The Wolfman (2010) [Blu-ray]

EDIT: This part of my review refers ONLY to the blu-ray (not the actual movie). The picture/audio quality was fine, as expected from blu ray. However, mine skips; I'm exchanging it, and, hopefully, this problem will not surface on the new one. The blu ray package comes with some nice extras (like the original movie, as well as the unrated version [which had a lot of new stuff, not much of which I liked, but :) ] ); however, it takes * forever * to load. Again, this might have something to do with the defective disc (I hope that's all it is!!)...but it took 3 minutes to load when I first put it in.//Original review:Before I saw this movie, I had read some pretty varied reviews about it, so I wasn't really sure of what to expect. I was quite happy with what I found, however.First, I will list my impressions, and then I'll discuss the story (without too many spoilers, I hope :P). This is a dark film, and it can really immerse you. It is a bit gory, but you get so wrapped up in what's going on that it seems more like it belongs than not -- particularly as a counterbalance to the desire of the viewer to preserve (one of) the wolf-folk involved, as it shows just what devastation he causes. (Although, for viewers with kids, it's more than you'd probably want young ones watching.) The characters were well crafted, and -- even the very eccentric ones -- seemed believable. There were only one or two times, for me, when things seemed a little too "over the top". As far as casting, I thought it was perfect; Del Toro's Lawrence Talbot is perfectly dark and tragic; Emily Blunt's Gwen is ideal; Hopkin's Sir Talbot is perfectly monstrous (but in a good way!); Weaving's Inspector is equally well done; and the various superstitious/prejudiced/frightened villagers were superb in their roles.Alright, on to the story -- and be warned, there will be **spoilers** here, although I will try to keep them to a minimum.The story revolves around Lawrence Talbot, who receives a letter from his (recently dead) brother's fiance, Gwen Conliffe. He returns home to learn about his brother (Ben Talbot)'s death; the death of his brother aside, this is not, as you learn later (and guess immediately, by Del Toro's expressions), a pleasant return. His father -- who sent him to an asylum as a child after he witnessed the grisly death of Lady Talbot -- is morbidly distant and unconcerned, but Gwen is genuinely grieved and searching for answers. Ben's death was not only a murder, but a particularly gruesome one, and Gwen asks Lawrence to help find the killer. He sets out to do so.Ben was torn to shreds in an inexplicable manner and left in a ditch, although some of the villagers "explain" the death by attributing it to a dancing bear that travels with some gypsies who have set up camp nearby, and others attribute the death to the work of a madman. Lawrence finds a clue that points him toward the Gypsies, so he goes to speak with them. It just so happens that -- you guessed it -- the night that he rides out is the night of a full moon.Lawrence's investigative work is cut short by a werewolf attack on the camp; and Lawrence ends up with a life threatening wound. Gwen stays at the Hall to tend him. After a length of time, this wound rather miraculously heals; the doctor who attends Lawrence is stunned by this fact, and Lawrence is not a little surprised himself.The next full moon arrives, and Lawrence -- seeing his father sneaking to his mother's crypt -- follows. He proceeds into a dungeon-ish room, where Sir Talbot locks himself away after a cryptic warning.Lawrence witnesses part of his father's transformation, and turns into a werewolf himself; he proceeds to run about doing werewolf-like things (you know, ripping people to shreds and other such naughty behaviors) before collapsing/returning to human state on his father's property.Lawrence is captured and taken back to the asylum, where he is tortured -- as well as taunted by his father who comes to "visit". Sir Talbot, when Lawrence suggests that he kill himself, declares that he will certainly not, but instead plans to keep letting the wolf take over rather than hiding every full moon in the dungeon. He also reveals that it was he who killed Ben after an argument and a bout of drinking, as well as reveals how he became a werewolf -- and the truth about Lawrence's mother's death.The asylum incarceration continues until that full moon, when the werewolf emerges again and breaks free (destroying all that gets in his path). After returning to his human state, Lawrence seeks temporary refuge with Gwen, and then heads back to Talbot Hall to confront his father.Gwen, meanwhile -- her and Lawrence's relationship having progressed from mutual grief at Ben's death to love -- seeks out a cure for lycanthropy -- and races to get to Lawrence before harm (or the redoubtable inspector, who has been doggedly tailing him from early on) finds him.All of this leads to a hair-raising search through the ghoulish manor, a terrific fight, and a sad but necessary end -- with an interesting catch.All in all, to reiterate, I thought the movie was very well done, with only a few things I would have liked changed. The acting was excellent, with only two or three lines of Del Toro's that I think could have been done better -- but, otherwise, his work was absolutely superb.Wolfman is probably not a good one for youngsters because of the dark story and gore, but otherwise darkness/gore was appropriate.It is not a work of genius, but all the pieces fit together very well, and stand up to scrutiny.Finally, I would also like to note that some of the objections to Wolfman centered around the romance between Gwen and Lawrence -- namely, that there wasn't "more". I disagree; remember that Gwen is sincerely grieving Ben's death, and this romance is "accidental". If Gwen and Lawrence found themselves "in love" immediately -- or soon after -- one would be disinclined to think much of Ben and Gwen's bond, or of the character of either fiancé or brother. So, I think it was well done -- a natural, "accidental" progression.All in all, a very good film.

