Wolf Hound Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		2.5

Wolf Hound Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 13, 2022

You have to kind of love movies which offer breathless summaries (admittedly often crafted by those mendacious public relations types) that feature wind ups like this one vis a vis the film under discussion:

Ambushed behind enemy lines, Holden must rescue a captured B-17 Flying Fortress crew, evade a ruthless enemy stalking him at every turn, and foil a plot that could completely alter the outcome of World War II.

Okay, can we just all agree that unless you're the likes of someone like Quentin Tarantino and are directing something like Inglourious Basterds, or Ridley Scott and are producing something like The Man in the High Castle, chances are World War II is going to have an outcome very like actual history. With an understanding that any ostensible "suspense" about whether or not the Germans are going to triumph in the global calamity is obviously moot (this not being a Quentin Tarantino directed or Ridley Scott produced film), Wolf Hound is a reasonably entertaining enterprise that manages to have at least a bit of an epic sweep, despite what is alluded to in some of the supplements as a relatively paltry budget for such an undertaking. Supposedly "ripped from the headlines", or at least offering a passing tether to some purported real history, Wolf Hound is built around the conceit that Germans managed to scavenge Allied aircraft, rehabilitating it, and then flying it into formations of other Allied aircraft, where it became an aerial "Trojan Horse", able to take out the "enemy" (meaning us, the good guys, of course) before the realization of what was actually happening dawned on Allied pilots.

If some online data is to be believed, Wolf Hound evidently began life as Operation: Wolf Hound, and there is some brief introductory text outlining this evidently actual German strategy, though my own admittedly cursory research into the real life history here actually came up with this kind of interesting site, which seems to suggest that the B-17 captured and named Wulfe Hund was evidently "rebranded" as a German aircraft and was not used to try to temporarily infiltrate the Allies' aerial ranks. But of course, Wolf Hound only has a passing tether to the historical record, and that tether is arguably frayed at least a bit further by that aforementioned restrained budget, which keeps the production design on the minimalist side.

The story involves pilot David Holden (James Maslow), a Captain who also happens to be Jewish, which perhaps makes the fight more "personal" in a way (see my closing comments below for more in this regard). While the film's trailer may make Wolf Hound seem like it's going to be the World War II equivalent of something like The Blue Max , filled to the brim with stunning aerial footage, in fact that aspect, while rather well done (especially considering the film's budgetary constraints), is really relatively short, with the opening sequence on of the major offerings. In this "version" of history, there are in fact "Trojan Horse" aircraft, in this case British Spitfires, which manage to get close enough to Holden's plane that they are able to shoot it down over German occupied France.

That of course puts Holden behind enemy lines in a precarious position, with his crew having been taken prisoner, and with added anxiety especially after he learns his B-17 is going to be used for a top secret mission that will wreak havoc with a so-called superbomb. It's preposterous on its face, and the "connection" to the historical record tenuous at best, but Wolf Hound while not especially ambitious and prone to relying on plot tropes seen in countless other war movie efforts, has a certain plucky quality that manages to deliver a bit of energy, if no real suspense.

Wolf Hound Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Wolf Hound is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Arri Alexa cameras are clearly seen in some of the behind the scenes footage included on the disc as supplements, and the IMDb further discloses it was the Mini model, with the added information that this perhaps surprisingly received a 4K DI. That latter data point may account for consistently excellent fine detail levels, as can probably clearly be seen in several of the screenshots accompanying this review. Everything from facial pores to pill on fabrics resolves with precision, and aside from some brief banding during the Lionsgate logo at disc boot up (so severe that I could actually take a screenshot of it with our capture unit, though I didn't include it in the review), there are no other real anomalies to note. The palette is typically quite robust, and while there is the expected retinue of heavily graded material, often toward blues or greens, I noticed little of what I've termed "Alexa murk" in these darkened moments. What I'm assuming is digital grain added to some of the enterprise did not strike my eyes as looking particularly organic.

Wolf Hound Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Wolf Hound features a nicely expressive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. The longer aerial sequences that provide bookends of a sort for the film probably offer the most consistently noticeable surround activity, with huge panning effects as plane dart hither and yon, and with some forceful bursts of LFE as gunfire and, later, explosions take place. There are also long sequences set in the forest that Holden finds himself in after ejecting that offer good placement of ambient environmental effects. Michael Kramer's score has some nice brass cues in particular which sound full bodied. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Wolf Hound Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Director / Producer Michael B. Chait, Actor James Maslow, Producer Sue Witham, and Writer / Co-Producer Timothy Ritchey


• Deleted and Extended Scenes (HD; 10:08)


• Wolf Hound - Behind the Scenes (HD; 30:32) offers everything from production art to interviews, along with quite a bit of candid footage.


• Wolf Hound - Creating the Visual Effects (HD; 21:14) is an interesting look at some of the techniques utilized.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:28)

Additionally, a digital copy is included and packaging features a slipcover.

Wolf Hound Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As the son of a fairly celebrated battalion commander in World War II who himself was Jewish (for those interested, I mention one kind of interesting tidbit about him in the closing comments of my The French Dispatch Blu-ray review), parts of this story resonated personally for me, even if the underlying plot conceit pushes credulity to the breaking point. There is a really interesting documentary called GI Jews: Jewish Americans in World War II that aired on PBS some time ago that I highly recommend for those interested in finding out what this battle, which so obviously was bound up in anti-semitism at its most extreme, meant to Jewish fighters. That particular element might have been more fully developed here, frankly, which might have given the film a bit more emotional resonance, since it probably goes without saying that Holden's efforts to subvert "a plot that could completely alter the outcome of World War II" prove successful. Some very late attempts to tug pretty forcefully on the heartstrings could arguably have used some better build up as well. Wolf Hound does have some really cool vintage planes to offer, which may be enough to temporarily distract from some other deficits. Technical merits are generally solid and the supplements enjoyable, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.