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(aka "Promenons-Nous dans le Bois" )
directed by Lionel Delplanque
France 2000
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An attractive quintet of young actors is hired to perform "Little Red Riding Hood" at the remote chateau of Axel de Fersen (François Berléand) for the benefit of his nephew Nicolas (Thibault Truffert) and become slasher fodder for a sinister figure wearing the troupe's "big bad wolf" costume who may be an escaped rapist prowling the countryside, the sinister cop who pops up out of nowhere (a la THE CAT AND THE CANARY), one of the troupe, or a member of the household (which also includes Leos Carax favorite Denis Lavant plays Axel's sinister taxidermist groundskeeper). There's really little to the plot of DEEP IN THE WOODS yet it is the execution that is exquisite. Predating France's newer torture-porn-shakycam horror trend by several years, Delpanque's film is still quite modern compared to France's previous genre entries of the previous decades (most of the stylists of French cinema fantastique have gravitated out of necessity to pornography in the seventies and eighties). The cinematography and sound design is consistently striking (notably the druggy dance scene midway through the film which was shot at 32 frames per second for a subtly off-kilter slow motion). The integration of the story of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf allows some interesting parallels to the slasher story especially since lesbian final girl Sophie (Clotilde Courau, EN FACE) also plays the woodsman in the stage play. The late Marie Trintignant makes a special appearance in the opening scene which sets the mood by having her ended her bedtime reading of the story on the wolf having swallowed up granny and awaiting Little Red Riding Hood (rather than finishing up with the happy ending). |
Posters
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Theatrical Release: 14 June 2000 (Belgium)
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Comparison:
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Pathé - Region 2 - PAL vs. Artisan Entertainment (Artisan [widescreen on same disc]) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Artisan Entertainment (Artisan [fullscreen on same disc]) - Region 1 - NTSC |
Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for all the Screen Caps!
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1) Pathé - Region 2 - PAL - LEFT 2) Artisan Entertainment (Artisan - widescreen on same disc) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE 3) Artisan Entertainment (Artisan - fullscreen on same disc) - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT
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| Distribution |
Pathé Region 2 - PAL |
Artisan Entertainment Region 1 - NTSC |
Artisan Entertainment Region 1 - NTSC |
| Runtime | 1:23:27 (4% PAL speedup) | 1:27:00 | 1:27:00 |
| Video |
2.30:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
2.34:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
1.30:1 Aspect Ratio |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate:
Pathé |
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Bitrate:
Artisan Entertainment (Artisan [widescreen on same disc]) |
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Bitrate:
Artisan Entertainment (Artisan [fullscreen on same disc]) |
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| Audio | French DTS 5.1; French Dolby Digital 5.1 |
French Dolby Digital 5.1; English Dolby Digital 5.1 |
French Dolby Digital 5.1; English Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Subtitles | None | English (for French track), English (for English dub), none | English (for French track), English (for English dub), none |
| Features |
Release Information: Studio: Pathé Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 16 |
Release Information: Studio: Artisan Entertainment Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
DVD Release Date: 23 October
2001 Chapters 20 |
Release Information: Studio: Artisan Entertainment Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
DVD Release Date: 23 October
2001 Chapters 20 |
| Comments |
Obviously Artisan's DVD is the release of choice for English audiences due to the inclusion of both the French and English Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks as well as English subtitles tracks that correspond to each language (for instance, the character Wilfried is called Frederic on the English track and the English subtitles for the English track feature that change) as well as a commentary by Brian Yuzna (SOCIETY) who was not involved with the film but says that he is working from the director's notes (probably translated from Delplanque's commentary on the French disc). The addition of a 4:3 version on the dual-layer disc obviously compromises the bitrate a bit (the widescreen version occupies 3.23 GB of the 6.73 GB Artisan disc while on the French disc the feature occupies 5.19 GB of the 7.08 GB total). The fullscreen version reveals more vertical composition but crops some horizontal composition suggesting that it was shot in Super 35mm perhaps with a 1.85:1 hardmatte (like Dario Argento's OPERA) yet the image has not been entirely opened up as some of the fullscreen shots sometimes favor the bottom or top of the frame or have been further enlarged to maintain the vertical framing of the widescreen version. Both versions are progressive except for the English credits and the sequences on which they appear which exhibit heavy combing.
The French DVD, while lacking English translation, is an impressive package. The feature itself looks great with a high bitrate and, in addition to the 5.1 track, the disc also features a more immersing half-bitrate DTS 5.1 track (there's no comparison between the tracks when it comes to the music and a literal "Boo!" moment that is jump-worthy in DTS but isn't as distinct on the Dolby track). Since the image size of the French disc (minus the audio streams) is roughly 25% larger than the widescreen version on the Artisan disc yet the US image is sharper, it appears that some sharpening has been done (note the slightly blown-out highlights in the widescreen Artisan version and how the contrast in the fullscreen version is comparable to the widescreen French version). |
DVD
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1) Pathé - Region 2 - PAL - LEFT 2) Artisan Entertainment (Artisan - widescreen on same disc) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE 3) Artisan Entertainment (Artisan - fullscreen on same disc) - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT |
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Screen Captures
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1) Pathé - Region 2 - PAL - TOP 2) Artisan Entertainment (Artisan - widescreen on same disc) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE 3) Artisan Entertainment (Artisan - fullscreen on same disc) - Region 1 - NTSC - BOTTOM |
Subtitle sample for Artisan disc - note the different subtitles (French translation on 16:9; English
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1) Pathé - Region 2 - PAL - TOP 2) Artisan Entertainment (Artisan - widescreen on same disc) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE 3) Artisan Entertainment (Artisan - fullscreen on same disc) - Region 1 - NTSC - BOTTOM |
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1) Pathé - Region 2 - PAL - TOP 2) Artisan Entertainment (Artisan - widescreen on same disc) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE 3) Artisan Entertainment (Artisan - fullscreen on same disc) - Region 1 - NTSC - BOTTOM |
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1) Pathé - Region 2 - PAL - TOP 2) Artisan Entertainment (Artisan - widescreen on same disc) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE 3) Artisan Entertainment (Artisan - fullscreen on same disc) - Region 1 - NTSC - BOTTOM |
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1) Pathé - Region 2 - PAL - TOP 2) Artisan Entertainment (Artisan - widescreen on same disc) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE 3) Artisan Entertainment (Artisan - fullscreen on same disc) - Region 1 - NTSC - BOTTOM
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1) Pathé - Region 2 - PAL - TOP 2) Artisan Entertainment (Artisan - widescreen on same disc) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE 3) Artisan Entertainment (Artisan - fullscreen on same disc) - Region 1 - NTSC - BOTTOM
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1) Pathé - Region 2 - PAL - TOP 2) Artisan Entertainment (Artisan - widescreen on same disc) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE 3) Artisan Entertainment (Artisan - fullscreen on same disc) - Region 1 - NTSC - BOTTOM
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Report Card:
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Image: |
Pathé |
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Sound: |
Draw (Pathé for DTS/Artisan for dub and subs) |
| Extras: | Draw (Pathé if you understand French)/Artisan for English commentary |
| Menu: | Draw |
| DVD Box Covers |
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| Distribution |
Pathé Region 2 - PAL |
Artisan Entertainment Region 1 - NTSC |
Artisan Entertainment Region 1 - NTSC |
 Search DVDBeaver |
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Gary Tooze
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Thank You!