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No spoilers here, since the movie is so rich and unique. Suffice it to say its like D&D in France. I went in a bit weary of some of the kung fu antics I had heard all about but it was very well done. I saw it in a new theater with excellent sound and I recommend you do the same as the audio is incredibly sharp and contributes to the atmosphere and suspense. Cheers.
I agree, this is far and away one of the best done movies I've seen in the last year (12 months). My wife and I both came out of the theater thinking "Wow, what a cool story."
What did people dislike about it? You're the second person that has said people didn't really like it, but other than the subtitles, I don't really see what there is to dislike.
Well, I guess I'll field this one. As an action/adventure movie it's fine. As anything else however, (and frankly from the french you expect more) it falls fairly flat. The main problem I had with the film is that the direction and editing lacked focus...the story kind of flailed around for quite a while... To pick on just one thing I think they over-used the slow-motion effect on non-fighting scenes. After awhile, it just appeared to be random, sort of a "lookie what we can do....slow-mo raindrops!" kinda thing.
I think mostly the effects and the way they were filmed (and edited) did nothing for the movie as a whole. Used correctly they could have heightened tension to an insane degree or made us feel more emotions for the characters, as it was it felt like all they added to the movie was a tremendous amount of eye candy.
Speaking just as a movie-goer (and not the insanely picky movie critic I normally am) it's a pretty entertaining movie, and something I could see renting to see if I missed anything...but it's not something I would ever buy a copy of. Your Mileage May Vary
Originally posted by number6 Well, I guess I'll field this one. As an action/adventure movie it's fine. As anything else however, (and frankly from the french you expect more) it falls fairly flat.
Hey, we Europeans can do braindead Hollywoodesque movies too!
__________________ By the edge of those wilds warriors had charged
But now the year and the generals were gone
And the grass grew in the armors hollow on the hills.
-- The Graymere Annals, 3704 CE
It was a very entertaining film and I highly recommend it for all fantasy fans.
That said, the fight scenes were as poorly done as I have come to expect from Western directors. Only "McG" (Charlie's Angels) really seems to GET Hong Kong action filming -- there were great fights in [i]The Phantom Menace[i], and that opening fight in Blade was AWESOME, but by and large Western directors obviously can't match the visual stylistics of John Woo, Tsui Hark and Jackie Chan.
Brotherhood of the Wolf suffers the same way. Otherwise, it rocks and having seen it last fall, I'm definitely going again now that it's in general release. I hope they make a fortune on it.
I saw this movie over the weekend, and I have to disagree with the comment that the slo-mo was used too much in the non-fight sequences. I thought its repeated use was a nice touch, and gave the whole movie a unified style. If it was only used for the fights, that would have been more of a distraction, IMO.
As it was, all of the camera tricks gave the movie a surreal feeling that helped heighten the suspense. It kept you off balance, unsure of what was going to happen next. At one part, when the camera shot was the Beast's point of view, and it sped up unexpectedly as it moved through the underbrush, this one girl sitting near me screamed. It made everyone jump.
__________________ I’ll sing you a song of other times and places, And sights you may never see. I’ll sing you a song of other times and places, And things you may never, That you may never hear of again. Songs of Other Times and Places Story Hour
as i already said on these board, i dislike this movie.
Acting is just so so. Even if the actors are usually fantastic. (Vincent Cassel is so great in others movie...:-( )
Story is not that good. It s based on a French Myth, unfortunately in the conversion it lost all the magic.
Fighting scene are boring. I like kung fu style when it s justified. Not in the way it is used in BOTW.
The indian guy is so ridiculous and "hors contexte".
In fact i would compare it to one of the last Sylvester Stallone or a Schwarzi Movie. A huge budget for a very so so result. Unfortunately this film (BOTW) involve the most talented person of France and i know by interview that all i dislike in this movie come from the director Christophe Gans.
If you enjoy it guys it s great. And i m happy to see a french film reach your market. But it s definitively a poor film and i feel sad to see that all we are able to share are our piece of crap.
I thought it was an excellent movie on all counts. I'm sorry that you didn't enjoy it, Pangias. I thought that the plot was very interesting and that the fights were well done as well. In fact, it's my second favorite movie of 2001, right behind Fellowship.
__________________ Wolfspider
Founder of BADD - Bothered About Disposable Dragons
"Provide evidence of this claim, or retract it because it's a dishonest statement." -- Mourn, laying down the law
"The sins of the previous edition don't excuse the sins of the next." -- Kamikaze Midget, giving words to my thoughts
Maybe i was expecting too much. Vincent Cassel, Jean Yanne are so great actors, the legend of Gevaudan's beast is so exciting. Sometime you are disappointed simply because you were expecting something else.
But i m glad that you like it. I will remember 2001 for Amelie Poulain (Amelie from Montmartre i think), FOTR ,Requiem for a dream and Battle Royale. (1 French, 1 New Zealand ,1 US movie and 1 Japanese movie....)
Originally posted by Wolfspider I thought it was an excellent movie on all counts. I'm sorry that you didn't enjoy it, Pangias. I thought that the plot was very interesting and that the fights were well done as well. In fact, it's my second favorite movie of 2001, right behind Fellowship.
__________________ Always do right - this will gratify some and astonish the rest.
Mark Twain
I think you can count me in the "didn't like it" camp. There was definitely some good stuff about the movie, but overall I was left unhappy with it.
