Film Review: THE COMPANY OF WOLVES (1984)

Director: Neil Jordan
Writers: Angela Carter (story “The Company of Wolves”/screenplay), Neil Jordan (screenplay)
Running time: 95 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 18

Genre: Horror/Fantasy
UK Release date: 21^st September 1984

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 14^th September 2013.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE UNINTENTIONAL SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I first saw this film many years ago and when I noticed it in the listings recently I decided to give it another look. I have to admit I was quite impressed; for its day it stands up pretty well even by today’s standards. Now I’m not particularly big on horror movies; I find the majority of them far too predictable and made for a much younger audience; but I did enjoy this one. I’ll tell you why after this very brief summary.

The story is told through the eyes of the young Rosaleen (Sarah Patterson) who lives in a small village in a forest with her mother (Tusse Silberg) and father (David Warner). Rosaleen is told stories about wolves and men by her granny (Angela Lansbury) but little does she know just how near the truth they might be. There, I said it would be short.

I remember when I first saw this film (many years ago); I found it quite slow and plodding. This time I appreciated much more the measured approach taken by the director. It gives the audience time to take in the story and become familiar with the strange world he has created. Yes, there are a few clichés in there, the medieval village with a 17^th century manor house and the fact the snakes (big ones) live in an English forest did seem kind of wrong to me. Also in the ‘dislike’ column came the musical score; sorry but synth's just don’t cut it any more. May have sounded cool at the time but now it’s just too damn cheesy. Okay, so what’s to like; well, first there’s the performance of Sarah Patterson, who I though did a truly excellent job given the talent she was working with. I also liked the special effects; all mechanical with not a hint of CGI (after all, it didn’t really exist back then). I really liked the way the story was structured but it could have done without the ‘modern day’ bits tagged on to either end. Over all I found it an entertaining watch and something every horror fan should have seen at least once.

SteelMonster’s verdict: RECOMMENDED

My score: 7.3/10.

IMDb Score: 6.6/10 (based on 8,905 votes when this review was written).
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087075/

MetaScore: No data: (Based on 0 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 7.7/100: (based on 13 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 54/100: (based on 8,147 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/company_of_wolves/

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LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Trailer: (Sorry about the quality)

Film Review: TRON (1982)

Writer/Director: Steven Lisberger
Running time: 92 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): PG

UK Release date: 21st October 1982

Watched on DVD Thursday 25th November 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

In anticipation of the forthcoming Tron Legacy, I thought I’d go a bit retro and take a look at the 1982 original. I remember being blown away by the whole concept when it first came out, but now I’m a tad older and several tads wiser, it’s maybe lost a bit of its awe. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a pretty enjoyable film… But more of that later, here’s a short summary before I tell you what I really think (summary haters please wait on the game-grid until the end of the next paragraph).

Kevin Flynn is a programmer who has been swindled by his old boss, Ed Dillinger. In order to find evidence of Dillinger’s con Kevin must break into the system holding the data. He is assisted by his friends, Alan Bradley and Lora. Little do they know a rogue Master Control Program (MCP), written by Dillinger, has taken over the system. Flynn is digitised and sucked into the system, where programs take on the form of their programmers. He is forced to take part in gladiatorial games, at the behest of the MCP, but he escapes with two other programs, Tron and Ram. Now Tron was written by Alan Bradley and is designed to take down the MCP. The trio must make their way to the MCP before it becomes too powerful. They are pursued by the MCP’s most powerful warrior, Sark. Will they make it in time? Well, I guess I’d better leave it there, don’t want to give too much away.

Although it does look fairly dated by today’s standards, I think the effects stand up pretty well. You can tell they spent a lot of time and money getting it to look as good as it does. Unfortunately some of the dialogue is a bit wooden, particularly in the first half hour, and the musical score doesn’t exactly set your toes tapping, but I can forgive that. Performance wise, Jeff Bridges did a decent job as Kevin Flynn / Clu, as did Bruce Boxleitner as Alan Bradley / Tron. Honourable mentions also go to; David Warner as Ed Dillinger / Sark / Master Control Program and Cindy Morgan as Lora / Yori.

I found it a little dull for the first thirty minutes or so, but after Flynn is sucked into the computer it soon grabbed my attention. It brought back so many memories, I used to love playing the light cycles game at the arcade. But enough nostalgia, although is seems a little dated, it’s still perfectly watchable today. I really enjoyed it and I hope the younger generation will also get the chance to see this one… Recommended.

My score: 6.8/10

LINKS:
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0084827/
Official Site: http://disneydvd.disney.go.com/tron.html#4063
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/screenplay/vi3405709593/