Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001)

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.

Director:

Christophe Gans

Writers:

Stéphane Cabel (original scenario), Stéphane Cabel (adaptation)

Stars:

Samuel Le Bihan, Mark Dacascos, Jérémie Renier

4 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Samuel Le Bihan	...	Grégoire de Fronsac
Mark Dacascos	...	Mani
Jérémie Renier	...	Thomas d'Apcher (as Jérémie Rénier)
Vincent Cassel	...	Jean-François
Émilie Dequenne	...	Marianne
Jacques Perrin	...	Thomas d'Apcher (old)
Christian Marc	...	Serviteur Thomas Agé
Karin Kriström	...	Bergère du Rocher
Philippe Nahon	...	Jean Chastel
Virginie Darmon	...	La Bavarde
Vincent Cespedes	...	Soldat
Hans Meyer	...	Marquis d'Apcher
Jean-Paul Farré	...	Père Georges
Pierre Lavit	...	Jacques
Eric Prat	...	Capitaine Duhamel (as Éric Prat)

Storyline

In 1764 something was stalking the mountains of central France. A 'beast' that pounced on humans and animals with terrible ferocity. Indeed they beast became so notorious that the King of France dispatched envoys to find out what was happening and to kill the creature. By the end, the Beast of Gevaudan had killed over 100 people.To this day, no one is entirely sure what it was, a wolf? a hyena? or something supernatural? The Beast is a popular myth in France, albeit one rooted firmly in reality; somewhat surprisingly it is little known to the outside world, and perhaps incredibly it has never been made into a movie. Until now. Based on the true story of the Beast of the Gevaudan that terrorized France in the eighteenth century, the movie aims to tell first and explain afterwards. In the first part, a special envoy of the King of France, altogether biologist, explorer and philosopher, arrives in the Gevaudan region, in the mountainous central part of France. The Beast has been ...

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Plot Keywords:

beast | conspiracy | fortuneteller | card game | animal abuse | 

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Taglines:

The year is 1766... The hunt for a killer has begun

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Universal [United States]

Country:

France

Language:

French German Italian

Release Date:

1 February 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Brotherhood of the Wolf

Filming Locations:

Château de Roquetaillade, Mazères, Gironde, France

Box Office

Budget:

€30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$475,181, 13 January 2002, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$11,260,096

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$70,752,904

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canal+, Davis-Films, Eskwad

Technical Specs

Runtime:

142 min 152 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

There actually was a Beast of Gévaudan (La Bête du Gévaudan) which was a real wolf-like creature that prowled the Auvergne and South Dordogne regions of France during the years 1764 to 1767, killing about 100 people, often in bizarre circumstances.

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Goofs

The metal claw weapons wiggle when struck in some shots, revealing that rubber look-alikes have been substituted for those shots.

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Quotes

Jean-Francois de Morangias: Ghost or not, I'll split you in two.

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Alternate Versions

A third version of the film was released theatrically and on DVD in the UK. In this version all the scenes involving the Royal Hunter (Bauterne) are removed - his character is referred to, but never seen. This includes the removal of the following scenes:

• The entire elaborate arrival of Bauterne is removed.
• The scene with Bauterne in the bath telling the Chevalier that he is no longer required and then attempting to seduce an unwilling female servant.
• The scene where Chevalier is ordered to use his skills to make an ordinary dead wolf killed by Bauterne look like the beast, and the following scenes where he does so.
• The scenes where the fake 'beast' is presented to the Royal court and the ensuing discussion are all removed. Later DVD editions (2007 onwards) re-inserted these scenes.

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Connections

References Les yeux sans visage (1960)

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Soundtracks

Once
(uncredited)
by Felicia Sorensen

User Reviews

An extravagant B-movie from France with all the right matinee-adventure ingredients.

This is a grandiose monster movie from France that delivers the perfect blend of slick style and unsophisticated, gothic melodrama to make it one of the most appealing film fantasies in a long while. The international success of the film is not hard to understand; it's exhilarating in the same way that the old Hammer horror films were in their heyday. Everything about this elaborate movie is terrifically tacky, particularly the stunning production design. It's like seeing those artless, wilderness paintings containing hidden animal images come to life. The characters come off as if they were lifted right off of some garish paperback romance-novel cover. Best of all, the film has some nifty flourishes of sex and violence sadly missing from the current spate of half-baked, PG-13 Hollywood product. While some seem to be complaining of one martial-arts fight too many, faulty creature effects or simple-minded plotting; in this case, it's like bitching about KING KONG being over the top. This is a contemporary B-movie (albeit an expensive, subtitled one) for those who appreciate a good time at the movies. It delivers the kind of satisfaction audiences used to get seeing the work of Mario Bava or Ray Harryhausen; and that's saying a lot!