I'm no action movie aficionado, but maybe Crouching Tiger has raised my expectations for fight scenes -- and I found the fight scenes in this movie to be mostly uninspired.
And kung fu in rennaissance France? eh?
Afterwards, I thought of a quote by a famous surrealist, dissing someone else's work. Surrealism, he said, isn't a telephone in a jar of marmalade. Surrealism is explaining how the phone got there.
The kung fu in France was just a telephone in a jar of marmalade.
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The Indian character was such a bundle of cliches that I winced every time he came on screen. He was really awful.
Near the end, when Evil Brother Dude threw off his cloak, was I the only person expecting him to start singing, "I'm just a sweet Transvestite...."? I laughed loudly at that point, which is something I try to avoid doing at movies, no matter how ridiculous they are -- probably loud enough to annoy the people around me.
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END SPOILERS
That said, the movie had some cool stuff about it. The acting was pretty good (except for the sidekick); the female leads were cool; the overall idea of the story was very interesting.
If they'd cut out the sidekick entirely and cut out 90% of the fight scenes in the movie, focusing instead on the mystery part, I would have enjoyed the movie much more.
Daniel
__________________ Everything's better with monkeys!
-Hypersmurf
Originally posted by G.A. Donis I really think a D&D version of that sword is in need. I'm not very good at that kind of stuff, but would love to see it converted.
It's in Bastion Press' Arms and Armor. I think it's called a serpent sword.
Originally posted by Schmoe What did people dislike about it? You're the second person that has said people didn't really like it, but other than the subtitles, I don't really see what there is to dislike.
I think the monster, unfortunately, looked terribly cheesy. I'd rather never have gotten a good look at the thing.
The "kung fu in France" didn't bother me any more than the Force does in Star Wars - it's simply part of the base assumptions of the movie. Europe and North America certainly had traditions of unarmed combat more sophisticated than brawling (savate and the like) - it's not like Asia has a monopoly on them.
Originally posted by drnuncheon
Europe and North America certainly had traditions of unarmed combat more sophisticated than brawling (savate and the like) - it's not like Asia has a monopoly on them.
J
Maybe it's just my ignorance, but that sure looked like Asian-cinema-style kung-fu to me. If it was based on a real form of European unarmed combat, I woulda benefited from a brief exchange between characters explaining it ("Nice kicks, Pierre!" "Thanks, I was the savate champion at universite!")
For some reason, the kung fu in this movie bothered me less than the Madonna songs in Moulin Rouge. Maybe because Brotherhood of the Wolf seemed to take itself so seriously, whereas Moulin Rouge knew that it was one big gaudy overfrosted delicious cupcake of a movie.
Daniel
__________________ Everything's better with monkeys!
-Hypersmurf
Thanks drnuncheon. And I could be wrong, but I've heard that the French had developed a "kickboxing" martial art by this time period. Many cultures have developed forms of self-defense/fighting that involve various hand and foot techniques. How a Native American could/would have learned any of these forms to the degree Manni evidently had is open to debate
Anyway, I really enjoyed the movie on all levels and thought that the fights were very well done. The punches and kicks all seemed to have some weight behind them and could be "felt". But as the saying goes "your mileage may vary"
__________________ Always do right - this will gratify some and astonish the rest.
Mark Twain
Hey, I made that sword over a year ago, long before it got published by Bastion. Of course, I took the idea from Soul Calibur's character, Ivy. That weapon's great fun in the hands of a Fighter/Duelist/Lasher. It's a sword, no, it's a whip, no it's grappling hook. Great fun.
Originally posted by G.A. Donis I really think a D&D version of that sword is in need. I'm not very good at that kind of stuff, but would love to see it converted.
Ha, that was such a great scene. My friends laughed when he threw off his jacket but I think I just oogled out "coooool" in a pleased child-like fashion. My favorite scene hands down was when the girl had her flashback. It was terrifying, again largely in part due to the sound and that great blue/liquid/acidy filming effect.
I think that the characters NOT explaining away the martial arts made it even more believable. They didn't bother giving an explanation that the audience wouldn't buy anyway, instead just kicking and hitting away like pros.
I wouldn't worry so much about realism anyway. It was certainly a fantasy movie through and through, not a bit believable really. But thoroughly enjoyable. I also didn't think that it took itself too seriously at all....the villians were thoroughly evil cultists, the heroes were larger than life, the backdrops grand and menacing. What's to hate?
__________________ Wolfspider
Founder of BADD - Bothered About Disposable Dragons
"Provide evidence of this claim, or retract it because it's a dishonest statement." -- Mourn, laying down the law
"The sins of the previous edition don't excuse the sins of the next." -- Kamikaze Midget, giving words to my thoughts
Last edited by Wolfspider; 11th February 2002 at 04:16 PM..
I went in a bit weary of some of the kung fu antics I had heard all about but it was very well done. I saw it in a new theater with excellent sound and I recommend you do the same as the audio is incredibly sharp and contributes to the atmosphere and suspense. Cheers.
Of course, I took the idea from Soul Calibur's character, Ivy. That weapon's great fun in the hands of a Fighter/Duelist/Lasher. It's a sword, no, it's a whip, no it's grappling hook. 
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