Brotherhood of the Wolf

Brotherhood of the Wolf
US theatrical release poster
Directed byChristophe Gans
Written by
  • Christophe Gans
  • Stéphane Cabel
Produced by
Starring
Narrated byJacques Perrin
CinematographyDan Laustsen
Edited by
  • David Wu
  • Sébastien Prangère
  • Xavier Loutreuil
Music byJoseph LoDuca
Production
companies
Distributed byMetropolitan Filmexport
Release date
  • 31 January 2001 (2001-01-31)
Running time
142 minutes[1]
CountryFrance
Languages
  • French
  • Occitan
  • German
  • Italian
Budget
  • Fr200 million (€32 million)[2]
  • US$29 million[3]
Box office$70.8 million[4]

Brotherhood of the Wolf (French: Le Pacte des loups) is a 2001 French period action horror film[5][6] directed by Christophe Gans, co-written by Gans and Stéphane Cabel, and starring Samuel Le Bihan, Mark Dacascos, Émilie Dequenne, Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel. The story takes place in 18th-century France, where the Chevalier de Fronsac and Mani of the Iroquois tribe are sent to investigate the mysterious slaughter of hundreds by an unknown creature in the county of Gévaudan.

The plot is loosely based on a real-life series of killings that took place in France in the 18th century and the famous legend of the beast of Gévaudan; parts of the film were shot at Château de Roquetaillade. The film has several extended swashbuckling fight scenes, with martial arts performances by the cast mixed in, making it unusual for a historical drama. The special effects for the creature are a combination of computer generated imagery, as well as puppetry and animatronics designed by Jim Henson's Creature Shop.

The film received generally positive critical reviews, highlighting its high production values, cinematography, performances and Gans's atmospheric direction. At a $29 million budget, it was a commercial success, grossing over $70 million in worldwide theatrical release.[4] The film also became the sixth-highest-grossing French-language film of all time in the United States,[7][8] and it also became one of the biggest international successes for French-language films.[9]

The film's 4K restored "Director's Cut" version premiered in the Official Selection of 2022 Cannes Film Festival.[10]

  1. ^ "Brotherhood of the Wolf (Le Pacte Des Loups) (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 3 September 2001. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  2. ^ Caravani, Marc (6 August 2021). "Aussi fou que cela puisse paraître, Le Pacte des Loups est un film culte aux Etats-Unis" [As crazy as it may seem, Brotherhood of the Wolf is a cult film in the United States]. GQ France (in French).
  3. ^ Fuchs, Cynthia (3 October 2002). "Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001)". PopMatters.
  4. ^ a b "Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  5. ^ Deming, Mark. "Brotherhood of the Wolf". AllMovie. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  6. ^ "Le Pacte des loups". Studiocanal.fr. Archived from the original on 2 February 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  7. ^ "Genre Keyword, Foreign Language". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  8. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (21 February 2000). "All-Time Foreign-Language Films in North America". Variety. p. 16.
  9. ^ Masters, Charles (20 January 2004). "French Dip". The Hollywood Reporter. 382 (11).
  10. ^ "[#Cannes2022] : LE PACTE DES LOUPS dans sa version longue restaurée en 4K ! – Baz'art : Des films, des livres". baz-art.org. 13 May 2022.