy tale nature. But make no mistake, overall this is rather slow-paced and far from exciting. This film is more style than substance, and that style would be best-defined as dark, off-color and aloof—but very cool!

Ok 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...

came just like you’d buy from the store!

The Company of Wolves 1984

I bought this item because I found the product description intriguing but I must say I am disappointed. I really wanted to like the movie because it is really hard to find a good “werewolf” movie.

Like: The movie is based on the famous folktale of “Red Riding Hood” which is a classic. The movie has dream-like quality where the viewer is not entirely sure if it is a dream sequence or reality. And the stories are interwoven pretty neatly as they move from one to the other.

Dislike: The movie is not really shot as a “scary” or “suspense” movie and it doesn’t deliver any true scares. If that’s what you are looking for, you’d better look else where. Other than its theme being about werewolf, there is not much werewolf action. It does feel more like a theatrical production of a fable. This is partly due to the set design; almost all of the scenes, including the exterior shots, appear to be shot on soundstage and things have a way of looking like plastic, unnatural. This gives it a feeling of as if it’s a stage play. Even with the mist and the fog and howling and the moon, the atmosphere doesn’t feel real.

The movie was nominated for 4 BAFTA awards, including Best Costume Design, Best Make-up Artist, Best Production and Best Special Visual Effects in 1984. Unfortunately, there are not that many scenes with special effetcs for me to call it a “visual feast”. There are two primary scenes with transformation to werewolf. The first one is so odd and macabre, it doesn’t even feel like a transformation to werewolf. It has that grotesque feeling that you would normally find it in a Tim Burton movie (if you like Tim Burton’s style of grotesque macabre, then you may like it). The second scene is slightly better constructed but towards the end, it looks like stop-motion style of visual effect. These transformations are more about transforming into a wolf, and not to a werewolf (this may not be a legitimate complaint if that’s what the movie intends to do – it just didn’t work for me). At the end of it all, nothing beats the special effects of “An American Werewolf in London” (1981), especially the werewolf transition scene. This is not a bad effort compared to An American Werewolf in London, but fails short.

Review of the Blu-ray: This is a disappointing Blu-ray transfer and leaves so much to be desired. It seems they did not clean up any of the artifacts so there are constant flashes of little white sparks throughout the movie and the colors don’t look very bright and vivid. There is also a lot of grain (I have LG OLED 55CP7 and most blu-ray content normally look very sharp). I own other ITV produced Blu-ray films and they generally don’t look very bad. However, sometimes they just dump the original movie onto Blu-ray format without cleaning it up to improve the picture quality and the result is not so astonishing as you’d expect from a Blu-ray. This is one of those cases.

Saw it when it first came out, ages ago, and was eager to see it again, like 40 years later. Well its still a nice movie (especially when you think of when it was made) but the sound is really low, even with speakers.

Una joya en lo visual y en la historia. Sin embargo la calidad de la edición no es la mejor, pero no imporra pues esta película es rara vez encontrada en cualquier formato.

Uno de mis cuentos favoritos; causante de mi afición a las películas de hombres lobo.

The company of wolves es una fábula maravillosa.

Está edición coleccionista se ve y se escucha de maravilla.

Es Caperucita Roja.

Solo está en inglés.

Supera con creces la edición en castellano de divisa.

El disco 4K es multizona.

El disco blu ray es zona A.

Een aparte versie van het sprookje van "Roodkapje", die meer trouw is aan de oorspronkelijke niet gekuiste versie. Zeker een tip voor de liefhebbers van de betere "weerwolvenfilms".

Super good copy of a great movie