The film stars Samuel Le Bihan, Vincent Cassel, Emilie Dequenne, Monica Bellucci, Jérémie Rénier and martial arts Mark Dacascos ( Drive, The Driver). It’s been over two decades since I sat down to watch this, so I think the slate is clean when it comes to my memory and how I remember this looking. Shout!Factory came out with a special edition Blu-ray a few years ago (included in this set), which left some less than desirable results – namely the image was a bit muddled and dark. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a dark movie, but this new 4K image seems to have rectified some of those issues. There’s a little more detail at work here and there is a deeper contrast when compared to the Blu-ray. It’s still not perfect, but a modes step up in picture quality from the previously-released Blu-ray. Audio: How does it sound?

Bruce Jensen on Slaughter in San Francisco | Blu-ray (88 Films) Wow. I appreciate the fine work Eureka!, 88 Films, Arrow, etc. are doing in b… Deleted Scenes– Just over 40 minutes’ worth are included, each with an introduction by director Christophe Gans. Given the film’s already lengthy running time of 150 minutes, these were trimmed for the film’s final release.During the reign of Louis XV, an isolated district of south-central France was haunted by the “Beast of Gévaudan” which savagely killed over 100 people, primarily women and children. As panic sweeps across the region, the King sends his finest military minds, the scientist and adventurer Grégoire de Fronsac and his Iroquois Indian blood brother Mani to flush out the Beast and kill it, but that is more difficult and complex than first thought.

Overall then, Brotherhood of the Wolf, like its blend of genres, is a bit of a mixed bag. Exciting on one hand, yet a little overlong, visually stunning but dated-looking in spots too. On the whole though, the film is a handsome, rousing adventure that may be shallow but still manages to be a thoroughly entertaining watch.Brotherhood Of The Wolf (2001) is a French period action horror film directed by Christophe Gans. The film stars Samuel Le Bihan, Vincent Cassel, Émilie Dequenne, Monica Bellucci, Jérémie Renier and Mark Dacascos. Despite how absurd it gets, Brotherhood of the Wolf is a stunning movie that holds up remarkably well over two decades since its original release. The 4K restoration of the Director’s Cut looks amazing, with the greens of the forest and the glowing orange of the peasants’ torches popping out from the screen like never before, and the clarity of the picture shows off detail in the costumes and sets that adds an extra level of authenticity. For comparison, the unrestored Theatrical Cut is included on the accompanying Blu-ray disc, and to be honest, the film doesn’t look too shabby in that version either, albeit a little too bright, but the UHD colour grading and more dynamic contrasts make the Director’s Cut the better version to watch. You can probably tell from my comment above about Shout’s previous Blu-ray release that I was no fan of the transfer used there. An aged master has been used on all releases up until now, and I’m very eager to report that this is absolutely the best the film has ever looked. The film itself was originally shot on 35mm and scanned at 2K to finish the digital effects, which required this 4K restoration to be a complete overhaul, involving the original film reels being scanned at 4K and in 16-bit color. The result is nothing short of spectacular, with the lush and highly detailed production design now being seen in all of its glory like it’s the first time. Those highly stylized sequences that ape bullet-time effects used in The Matrix look better than ever, with gorgeous textures, a nice and delicate layer of film grain, plus those old CGI effects are much better blended into the overall picture than in previous presentations.

And Dennis has offered his thoughts on Nicolas Roeg’s The Witches (1990) as released on Blu-ray by our friends at The Warner Archive Collection in 2019. La Legend’ is a fascinating piece too, which has an expert explore the history and facts of the actual Beast of Gévaudan. It helps you appreciate that whilst Gans and co-writer Stéphane Cabel took a number of liberties with the story, they did tell an otherwise fairly respectful account of the legend. This unusual and exciting period murder mystery/horror/action film has had a new 4K remaster and is now released onto Blu-ray and 4K UHD by Studio Canal.The Legend (17:23 in SD) – An expert discusses the historical facts of the French legend behind the beast of Gévaudan and compares it to the movie’s more dramatic approach. Accompanied by his loyal companion, Mani (Mark Dacascos), a Native American Iroquois, Fronsac arrives in Gevaudan, where he is immediately met with suspicion and resistance from the superstitious villagers. However, he soon befriends Jean-François (Jérémie Renier), the local Marquis d’Apcher, and also falls head over heals for the beautiful noblewoman Marianne (Émilie Dequenne). Fronsac attempts to woo her, much to the dismay of her father and brother Jean-François (Vincent Cassel), the latter of whom is a famed hunter who seems bitter and twisted due to losing his arm. Compared to Scream Factor’s previous Blu-ray and the other discs that navigated the globe over the years, Studiocanal’s new 4K restoration didn’t have much to compete against. Anything would be better than what we had, and what we get with this 2160p Dolby Vision/HDR10 transfer is pretty damn glorious. Fine lines are clean, and facial features, costumes, textures, and scenery all render beautifully with an appreciable amount of fine cinematic film grain. Gone is the frustrating over-use of edge enhancement and I didn’t spot any irritating smoothing or aggressive grain reduction. The ultimate multi-genre blend, Christophe Gans 2001 period murder mystery action horror thriller - with Mark Dacascos and martial arts - is one of the great underrated gems from the last quarter-Century.