Customer Reviews

Wolfhound

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

IGNORE THE NEGATIVE REVIEWS! THEY ARE MOSTLY FOR THE WRONG MOVIE WITH THE SAME TITLE (some werewolf movie) - I am telling you this 'WOLFHOUND' movie is simply INCREDIBLE!!! There are so many people who would LOVE this movie IF they just watched it! I'm a big fantasy movie fan (Lord of The Rings are my favorite movies of all time) and I have to say that the same powerful feeling of being swept away both imaginatively and emotionally while watching LOTR can be found in this epic fantasy masterpiece as well! It's that powerful! This was such an astounding movie experience that I just HAD to get on here and set the record straight! Fantasy movie fans (AND FANS OF 'GREAT MOVIES' IN GENERAL) cannot afford to miss this movie! Negative comments about the special effects are COMPLETELY UNFOUNDED! Most of the special effects are JUST AS GOOD AS LORD OF THE RINGS! That may sound like a stretch but this movie had a huge budget and employed the greatest craftsmen in Russia and beyond. The CGI work is absolutely FLAWLESS and the epic battle at the end is full of jaw-dropping effects that perfectly compliment THE BEST FANTASY MOVIE ENDING EVER! There are a few melodramatic 'Beastmaster' moments (not that that's necessarily a bad thing) in the first 30 minutes but don't let that fool you. This movie matures VERY QUICKLY and becomes an engrossing fantasy adventure filled with very likeable characters, sweeping vistas that will make you want to visit Russia ASAP, and imaginative scenes of sorcery that will totally amaze you! The haunted swamp scene will go down in history as one of the all time greatest fantasy battles ever! (DON'T WATCH WITH THE GOOFY ENGLISH AUDIO TRACK- THAT MAY BE INFLUENCING NEGATIVE REVIEWS - WATCH WITH SUBTITLES FOR A MORE SERIOUS & POWERFUL EFFECT THE WAY THE MOVIE WAS INTENDED TO BE VIEWED) And yes, I'm man enough to admit I actually shed some tears at the end! That hasn't happened since the LOTR movies. This movie deserves SERIOUS ATTENTION! (I envy those who were able to experience it in the theater!) It's an unjustly overlooked modern CLASSIC!

While the cover may promise CONAN and LORD OF THE RINGS, fantasy fans will find a lot of unique elements in Wolfhound beyond those two seminal series. What keeps bringing me back to this film is the imaginative look at early Russian Mythology, particularly the benign gods and how Volkodav (Wolfhound) uses the elements of Good and the Light to defeat the darkness.

Playing Wolfhound is Russian actor Aleksandr Bukharov who invests his brooding protagonist with some very primal realism. The fact his sidekick is a pet bat doesn't hurt.

While the story is something we've seen before, the unique way its told makes it fresh and new.

It takes a lot for me engage in a double dip purchase, but Wolfhound is one of those I am glad to buy again.

If you're into High Fantasy and appreciate unique twists on good vs. evil, you'll enjoy Wolfhound.

You really don't know what to expect in this movie. 1st, the English dubbing is just great so you can sit back, relax, and enjoy.

This movie is well written & directed, and a pleasure to watch. There's plenty of small details that become important and the ending is great. The choreography is terrific. The specials effects were just right. This one is worth owning since you'll enjoy watching it again and it's done differently enough from other things you might've seen to capture your attention. You'll recognize pieces of other plots of other movies you might've seen like Conan, but the way it's put together, it just flows. Great entertainment and unique! Just when think the movie has ended, it gets better and doesn't disappoint.

I'll not spoil it with details, but if you like medieval type movies with just a touch of magic thrown in here and there to make things interesting, then buy this one. You'll be glad you did. This one rates at the top for us.

Based on the novel by Mariya Semyonova and directed by Nikolav Lebedev, "Wolfhound" is a Russian-produced swordplay fantasy that follows the usual formulas set by the 80's movies of sword and sorcery such as "Conan the Barbarian", "The Beastmaster", "Deathstalker" and "the Sword and the Sorcerer". The film may be the most production-extravagant outing by Russia, boasting of elaborate special effects, great set designs and costumes.

In the period of magic, druids and curses, a young boy was left to die in the darkness of the mines. He is the last survivor of a clan called the Grey Hounds; the young boy rose up in slave mines to become a mighty warrior called Wolfhound (Aleksandr Bukharov). Consumed by a lust for vengeance, he sets out on a quest with his companion, a bat who can't fly. He seeks out the ones responsible for his pain, a warrior called the man-eater and a warrior-druid called Zhodoba. Things become a bit complicated for Wolfhound as there are other things that may prove to be much more important. Apparently, the followers of Zhodoba is bent on unleashing an ancient evil called Morana, buried by the ancestors of Princess Elin (Oksana Akinshina) through the power of the God of Thunder. Wolfhound must protect the princess and defend the people of Galirad. The fulfillment of his destiny is at hand...

The film's plot is pretty textbook as with other films of sword and sorcery; a brooding warrior, a princess that needs protection, a mage (played by Andrei Rudensky), a slave boy (Artyom Semakin), a barmaid (played by Eugenia Sviridova), a kindly vision (Natalya Varley) and ancient evil to be awakened by an evil sorcerer. Destiny, love, and honor play a large part in the film's screenplay. There may be nothing wrong in following other successful formulas established (since blockbusters often come from such) but the problems with the film is that the film is a little too brooding and moody. The screenplay introduces all these characters and the narrative appears to be broken into other mini-stories, while the characters may play a part in the film's plot, it feels too episodic and it kind of feels as if the film could've been edited a little better. It spends a lot of time trying to establish Wolfhound's character that he is a good guy, (his background is even told in a song) through the introduction of some characters he rescues. It dilly-dallies too much in unneeded plot devices, that the viewer may become a bit confused.

The action in the film is decent on occasion, but I have to be honest, I have seen a lot better. The swordplay is your usual `hack and slash' with our hero cutting down the bad guys. There is a lot of action, but it is nothing too impressive to the action junkie. It does also get a little repetitive after awhile, Wolfhound swings and the bad guy goes down. The final fight between the hero and Zhodoba is also a little too underwhelming. I do believe that the camera work could have been done a lot better. There seemed to be too much going on the screen that the viewer may become a little lost. The camera work in the action scenes would have done well if it hanged back in a perspective view, so that we can see the action. The fights aren't really as bloody as I would've wished, just an occasional severed arm and bloody stabs. For a sword and sorcery flick to succeed, it has to be more intense, the fight scenes are just a little weak.

The film's strength does lie in the top notch cinematography and art direction. I have to say Marat Kim's photography is movie magic. The film does look nifty, the set designs and costumes are pretty good. The scenes do have the aura of fantasy about them, but not too fantastic that it lacks realism. The camera work consists of birds-eye views, sweeping pan and scans, and awesome scenery. I have no knowledge of Russian history so I can't really say if the costumes are traditional or not. They do look authentic, and even the costumed swords look very real and shiny. I liked this approach because it balances out its fantasy elements with a charm that one can relate to, and keeps the otherworldly fantasy from becoming too elaborate and over-the-top.

The performances are decent for the most part; I thought the main lead played a very good Wolfhound. He does have a brooding personality and fits his role. Oksana Akinshina is definitely charming as the princess Elin, she is beautiful and you could just believe that she is a strong willed princess. The supporting cast is ok, but the "cute" earthbound bat just steals the show. I guess one can blame the convoluted storytelling that the supporting characters aren't as well written as the two leads.

While "Wolfhound" failed miserably in the action scenes, the CGI effects were decent and comparable to the swordplay adventures we've seen through the years. The final act is just a grand display of visual effects; it may look pretty but hardly enough to save the film. I guess I still have this idea that sword and sorcery flicks should have great action scenes and it is just a sin for one to have such weak action. "Wolfhound" will never be a significant entry in the swordplay genre because it dropped the ball with the shoddy action. To its credit, the film is nicely shot and the plot is acceptable but a hero just can't be a convincing hero without him being heroic. He just looks like a big "meanie" with a huge sword...

Rent It! [2 ½ Stars]
Video/Audio: 2.35 ratio anamorphic widescreen. The picture is good with some muted colors to convey mood. The 5.1 Dolby Digital Russian Language track is powerful and very clear that you can hear the clanging of swords. There is an English dubbed track. No extra features, the dvd is bare bones.

this film isn't as bad as it seems, the acting is decent, the plot is alright. not a bad buy for the price. the special effects need a bit of tweaking but all around worth it.

Yeah, it is. Don't spend any cash on it, though. You will need to do some dumpster diving, but it will be well worth it. Or you can just wait until your wife systematically destroys your life, then watch it at your bros' house between bouts of uncontrolable weeping, and vomiting blood do to an untreated bleeding ulcer somewhere in your gullet. I figured it would be a steaming pile of gut waste, but if you actually trick yourself into thinking the movie is more than that before you watch it, powering through the first few hours isn't that bad. I mean, sure a lot of it doesn't even make any kind of sense, and the big bad is a Monkeyface ripoff from Willow, but its better than that (no Val Kilmer, no 'little people' either). Beast-ass landscape shots, underdeveloped tit, and arterial blood spraying on everything, and in the midst of it all a true hero whom has never known the 'warmth' of a 'woman'. Dude was a slave for like his whole life, and in those mines the only touch you feel is the hot lash of the taskmaster's whip. That was pretty heavy, what I just said then, but so is this flick. You have got to see it, do what must be done; lie, cheat, steal, covet some dude's wife, or force your own to purchase it with 'her' money, which is actually yours. I'm a veteran, man. Watch this movie, thats all. It isn't good, or great, or even alright I guess, it is EPIC.

