The Company of Wolves (1984)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Neil Jordan

Writers:

Angela Carter (story)
Neil Jordan (screenplay)

Release Date:

19 April 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Fantasy

Tagline:

Where fairy stories meet horror stories [Australia Theatrical]

Plot:

A bag full of symbolic folklore about werewolves, or, rather, their sexual connotation. Granny tells her granddaughter Rosaleen strange...

Plot Keywords:

Folklore | Grandmother | Sexuality | Woods | Storytelling

Awards:

Nominated for 4 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 10 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Sarah Patterson	...	Rosaleen
Angela Lansbury	...	Granny
David Warner	...	Father
Tusse Silberg	...	Mother
Micha Bergese	...	Huntsman
Brian Glover	...	Amorous Boy's father
Graham Crowden	...	Old Priest
Kathryn Pogson	...	Young Bride
Stephen Rea	...	Young Groom
Georgia Slowe	...	Alice, Girl Killed by Wolves
Susan Porrett	...	Amorous Boy's mother
Shane Johnstone	...	Amorous Boy
Dawn Archibald	...	Witch Woman
Richard Morant	...	Wealthy Groom
Danielle Dax	...	Wolfgirl
Vincent McClaren	...	Devil Boy
Ruby Buchanan	...	Dowager
Jimmy Gardner	...	Ancient
Roy Evans	...	Eyepatch
Edward Marsen	...	Lame Fiddler
Jim Brown	...	Blind Fiddler (as Jimmy Brown)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jim Carter	...	Second Husband (uncredited)
Terence Stamp	...	The Devil (uncredited)

Directed by
Neil Jordan

Writing credits
Angela Carter		story "The Company of Wolves" &
Neil Jordan		screenplay

Produced by
Chris Brown	....	producer
Nik Powell	....	executive producer
Stephen Woolley	....	executive producer
Stephen Woolley	....	producer

Original Music by
George Fenton

Cinematography by
Bryan Loftus

Film Editing by
Rodney Holland

Casting by
Susie Figgis

Production Design by
Anton Furst

Art Direction by
Stuart Rose

Costume Design by
Elizabeth Waller

Makeup Department
Sylvia Croft	....	makeup artist
Christopher Tucker	....	special makeup effects

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Paul Frift	....	third assistant director
Paul Tivers	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Dick Budden	....	sculptor
Emma Harrison	....	scenic artist
Peter Mann	....	stand-by constructor
Nigel Phelps	....	illustrator
Adrian Start	....	supervisor painter
Peter Walpole	....	production buyer

Sound Department
Alan Bell	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Dave Crownshaw	....	special effects technician
Dave Eltham	....	special effects technician
Toby Philpott	....	animatronic wolf and transformations

Visual Effects by
Alan Church	....	optical effects
Tony Willis	....	effects cameraman (uncredited)

Stunts
Marc Boyle	....	stunt arranger
Terry Cade	....	stunts
Graeme Crowther	....	stunts
Tex Fuller	....	stunts
Nick Hobbs	....	stunts
Gareth Milne	....	stunts
Dinny Powell	....	stunts
Bill Weston	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Steve Birtles	....	gaffer
Tom Collins	....	still photographer
Ian Foster	....	clapper loader: second unit
Peter Hodgson	....	video playback operator: second unit
Eamonn O'Keeffe	....	focus puller: second unit
Mike Roberts	....	camera operator (as Michael Roberts)

Animation Department
Stuart Robinson	....	animatronic designer

Editorial Department
Tim Arrowsmith	....	assistant editor
Justin Krish	....	assistant editor
Kevin Phelan	....	unit projectionist: Mercury Theatres

Music Department
Robert Stewart	....	additional orchestrator

Other crew
Peter MacDonald	....	director of effects
Rodger Shaw	....	animatronic wolf

Thanks
Mike Lowrie	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Incorporated Television Company (ITC)
• Palace Pictures

Distributors

• ITC (1984) (UK) (theatrical)
• Cannon Film Distributors (1985) (USA) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Aquarius TV (2005) (Greece) (DVD)
• Carlton International Media (worldwide)
• Future Film (2002) (Finland) (DVD)
• Hen's Tooth Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• ITV DVD (2005) (UK) (DVD)
• ITV DVD (2007) (UK) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• LW Editora (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• U.G.C. Worldwide Distribution (USA)
• Vestron Video International (1986) (Belgium) (video)
• Vestron Video International (1985) (UK) (video)
• Vestron Video International (1986) (Denmark) (VHS)
• Vestron Video (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• Vestron Video (USA) (laserdisc)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera dollies

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (original rating) | Norway:18 (re-rating) | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Incorporated Television Company (ITC)

Trivia:

Director Neil Jordan didn't hold auditions for the part of Granny. Once the project was up and running, he offered it directly to Angela Lansbury.

Quotes:

Huntsman: Are you very much afraid?
Rosaleen: It wouldn't do me much good to be afraid, would it? What big eyes you have.
Huntsman: All the better to see you with.
Rosaleen: They say seeing is believing, but I'd never swear to it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Big Bad Wolves (2006)

"Never Stray From the Path, Never Eat a Windfall Apple, and Never Trust a Man Whose Eyebrows Meet." – An Adult and Stylized Version of Little Red Riding Hood

Rosaleen (Sarah Patterson) is a teenager, living in a country house in England with her family in the present days, and having a nightmare with wolves and werewolves in the Middle Ages. In her dream, her boring sister is dead, she lives with her father (David Warner) and her mother (Tusse Silberg), but she spends lots of time with her lovely grandmother (Angela Lansbury). Granny tells her many stories of werewolf and gives her the following advice: "- Never stray from the path, never eat a windfall apple, and never trust a man whose eyebrows meet." One day, Rosaleen, while going to visit her grandmother, meets a handsome man and bet with him who would arrive first at her granny's house. The story has an open end. The first time I watched this movie was in 1984 or 1985 in a imported VHS of a Brazilian video-club, and I liked it a lot. This video-club closed and unfortunately, this film has not been available in Brazil since then. Yesterday it was released on DVD and I immediately bought it. I have just saw it and I really can say that it is an excellent movie. The story is based on the fairy tale of the Little Red Riding Hood. Indeed it is an adult and stylized version of the tale. But further than that, it is also a spectacular approach of the beginning of the puberty, losing of the innocence through wild and erotic dreams, when the character of Sarah Patterson is becoming an young woman. Neil Jordan made an excellent work, with a wonderful horror movie, which can have the most different interpretations, depending on the eye and experience of the viewer. He used many symbols, such as the use of lipstick, or the first date of Rosaleen. I do not understand what happened to the gorgeous and very promising actress Sarah Patterson. With her interpretation in this film, I would bet she would have a great career ahead, what has never come true. This film is really a cult-movie, and I am one of its greatest fan. I would like to thank the Brazilian distributor Flashstar, for giving me the chance of see this wonderful movie again. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): `A Companhia dos Lobos' (`The Company of the Wolves')