Wolfen Blu-ray - Albert Finney

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Michael Wadleigh
US 1981

Wolfen, a frightening horror movie based upon a novel by Whitley Strieber, concerns Detective Dewey Wilson (Albert Finney), who gets assigned to investigate the strange murder of a millionaire and his wife in a downtown park. Wilson and his friend, city coroner Whittington (Gregory Hines), aided by criminal psychologist Rebecca Neff (Diane Venora) connect the killing to those of several others, primarily winos, drug addicts and derelicts, all of whom seem to have been mutilated by wild animals. Their search leads them to a group of Native Americans led by Edward James Olmos who tell them of a legend of a superior species that once roamed the area, but now are living and hunting in the slums of New York. The film is engrossing, frightening and intelligent, with sensational special effects. Director Michael Wadleigh uses these effects to great advantage, frequently showing the movements of the characters through the eyes of the "Wolfen." This film is also the screen debut of Hines.

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Theatrical Release: July 24th, 1981

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Comparison:

Warner - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC vs. Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Box Covers		Also available in a Blu-ray 4-pack with *Wolfen, The Hunger, Innocent Blood* and *Body Snatchers*:
Distribution	Warner - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC	Warner Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:53:56	1:54:05.922
Video	2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 4.75 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	Disc Size: 34,587,123,319 bytes Feature Size: 33,956,536,320 bytes Total Bitrate: 35.00 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Bitrate: Blu-ray
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0), DUB: French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)	DTS-HD Master Audio English 2682 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2682 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles	English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Indonesian, None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Warner Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio - 1.85:1 Edition Details: • Cast and Crew text pages • Howl-y-wood (text pages) • Trailer (2:17) DVD Release Date: August 13th, 2002 Keep Case Chapters: 36	Release Information: Studio: Warner Disc Size: 34,587,123,319 bytes Feature Size: 33,956,536,320 bytes Total Bitrate: 35.00 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC Edition Details: • Trailer (2:26) Blu-ray Release Date: June 2nd, 2015 Standard Blu-ray case Chapters 9

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Warner Archive (MoD) - Region FREE - Blu-ray June 15': I was pretty keen to see how the higher resolution would handle Robert Blalack's creepy special visual effects - frequently seeing through the Wolfen's eyes. The image certainly look brighter, but more effective especially with James Horner's pulsing intense score in lossless. I don't have much to say, the transfer is dual-layered with a max'ed-out bitrate and colors become richer- flesh tones normalize (warmer). It may be a bit horizontally-stretched with fatter faces (or perhaps the DVD was vertically stretched a bit). This was an early DVD and has an appallingly low bitrate (The BD is over 7X higher.) This showed in some compression artifacts on the SD, that are nowhere to be seen on the Blu-ray. The DTS-HD 5.1 score sounds terrific - a wide step up from the simple Dolby on the SD. Its a huge part of the horror-factor of the presentation. Warner include optional English subtitles but only a trailer as an extra. The Blu-ray is region FREE.

Wolfen (1981), directed by Michael Wadleigh, adapts Whitley Strieber’s novel into a crime-horror hybrid that transcends traditional werewolf tropes. Set against the decaying urban landscape of early 1980s New York City, the film follows Detective Dewey Wilson (Albert Finney) as he investigates brutal murders linked to a pack of intelligent, wolf-like creatures tied to Native American mythology. Scholarly analysis often highlights its socio-political subtext, particularly its critique of urban neglect and cultural erasure, juxtaposing the primal instincts of the Wolfen with modern societal decay. The film’s innovative use of thermal vision cinematography and James Horner’s atmospheric score enhance its thematic depth, positioning Wolfen as a significant, yet understudied, contribution to the horror genre and ecological discourse.. I have to admit the Blu-ray a/v is a substantial upgrade over the old snapper-cased DVD. Maybe it's Finney, maybe Blalack's effects, perhaps the Indian-relationship to the Wolfen creature (this is kinda of a modern creature-feature) - but I have always had a soft spot for this film and glad I own it in 1080P now. Certainly recommended!

Gary W. Tooze

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Warner - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC

Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray