Le pacte des loups (2001)

Director:

Christophe Gans

Writers:

Stéphane Cabel (original scenario)
Stéphane Cabel (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

31 January 2001 (France)

Genre:

Action | History | Horror | Mystery

Plot:

In 18th century France, the Chevalier de Fronsac and his native American friend Mani are sent by the King to the Gevaudan province to investigate the killings of hundreds by a mysterious beast.

Plot Keywords:

Beast | Conspiracy | Native American | Mysterious Beast | Supernatural

Awards:

3 wins & 20 nominations

Cast

Samuel Le Bihan	...	Grégoire de Fronsac
Vincent Cassel	...	Jean-François de Morangias
Émilie Dequenne	...	Marianne de Morangias
Monica Bellucci	...	Sylvia
Jérémie Renier	...	Thomas d'Apcher
Mark Dacascos	...	Mani
Jean Yanne	...	Le Comte de Morangias
Jean-François Stévenin	...	Henri Sardis
Jacques Perrin	...	Thomas d'Apcher (old)
Edith Scob	...	Geneviève de Morangias
Johan Leysen	...	Beauterne
Bernard Farcy	...	Laffont
Hans Meyer	...	Marquis d'Apcher
Virginie Darmon	...	La Bavarde
Philippe Nahon	...	Jean Chastel

Also Known As:

Brotherhood of the Wolf (Canada: English title) (USA)
Lupus dei - Le pacte des loups (France) (original script title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and gore, and sexuality/nudity.

Runtime:

142 min | 152 min (director's cut)

Country:

France

Language:

French | German | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | South Korea:18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Brazil:14 | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Hungary:16 | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | Philippines:R-18 | Canada:R (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Château de Roquetaillade, Mazères, Gironde, France

Company:

Canal+

Trivia:

All the primary characters, except the Native American Mani, actually existed and lived during reign of King Louis XV.

Goofs:

Continuity: The young Marquis d'Apcher is wounded on his right arm during the fight with the beast. Later, it is his left arm that is bandaged.

Quotes:

Mani: All women have the same color when the candle is out.

Movie Connections:

References The Last of the Mohicans (1992)

Soundtrack:

Once

VERY Cool Movie

From what I saw in the previews this looked like an interesting movie, then I heard from some friends that it was pretty good, so some buddies of mine and myself went and saw it. I have to say that I LOVED this movie. I knew it was going to be subtitled, and I knew it was a French movie, but other than what I saw in the trailers, I didn't have a clue what to expect.

I must say that the trailers were PERFECT, cause they showed just enough to get you interested, but not enough to ruin the cool parts in the movie.

I was truly shocked at how good the "Beast" looked, I was really fearing that it would barely be shown and when it was it would look bad, but I thought it looked great! It was no T-Rex in "Jurassic Park", but nonetheless, it looked believable and quite real at times.

Then there's the fight scenes. These fights were incredible. My hat is off to Mark Dacascos, I saw him in two of his earlier films; "Double Dragon" and "Only The Strong" and was really impressed with his fighting in both of those films. As far as fighting goes though, I think this film takes the cake. Truly impressive, if you ask me.

His buddy in the film, Samuel Le Bihan, was a great fighter too. Mark seems much more of a martial arts fighter though, whereas Samuel is more of a weapon wielder, but equally impressive.

Like most movies there were a few scenes that I could have done without, but overall, I was really happy with the film. It was worth my $9.

Another thing I wanted to mention is the wardrobe. Normally I'm not one to really pay attention to the wardrobe, but it really stuck out in this film for some reason. The costumes were great in this film, I really liked the outfits that the two main characters were wearing in the beginning of the film when they're standing in the rain (the costumes shown on the poster). They just looked so cool.

If I had to complain about something in the movie, I'd say that the director went a little overboard with the slow-motion. And more specifically, the slow-motion-to-full-motion shots. There were certain times in the film where I KNEW the directer was going to slow the shot down and "surprise, surprise", I was right. But it didn't bug me enough to get me upset, just something that struck me as odd.

Well, I hope you like(d) the movie as much as I did and thanks for reading my review.

-Chris