Excellent remake of the original Wolf Man movie. Great special effects and in color. This is definitely a great addition to any movie library!!

I truly love this movie, one of my all-time favorite scary movies. It is a great remake of an old classic.

As a huge fan of Universal Monsters, I was very excited to see that this story was being freshened up. But with that comes a fear that things could go very wrong. In this case, it didn't. And I was so excited that the Wolfman was NOT CGI, but good old fashioned makeup effects. And boy, did makeup legend Rick Baker deliver (and win an oscar for his work) in a spectacular way. The transformation scene is simply a masterpiece of film making. The story is slightly different from the original which is fine. It makes sense. Also the cast is outstanding. You can tell that Joe Johnston (the director) is also a fan of the original. Finally, The Wolfman is the baddass we always knew he was. He is not to be messed with. Frankly, where the original fell short in selling how horrific the beast is, this version let's us know just how savage he really is. But not for the sake of just gore, (which there is plenty of). I would love to see Frankenstein and Dracula remade by the same crew. And for a twist, it would be interesting if Franky were a CGI recreation of Boris Karloff. Should be easy to do since he is pretty much expressionless anyway. Just food for thought. Watch and enjoy The Wolfman.

I actually liked “An American Werewolf in London” much better than this movie. That movie was scary when it came out, it had the same effect as the premier of Jaws. Plus it had a better plot. It wasn’t boring and tedious. The fight scenes between the two here just made me laugh. Looked incredibly fake… the fur, etc.Didn’t even finish watching the whole movie. I can’t believe I paid for that.

I initially did not believe that Joe Johnston possessed the necessary credentials to craft a film of this magnitude. With productions such as "Jumanji" and "Jurassic Park III" in his creative arsenal, I was understandably concerned about the potential disaster this latest remake very well could become.Those fears were thankfully allayed, however, upon the day I was finally able to catch "The Wolfman" in a theater. For all of it's modern-day technological glitz, I still found this to be every bit as atmospheric and engrossing as the original. Not only has Johnston paid tremendous homage to the Lon Chaney classic, he has also honored the lavish tradition of Hammer Studios with some of the most sumptuous set designs this side of Francis Ford Coppola's "Dracula."I think Benicio Del Toro did a uniformly fine job in the lead. Nobody can ever take the place of a legend like Lon Chaney, Jr. But when Andrew Kevin Walker's screenplay began delving into Larry's haunted past, I bought Benicio's portrayal hook, line and sinker. He really did pull off a minor miracle. And I think the same can also easily be said for the incomparable Anthony Hopkins. There's very few roles this gentleman has undertaken throughout the many long years of his career that haven't entertained me. He exudes just the right amount of class and charisma this movie required.The exemplary effects work of Rick Baker, I believe, also deserves notable mention. Updating the revered Jack Pierce wolfman makeup had always been one of Baker's major ambitions. And, for the most part, I think he succeeded. Del Toro, like Chaney, is a big man and he wears the creature's finished look quite well. I was just as equally impressed by the movie's accompanying bloodshed. Most other reviewers clearly weren't. But think about what a beast like this would do if it ever got ahold of you. Would it draw you into its arms for a quiet cuddle, or would it rip you to pieces? Gratuitous as the gore may sometimes be within the narrative context, I still viewed it as realistic and fitting. This is, after all, a werewolf we're talking about; a wild animal.I only wish the DVD, itself, lived up to the same sort of praise I'm currently sharing with you here for the actual film. Unlike its Blu Ray counterpart, the barebones DVD release boasts absolutely no behind-the-scenes supplementals to speak of. And that's a shame because I, for one, would have loved to see and hear all that went into making this genuinely surprising and well-made gem.It may be dividing fans down the center, as far as opinion is concerned. But, for me, this "Wolfman" was exactly the sort of old-school style horror that I would definitely like to see more of.

