7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Set in 1765, during the reign of Louis XV, an epic adventure based in part on a well-known French legend. In a rural province of France, a mysterious creature is leaving a trail of mutilated corpses across the countryside, savagely killing scores of women and children. Unseen, possessed of enormous strength and a seemingly near-human intelligence, the beast has eluded capture for years. Desperate to end the growing unrest of the populace, the King sends in a renowned scientist and his Haudenosaunee blood brother, an unconventional team whose combined methods and capabilities may finally bring the beast down. But what these men find, when finally confronted with the true nature of the beast, is more shocking than anyone could have anticipated.
Starring: Samuel Le Bihan, Vincent Cassel, Émilie Dequenne, Monica Bellucci, Jérémie RenierForeign | 100% |
Horror | 52% |
History | 16% |
Melodrama | 13% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
French: Dolby Atmos
French: Dolby TrueHD 7.1
German: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English, German
Blu-ray Disc
Four-disc set (4 BDs)
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Christophe Gans' "Brotherhood of the Wolf" (2001) arrives on 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The supplemental features on the release include numerous archival programs with the director and cast and crew members; several documentaries on the making of the film; deleted scenes; vintage promotional materials; and more. In French, with optional English or German subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
The exotic warrior
StudioCanal's release of Brotherhood of the Wolf is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray disc is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray discs is Region-B "locked".
Please note that some of the screencaptures that appear with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.
Screencaptures #1-26 are from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #32-35 are from 4K Blu-ray.
The 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray discs introduce a brand new 4K makeover of The Brotherhood of the Wolf which was prepared at Hiventy and endorsed by Christophe Gans. In native 4K, the new 4K makeover can be seen with HDR.
I found the new 4K makeover quite frustrating, so I am going to separate the good from the bad. Because I tested the 4K makeover in 1080p as well, I will comment on some specific discrepancies between the new 1080p presentation and older 1080p presentations. Currently, I have in my library only this very old French Blu-ray release that StudioCanal produced in 2008.
The Good - The new 4K makeover produces very healthy visuals. This is hardly surprising because the first Blu-ray release of Brotherhood of the Wolf was sourced from a DVD-era master with plenty of limitations. At the time, the Blu-ray offered the very best presentation of the film on the home video market, but technology has evolved a lot during the last couple of decades. (Again, the original master was not prepared in 2008, it is even older). For example, density levels are dramatically better, providing the visuals with the type of even grainfield that only a recent 4K master could ensure. Generally speaking, delineation, clarity, and depth range from very good to outstanding as well. For the very first time, fluidity is as good as it needs to be, so all of the action footage where the camera moves fast and chooses many different angles to capture the rapid kicks and jumps looks sensational. Image stability is great. So, on a larger screen, the jump in quality is pretty substantial.
The Not So Good/Bad - The new 4K makeover gives the film a very different appearance because it is graded differently. Gans apparently approved the new grade, but I can categorically state that various sections of the film do not look as they did in the theater where I saw it. (Just to be perfectly clear, I love this film, and yes, I remember how it looked in the theater). For example, there are a lot of areas that used to have either prominent cold blues or shades of different cold blues, some mixed with prominent grays or shades of gray, that are altered with different ranges of cyan/light cyan. Now, the film is supposed to have some green/cyan, but on the original grade the saturation levels were different, plus blues and grays always had important roles to play. On the new 4K makeover, entire areas introduce cyan with very strong saturation levels. To see what type of discrepancies exist, you can compare this screencapture from the old master and this screencapture from the new 4K makeover. Also, the shift can be so strong that in many areas people's faces and hair become overwhelmed by the cyan. There is plenty of stylizing throughout the film, but these changes were not part of it. See here and here. The shift in color values even affects the dynamic range of some visuals, like the one seen here, where posterization begins to emerge as well. In extreme cases, existing detail is lost. (See the comparison with the close-up of Monica Bellucci's character above). On the other hand, the new 4K makeover alters color values that were not impressive on the old master and makes some sections look more convincing. The opening footage where Samuel Le Bihan and Mark Dacascos are first seen has such improvements. HDR makes some of the shifts slightly more balanced, but the replacement of blues and grays with cyan throughout the film remains easy to identify. The least problematic areas are the ones with indoor footage where browns and blacks are prominent and blues and grays are usually absent. However, there are several examples there and elsewhere with shaky and modified reds. You can see how Émilie Dequenne's beautiful red dress is modified if you compare this screencapture from the old master and this screencapture from the new 4K makeover. In native 4K, HDR even creates the impression that the dynamic range of the visuals is off, which should not be the case. Ultimately, I found the insertion of strong cyan and other regrading work throughout the film quite distracting and damaging, which is extremely frustrating because the 4K files are very, very strong.
There are three standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: French Dolby Atmos, German DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit), and English LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit). Optional English and German subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black below it.
Brotherhood of the Wolf has always had an outstanding audio track. Even during the DVD era, there were several DVD releases with enormously impressive, reference-type of quality audio tracks. The new Dolby Atmos track that was created for the 4K makeover of the film sounds very good, but I do not think that fans of the film will be surprised by it. I simply do not think that there was enough room for meaningful improvements -- the footage with the creature, the overhead shots with the effects and narration, the mass fights, everything sounds great again. The narration/dialog is clear and very easy to follow.
4K BLU-RAY DISC - DIRECTOR'S CUT
For many people, and especially those that did not see Brotherhood of the Wolf in the theater, this lavish four-disc box set will become the definitive home video release of the film. The box set introduces a brand new 4K restoration of the Director's Cut of Brotherhood of the Wolf, which can be seen in native 4K and 1080p, that was completed at Hiventy in France and endorsed by Christophe Gans. Unfortunately, I have to report that different areas of the Director's Cut of Brotherhood of the Wolf are regraded. The box set has a Blu-ray disc with the shorter Theatrical Cut of Brotherhood of the Wolf, but this is an ancient presentation of it from the DVD era. The newly restored Director's Cut looks very healthy, often strikingly beautiful too, but in different areas, it does not look right. The box set has an extensive selection of archival bonus features that were originally made available on various DVD releases of Brotherhood of the Wolf. If you decide to acquire it for your library, please keep in mind that only the 4K Blu-ray disc is Region-Free. The three Blu-ray discs are Region-B "locked". RECOMMENDED.
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