Wolves Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		2.5

Wolves Blu-ray Movie Review

A better title would be "The Impact of Man on the Wolf Population".

Reviewed by Dustin Somner August 16, 2009

Given the educational focus of early IMAX films, it’s no surpriseproduction studios such as the National Wildlife Federation stepped up to the plate with their own release centered on one of the nature’s “misunderstood” predators. Delivered to theaters in 1999, Wolves is written and directed by David Douglas, a long-time cinematographer specializing in documentaries. Considering the relatively short running time of an IMAX production and the wealth of information on the various species of wolves, I’d hoped for an intelligent experience that truly grasps the wonders of these ferocious silver beasts. Unfortunately, what we’re actually given is a sparse production that focuses far too often on the relationship between man and wolf, leaving the viewer begging for more.

Such piercing eyes...

As Wolves begins, we’re given a brief look at two species that inhabit different territories on multiple continents and shown footage of two wolves chasing down an elk. Next, we’re shown a group of three arctic wolves that attempt to overtake one of three muskoxen that present a formidable challenge to their significantly smaller predators. After a brief history lesson on the extinction of the North American wolf back in the 1930’s, and the Nez Perce effort to protect the wolf, we’re introduced to a mother and set of cubs belonging to a pack of wolves that are continually followed throughout the course of the production. Shifting gears a little, the film goes on to briefly discuss the reintroduction of a wolf population in northern Idaho, before returning to the litter of growing cubs who are now venturing out to become aquainted with their fellow pack. The rest of the film occasionally returns to the group of cubs, but begins to venture into random territory, showing wildlife biologists caring for a domesticated wolf that’s used for educational purposes (for young students), and other scientists that track the wolf population of Canada.

I’m all for educating the human population on the impact we have on the creatures around us, but the title of this film should have reflected that focus in order to better prepare viewers that are merely interested in the animal itself. As it stands, only about half of the entire runtime actually consists of footage showing wolves. The rest of the time is spent talking about indian history, the affect of wolves on local ranchers, and how the wolves of Yellowstone could positively impact the the ecosystem of that territory. The other persistent problem with the film, is a lack of proper introduction from sequence to sequence. One scene in particular shows two researchers trapping wolves in humane traps that allow them to complete various studies on the creatures before releasing them back into the wild with a tracking collar around their neck. There’s absolutely zero introduction to that particular scene and never an explanation of what their accomplishing by subjecting the animals to the stress they likely undergo from being captured.

The other complaint that stands out is the use of picture-in-picture windows during the first half of the feature. During at least four lengthy sequences, a small window pops up in the middle of your screen that’s surrounded by a frame of outdoor scenery. The footage is shown in a tiny 4:3 box, which I’m guessing was chosen because the footage wouldn’t look sharp enough for large screen viewing. Regardless of the reasoning, it cheapened the overall experience, and simply added to the laziness that’s apparent in the entire production.

If you absolutely must see this film, go into it with low expectations. The footage of the wolves in nature is a real treat and some of the information on the history of man versus wolf is plenty entertaining, but for a film that’s supposed to focus on the animal, there’s far too much time spent on the human mistreatment of wolves and the resulting fight to redeem their population or status in the Yellowstone area. Given the misleading title of the film and the general weakness in the structure of the production, I’m giving this IMAX creation low marks.

Wolves Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in 1080p utilizing the MPEG-2 codec (at an average bitrate of 38Mbps), Wolves has an impressive transfer that's only hampered at times by some less-then-stellar source material. Detail is incredibly sharp in both close-up shots of the wolf family or distance aerial shots of wolf packs running far below. The detailed textures of the wolf coats, or the matted fur of the Bison are reproduced with fine-object precision that often rivals the best in high-definition nature productions. Similar to the proficiency of detail, I was impressed with the natural hues of the surrounding landscape, which never appears filtered or overly bright (simply allowing nature to create an untampered palette). Black levels are equally strong with the exception of one scene near the middle of the film where several wolfs are shown howling in the moonlight. For that particular scene, it appears the brightness was pumped up in post-production in an effort to make the wolves more noticeable in the low-light setting. On the downside, the footage used for the picture-in-picture scenes is clearly not high-definition and I noticed the same slight vertical stretching that appeared in the Bears IMAX release (not noticeable enough to ruin the experience, but still worth mentioning).

Wolves Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

From an audio standpoint, the only English option is a well-balanced Dolby Digital 5.1 track. There isn't a great deal of rear surround use aside from occasional environmental noises that creep into the track from time to time. Settling in on the front soundstage, the narration and interview dialogue is crisp and easily defined in the center channel, with music and primary environmental sounds relegated to the left and right front channels. Your subwoofer won't see a great deal of action from the LFE track aside from the bass-heavy drum beats in the Native American music and one scene of a buffalo stampede that nearly knocked me out of my chair. It would have been one of the highlights of the film if it weren't for the illogical use of picture-in-picture for the visuals of the stampede scene. Overall, the audio track is a perfect supplement to the visual experience, and surpasses the typical proficiency of a lossy track.

Wolves Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Making of Wolves (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 15:19 min): in 1995 a group of 14 wolves were released in Yellowstone National park in Alberta Canada. The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) followed their release over the years, and decided to proceed with an IMAX production centered on the species. This featurette contains behind the scenes interviews and expanded footage from several segments shown in the main feature.

(480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 46:16 min): Hosted by Mathew Fox (from his "Party of Five" days), this lengthy television episode of "Wildlife Adventures" chronicles the reintroduction of the first group of wolves in the Yellowstone territory. Surprisingly, I found this supplement more interesting and informative than the main feature, since it fully addresses the pros and cons (for the ranchers) of a wolf population in Yellowstone and also provides a comprehensive (yet tragic) history lesson on the North American wolf. Highly recommended.

Wolves Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I'm not sure this film has an audience out there that would be happy with what the filmmakers have done here. Those with a fascination for wolves will likely come away feeling cheated with the sparse appearance of the title character, whereas anyone looking for a history lesson on the mistreatment of the wolf probably won't know to rent this film in the first place. If you do fall into the latter category, I'd recommend you give this a rental, since you likely won't feel compelled to watch it more than once. For all others, I'd steer clear all together and wait for a different documentary to do this intriguing animal justice.