Extended Cut! - I didn't notice any difference though. It's still a rather odd and unsatisfying film in which you cannot identify with anyone or anything they do. Emily Blunt's character is severely underwritten, but then, so is Beniccio Del Toro's and Anthony Hopkins'. It's an altogether mess in terms of script and the rather odd casting of Del Toro as an English aristocrat! Weird! And to top it all they've wedged Inspector Aberline from the Jack The Ripper case into this in the form of Hugo Weaving. The effects are pretty good, but the werewolf, once you see him, looks a bit cuddly to be honest. The music is so-so.The Bluray offers the Theatrical and Extended Cut, with a good selection of extras.

At times the extended version of 2010's The Wolfman is a case of a film failing for all the right reasons: an interesting attempt to mix a classical moviemaking aesthetic and old school production techniques with modern production values that often does a lot right but strangely never quite works as well as it should. Whether that's down to much-publicised production problems and extensive reshoots that saw the budget nearly double while the studio tinkered with it for the best part of a year-and-a-half and ensured that neither the 118-minute unrated cut on DVD or the 102-minute theatrical version that accompanies it on the Blu-ray is a true reflection of the director's original cut is a moot point, but it may simply be that director Joe Johnston took too classical an approach at times. The 1941 version isn't a great film by any means and certainly didn't have the resources this reworking had, but at least it kept things moving while this takes its cue from its house of buried secrets and underplays its hand a little too much at times. Johnston may have talent and an obvious love and respect for old Hollywood and classic filmmaking, but at times you can't help thinking that Anthony Hopkins' could have been talking about him when he says "You have a long way to go yet, my young pup."The first hour of the extended version certainly drags its paws a bit with too many deliberately lifeless domestic scenes until it finally develops some real bite in the second half with a combination of vivid setpieces, be they beastly rampages, rooftop chases or a drug-fuelled nightmare asylum sequence that give great vintage montage straight out of the 40s, and not entirely unexpected plot twists that put a new spin on the troubled father-son relationship of the original film. Most importantly it develops a sense of pace and urgency that carries you along that the first half could sorely have done with. The original Universal monster movies were always tightly paced affairs around the 70-minute mark, and the studio seem to have taken a leaf from their book with the shorter version they eventually released on the big screen, which is surprisingly a huge improvement and a much more satisfying film by far.Most of the cuts are from the first half of the picture, and there are few that you could disagree with. Gone is Talbot's unsympathetic backstage introduction, his half-gypsy heritage and much of Hopkins' silent eccentricities, improving his performance in the process as well as making things move faster and smoother. It's not all good news, with the revamped 40s Universal logo replaced, while some atmospheric shots of Talbot Hall and a cameo with an unbilled Max Von Sydow as a stranger offering a subtle link between the werewolf of this tale and the Beast of Gévaudan hitting the cutting room to keep things moving. Ultimately they're trade-offs worth making, proving the old adage that what you leave out can be as important as what you keep in the editing. That's even more noticeable in one of the deleted scenes on the disc where the Wolfman gatecrashes a society masque where the guests all think he's wearing a costume: while obviously extremely expensive, it doesn't really work and would have slowed the picture to a halt just when it had picked up a full head of speed.In a role outside his usual comfort zone Benicio Del Toro gives an interestingly subdued performance that doesn't play for easy sympathy, Anthony Hopkins similarly tones down his potentially hammy role while a dowdy looking Emily Blunt gives the kind of capable performance that's more her stock in trade than the exceptional ones many critics claim. Even Hugo Weaving is pleasingly understated for once as the policeman on his trail (Inspector Abilene of Jack the Ripper infamy, no less), with the sole portion of ham being served up by Anthony Sher's Jermunn Sykiatwrist in a performance seasoned with a liberal dash of Lionel Atwill.Despite their Oscar win the makeup effects aren't as impressive as they could be, although Rick Baker does make up for the underwhelming first transformation with an especially visceral second one in front of hundreds of assembled doctors and some rather impressive makeup in the finale that makes the actor underneath the hair recognisable even though it's almost certainly a stuntman. Similarly a few other effects are less than impressive, looking like last minute additions to try to beef things up, although the combination of CGi and miniatures does allow our tormented antihero to go on the rampage right in the heart of Victorian London in the best of the film's big three setpieces (the other two, an attack on a gypsy camp by a barely glimpsed beast and Talbot taking on the werewolf who created him as a mansion burns around them are pretty good too). Despite the post-first cut changes, Talbot never turns into a demonic wolf but remains very definitely a wolf MAN, largely walking upright in a surprisingly effective throwback to the original Universal Wolfman cycle.The film is also very obviously influenced by  Bram Stoker's Dracula [DVD] [1992 ], and not just in the casting of Hopkins. Danny Elfman's brooding orchestral score nods to Wojciech Kilar's memorable music for Coppola's film without falling into slavish impersonation that you wonder why the studio ever thought removing it and commissioning an electronic replacement (by Paul Haslinger) was a good idea before they came to their senses and put it back: it's not one of his major works, but it serves the film and its mood well. The early somewhat monotonous tone in the extended cut certainly hinders it and the lack of a convincing love story takes the pathos from the ending, but for all the problems and accompanying bad press, in the 102-minute version at least the film ultimately turned out surprisingly well and easily one of the best monster movie revivals in a long time.You won't find much detail about those problems in the extras on the Blu-ray - along with a trivia track, picture-in-picture featurettes and occasional commentary by Johnston, the accompanying featurettes are of the promotional puff-piece variety, though the studio's uncertainty is very evident in the two alternate endings on the Blu-ray that alter the characters' fates in the final shots: one might have worked had the love story been there but the other simply looks like a cheap bit of sequel baiting. As usual DVD buyers get the short stick, with only the longer cut of the film and the deleted and extended scenes. Bram Stoker's Dracula [DVD] [1992

