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:

$29,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$475,181, 13 January 2002

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

Two uniquely French breeds of dog are used in this film: Bleu De Gascogne hounds are used during hunting scenes, and a Briard sheepdog accompanies a shepherdess later in the film.

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Goofs

When Mani is raised above the crowd, his tattoos are on the wrong shoulder.

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Quotes

Jean-Francois de Morangias: So tell me sir, do they speak of the beast in Paris?
Gregoire De Fronsac: Speak of it? They're already singing songs about it.
Geneviève de Morangias: Instead of singing songs, they should be saying prayers.

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Alternate Versions

The Canadian 3-disc DVD (released in October 2002) and the United States 2-disc Special Edition DVD (released in August 2008) features a 151 minute director's cut with the following scenes added to the middle of the film before and after Fronsac returns to Paris:

• Right after Fronsac has constructed the fake beast for De Bauternes, he goes to the brothel, gets drunk and confesses to Sylvia that the beast caught by De Bauternes is a fake.
• An long steadicam shot from Jean-Francois' POV as he sneaks through the brothel and into Sylvia's room, where he finds a sketch of Sylvia naked that Fronsac has drawn. He laughs because it's just what he needs to drive Marianne away from Fronsac.
• Fronsac arrives at the De Morangias' castle to see Marianne one last time before returning to Paris. The guards tell him he is no longer welcome on orders of the Countess and that Marianne is sick. Jean-Francois turns up and tells the guards and his mother to let Fronsac in. Jean-Francois leads him into the great hall where Marianne waits. She tells Fronsac she doesn't want to see him again and tosses the naked sketch of Sylvie onto the floor. Fronsac storms out, knocking Jean-Francois to the floor on his way.
• After the second girl is killed down in the pit there is a scene inside the Church where Sylvia kneels down next to Marianne as she prays. She tells Marianne the Fronsac truly only loves her. Sardis watches Sylvia suspiciously as she leaves.
• A scene on the docks as Fronsac and Mani are loading supplies for the trip to Africa. Thomas D'Apacher turns up and tells Fronsac that the beast continued attacking after he and De Beauternes left. D'Apacher cannot find anyone to go on the hunt with him and he wants to try to hunt this time using Mani's methods. At first Fronsac refuses, but D'Apacher provides him with a love letter from Marianne in which she asks for the secret meeting at her nanny's house. Fronsac agrees to return.

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Connections

References Sleepy Hollow (1999)

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Soundtracks

Once
(uncredited)
by Felicia Sorensen

User Reviews

"Like a lion I will devour your children and tear out their entrails."

I am very much in awe of this movie. Brotherhood of the Wolf encompasses every genre of film; martial arts, action, romance, thriller, horror, drama, everything. Keeping with the spirit of all these genres, it invokes many emotions from the viewer. A beast is terrorizing the countryside of Gevaudan and the villagers believe no man or bullet can put it down. Enter the ultimate Jack of all Trades, Grégoire de Fronsac, and his brother-in-arms, Mani, who have come to town to stop/capture this menacing beast. The story starts here and has so many twists and turns it could make your head spin. The cast is incredible. I have no idea who this Samuel Le Bihan guy is, but he absolutely rocks it as Fronsac. This also has potential to be a breakout role for Mark Dacascos but we'll have to wait and see on that one. Even if he doesn't make it beyond the B action flick, Mani will always be an unforgettable character. And Vincent Cassel is incredibly suave and creepy at the same time. Brotherhood is an absolutely beautiful example of what film can look like. The cinematography combined with the editing makes for some truly fantastic scenes. Let's not forget the fight choreography. There are some tremendous fight sequences that rival those from Hong Kong cinema. Some movies become great because they have that one moment that will forever live on in your memory; Moments that are undoubtedly awesome. Brotherhood of the Wolf is simply just one big moment. Other than the films by Luc Besson, I've never really been a follower of French cinema. But with the coming of this movie and the equally dark and beautiful Crimson Rivers I could get into it.