The Company of Wolves (1984)

A teenage girl in a country manor falls asleep while reading a magazine, and has a disturbing dream involving wolves prowling the woods below her bedroom window.

Director:

Neil Jordan

Writers:

Angela Carter (screenplay), Neil Jordan (screenplay)

Stars:

Sarah Patterson, Angela Lansbury, David Warner

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

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Angela Lansbury	...	Granny
David Warner	...	Father
Graham Crowden	...	Old Priest
Brian Glover	...	Amorous Boy's Father
Kathryn Pogson	...	Young Bride
Stephen Rea	...	Young Groom
Tusse Silberg	...	Mother
Micha Bergese	...	Huntsman
Sarah Patterson	...	Rosaleen
Georgia Slowe	...	Alice
Susan Porrett	...	Amorous Boy's Mother
Shane Johnstone	...	Amorous Boy
Dawn Archibald	...	Witch Woman
Richard Morant	...	Wealthy Groom
Danielle Dax	...	Wolfgirl

Storyline

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 and her mother, but she spends lots of time with her lovely grandmother. Granny (Dame Angela Lansbury) tells her many stories of werewolf and gives her the following advice: "- Never stray from the path in the woods, 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 bets who would arrive first at her granny's house. Soon she finds who he is.

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Plot Keywords:

grandmother | werewolf | girl | dream | cult film | 

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Taglines:

Where fairy stories meet horror stories [Australia Theatrical]

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Because of the fact that wolves can not truly be tamed, although they may appear tame, they can still turn nasty, snipers were required to be on-set during the filming in case the wolves did attack anyone. Producer Stephen Woolley had said to the sniper "Shoot the wolf first, then shoot me because my life won't be worth living if the wolf goes for the young kid", referring to Sarah Patterson.

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Goofs

When the priest prunes the tree in the garden, he climbs up a ladder. When he talks to the lady, first both of his hands are on the pruning sheers, then all of a sudden one hand is holding on to a branch. In the next shot, both his hands are on the pruning sheers again.

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Quotes

Rosaleen: And that's all I'll tell you, cause that's all I know.

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Connections

Referenced in Ginger Snaps (2000)

User Reviews

The Company She Keeps

**SPOiLERS** Locked in her room and asleep Rosaleen, Sarah Patterson,has a sting of dreams about "Old Wolves Tales" that culminate at the end of the movie "The Company of Wolves" in the Brothers Grimm story of "Little Red Riding Hood".

Roaleen's sequence of dreams start with her older sister Alice,Georgia Slowe, becoming trapped in the woods and attacked and killed by a wolf pack. After ALice's funeral Rosaleen goes with her Granny, Angela Lansbury, home and is told a number of wolf stories by her that shapes her mind about the evil and cunning of those wild and deadly creatures of the forest. Granny tells Rosaleen of how wolves can turn into human beings and trick young girls like herself to fall in love with them and breed new generations of wolf-men. Humans who can go from being wolves to being human and not be recognized and end up being killed by the townspeople.

Told to watch out for these wolf-men by being able to spot them, their eyebrows meet, Rosaleen develops a sense of ease when in the company of wolves or persons who are wolves in human disguise.This may be the reason she was not terrified of the wolf man who eventually killed and ate granny at the end of the movie.

In the dream that Rosaleen had it become evident that she herself was, or became, a wolf. The final sequence has her and a pack of wolves storm out of the woods and out of her dream as her unconscious fantasy becomes a shocking and awakened reality at the conclusion of the movie.

Eerie and surrealistic film that has some of the best wolf transformation, as well as real wolves pack, sequences ever put on film. "Company of Wolves" has all the fears and horrors, many that have been proved over the years to be totally unfounded, that man has associated with those wild and mysterious animals. It's theses horror stories that lead to the extinction of the wolf in most of the places where man and wolf lived together for centuries.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 April 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Company of Wolves

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,234,776, 21 April 1985

Gross USA:

$4,389,334

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,389,334

Company Credits

Production Co:

Incorporated Television Company (ITC), Palace Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1