FILMEDGE.NET REVIEWS THE WOLFMAN UNRATED DIRECTOR'S CUT

Joe Johnston's way to bringing THE WOLFMAN into theaters was thorny, through faults not entirely his own, but as the rain enters the soil and films come to home entertainment, perhaps his updating of Universal's monster movie classic may meet a better predestined end in this Unrated Director's Cut on now available on Blu-ray.  This expanded (more likely restored) version of the horror tale adds 16 minutes to the theatrical release, and this extra time makes a considerable improvement over the story-stifling flaws seen in February.

From the very start of his Director's Cut, Johnston's more human, tragic vision of the story is plainly evident and the difference from the theatrical version is like night and day.  Expanded and added opening scenes set the tone of family dysfunction and foreshadowing of tragedy much better than the action-driven theatrical cut. An early confrontation between Gwen Conliffe (Emily Blunt) and Lawrence Talbot (Benicio del Toro) establishes their connection and conflict right up front, adding complexity to their eventual relationship later in the story.  Similarly, an expansion of early moments between Lawrence and his father, Sir John Talbot (Anthony Hopkins), dilutes some of the emotional distance which previously left viewers cold and sacrificed dramatic moments for action exploits.

Yes, the Director's Cut does add a bit more gore to the R-rated monster rally, but happily most of the added minutes deepen character and round out the mythology of this retelling.  In an expanded scene, Lawrence overhears the locals who cast disparaging remarks about his murdered mother: in theaters, the scene showed Lawrence as a pitiful outcast from a shunned family, looked down upon by the local gentry — but now Talbot challenges the local tongue-waggers and defends the honor of his mother quite forcefully. This short but highly significant change adds much needed backbone to Lawrence that was sadly short changed by the theatrical cut's emphasis on action pacing over drama. Of course, this moment in the tavern also informs Lawrence's naive, misplaced trust in his father who indeed set his family's curse in motion.  What in theaters played as as Lawrence falling an unwilling victim to the family curse now heightens into the son falling victim to the father's calculated deception, a far more tragic tale to tell. The bulk of the story proceeds as before, but these important additions of character building scenes inform the ensuing hair-raising horror all the more.

Further enhancing the Unrated Director's Cut is Universal's U-Control technology Take Control, a Blu-ray exclusive feature which, when activated, branches out of the film in real time to play a collection of bonus features. Featurettes hosted by makeup artist Rick Baker, visual effects producer Karen Murphy-Mundell and Director of Photography Shelly Johnson examine numerous scenes and topics in the context of the ongoing story including creature design, CG creature transformations, and the careful attention to detail in period cinematography. U-Control's bonus material-feature integration better exploits Blu-ray's potential and makes viewing such customized extras part of the viewing experience, giving them more context and meaning within in the story instead of existing separately as disjointed EPK documentaries. Note: the U-Control experience is only available for the theatrical cut of THE WOLFMAN, and scene action does proceed while pop-out bonus features about them play, so be sure to watch the uninterrupted film first, then investigate behind the scenes on your next viewing. 

Universal makes further use of BD technology by exploring the Legacy, Legend and Lore of THE WOLFMAN and the larger mythology of lycanthropy in world culture and cinema history. Another optional setting available during playback of the theatrical cut, cues alert viewers to pop-up facts in text blurbs and film clips from Universal's library of Wolfman films. These factoids and film trivia do not interrupt the movie playback, which make for a more passive bonus feature experience catering to a range of werewolf fan interests from the basic to the obscure. It's a simple, handy primer for new inductees to Universal's horror legacy, paying respects to the series dating back to the 1941 original tale starring Lon Chaney Jr. and one hopes encouraging today's generation to explore these classics. To that end, this Blu-ray edition offers viewers three ways to revisit the original WOLF MAN film: via your player's BD-Live connection, via your mobile device and the pocket BLU app, and via UniversalHiDef.com, all three streaming the 1941 creature feature for your comparison and enjoyment.

Additional exclusive BD-Live content offers: more exclusive content from THE WOLFMAN; Mobile-To-Go content for your handheld device to take select parts of THE WOLFMAN experience with you on the road; access to a library of Pocket BLU app-enabled titles coming to Blu-ray Hi-Def; social BLU connects you and your friends to share info and comments on your favorite films via select social network platforms.

Several bonus features exist separately from U-Control integration, including:

•Two Alternate Endings which reveal how Johnston explored how differently the werewolf curse might have altered the Talbot family tragedy. FilmEdge found either option much less satisfying than the chosen finale but Universal gives you the chance to decide for yourself.

•Return of the Wolfman assembles insights and comments from the cast and creative team on their collective adventure exploring the centuries of werewolf mythology to tell a new version of this timeless classic.

•Makeup master Rick Baker is The Beast Maker, paying artistic homage to Jack Pierce's original WOLF MAN creature design while updating its ferocity and technical genius to transform Benicio del Toro into a new breed of monster.

•The visual effects team reveals how they used Transformation Secrets to create the nightmarish visions, horrific beast attacks and recreate Victorian London like you've never seen before.

•Stunt performers and action choreographers create dynamic, suspenseful sequences and hair-raising fights, allowing 21st Century audiences to finally witness The Wolfman Unleashed on the big screen.

A second disc provides added value with a Digital Copy of THE WOLFMAN for coded transfer to your PC, Mac or compatible mobile media device, so the howling creature of the night can stalk you wherever you roam.

Unlike many Blu-ray releases which simply give a feature film a basic transfer to the high-definition disc format, Universal Home Entertainment has truly enhanced and improved THE WOLFMAN experience, restoring over fifteen minutes of scenes which deepen the characters and drama — and one can easily argue that these scenes shouldn't have been cut from the theatrical release in the first place.  Unfortunately the empowered Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track and bounty of bonus features are undercut by a rather mediocre 1080p HD film transfer which is marred by a prominent blue tint in all the dark shadows, and there are so many in this film.  Viewers can negate some of this effect by turning up the contrast on their HDTVs, but they shouldn't have to do this at all — it's a major disappointment in an otherwise crisp image of this shadowy, atmospheric film. Given the overall high quality of this Blu-ray edition, the release loses a full point for this bungled transfer flaw.  In this one respect, Johnston's THE WOFLMAN still cannot escape its troubled curse which dogged it from production upheavals through its delayed theatrical release . . . and now an inexcusable technical fault which hinders an otherwise excellent Blu-ray treatment.  The direct descendant of Universal's proud legacy of horror classics deserves a better homecoming, and it almost got it.