Musicmagpie have been spot on with their dvds, used but in excellent condition I have a lot of films from them and would recommend them every time good quality and excellent condition can't praise them enough.

I watched this DVD armed with numerous reviews and opinions laced with Hollywood expectation. I was pleasantly surprised! It's mixed reception clouded the scope and imagination of this classic re-telling of Werewolf legend, yet once I had pressed play on my DVD player I found myself gripped and taken into the atmospheric world of Victorian Darkmoor Manor and the Curse of the Talbot Family. Impressive make-up effects by Rick Baker and solid direction from Joe Johnston move the film at a good pace. Benecio Del Toro is in good form as Lawrence Talbot and a sinister performance from Anthony Hopkins as Lord of the Manor (Talbot's Father). Hugo Weaving adds Inspector Aberline of Jack the Ripper fame into the scene and gives the role gravitas as the monsters nemesis with Emily Blunt playing Gwen Conliffe the recently bereaved fiancée of deceased Ben Talbot. The film begins with Ben Talbot's grisly murder, and Gwen travelling to London to find his brother Lawrence. She pleads with Lawrence to investigate Ben's disappearance (not realising Ben Talbot was dead) and finds Lawrence dismissive. The story then follows Lawrence Talbot who then decides to try to find out his brothers fate and on arrival at Darkmoor discovers from his Father that his brother is indeed dead. The story thus unfolds with Lawrence Talbot unravelling the gruesome truth of his family secret. Suspenseful and eerie with Rick Baker's superior Lycanthrope transformation scenes and occasional shocks to keep the blood pumping, Some gory scenes are involved giving the film a deserved (15) rating.In short I highly recommend this film to fans of the horror genre and it gets a five star rating from me. If you enjoyed American Werewolf in London you will enjoy this movie.

Given as a present and they said was an excellent film