Wolfhound was one of four low budget fantasy movies I rented one cold, rainy weekend this past Autumn. I rented four DVDs, knowing from past experience that among four unknowns I might get only one, or at the most two, good movies in the batch. The Russian film Wolfhound was that one good movie. The others looked like they were directed by kids just out of film school and told to make a fantasy movie because "that's what's hot right now." You can tell when a movie is made by someone who is a fan of that genre as opposed to someone just there for the paycheck. Even though Wolfhound borrowed some elements from Conan the Barbarian and The Lord of the Rings, you could tell that the writer and director were well versed in Russian fairy tales and folklore-and more importantly-that they enjoyed these stories. Yes, the acting is overly broad sometimes and the special effects are not going to compete with Hollywood CGI, but Wolfhound has respect for the genre, something missing in most low budget Hollywood fantasy films.

Have you noticed that the big budget fantasy movies made in the last few years all got their stories from outside the Hollywood system. Why can't Hollywood get fantasy movies right these days without outside help? It used to know how to write a good fantasy story. Think of all the great fantasy movies made in the 40's, 50's and 60's: The Thief of Baghdad, Ulysses, Jason and the Argonauts, the Sinbad movies. There were a few bright spots in the 80's (Excalibur, The Princess Bride), but things petered out in Hollywood until The Lord of the Rings made Hollywood realize that money could be made again in fantasy movies.

To take things back to Wolfhound, watch this movie and I think you'll find it compares favorably to the kind of fantasy movies Hollywood made way back when. See if you don't agree with me that the directors of all the best fantasy movies believed in their stories and had respect for their genre. Now compare these movies to most of the low budget fantasy movies that go direct to DVD today. What went wrong? Hollywood seems capable of making great home-grown scifi movies these days (accept for the dreck made for the SyFy channel), so why not fantasy?

On a related note: I would argue that the best fantasy movies Hollywood ever made were the biblical epics of the 40's and 50's (just because a story is true doesn't mean that it can't have elements that fit well in the rules of fantasy stories; in fact I would argue the opposite, that most Western fantasy stories take their rules and structures from the Bible. Tolkien called the Gospel "a fantasy story that happens to be true"). If Cecil B. DeMille and the crew who made The Ten Commandments were alive today Hollywood could once again make great fantasy movies without having to leave the studio lot.

Regards,
Bill McGrath
author of Asulon & Eretzel (books one and two of The Sword of Fire series)

Yes, it has an opening almost copied from Conan the Barbarian and Peter Jacksonesque sweeping shots (I don't mind them at all). Yes, there are some missteps in editing and the villain has the most unoriginal,boring helmet/mask ever (Come on creative guys-a skull with beastly fangs and horns?!) But!
The movie succeeds on many other levels that make it a great, epic fantasy adventure. The director has done a great job in composing the whole thing the right way-by building up tension, enriching the storyline with new characters that all contribute in one way or another to the grand finale, revealing the mystery surrounding the hero and the plot itself step by step and delivering a great message at the end. Camera work, costumes, makeup (excluding a few bad wigs and the mask of the villain)all look amazing.
It's a very good movie that a director can be proud of and a fine fantasy adventure!Wolfhound

First, the potential viewer must understand that there is nothing new here, just typical fantasy-type stuff: our hero is out to avenge the massacre of his peaceful villagers, a princess must be sacrificed to the forces of darkness, the portal to the other side must be opened so that the ultimate evil can rule the world, etcetera. Once you understand this, you can relax and enjoy the film.

I found the directorial pace a little on the different side, as the story unfolds very quickly from the get-go, establishing background, characters, and situations. When it gets into the 2nd act and slows to a more conventional pace, it felt almost like a breather. As the film approaches its climax, it picks up again, but this aspect made the movie seem longer than it was, I feel. The fight scenes were similiarly economical, and, though suitably spectacular, were nothing to write home about in this day and age of FX extravaganzas. In fact, since there were so many of them, it would have been nice to have some Hong Kong fight choreographer direct them, though I suppose this would have tainted the "russian-ness" of it all. Yegads! I've become a hollywood-ized philistine! Yet, one gets the impression that the director was aiming for the U.S. summer blockbuster atmosphere.

The scenery is breathtakingly beautiful, evoking Peter Jackson's "the Lord of the Rings". Indeed, the hazardous mountain crossing scene leading towards the finale is reminiscent of LOTR's Mordor landscapes, with forbidding rocky crags and angry gray skies, while the forest and plains scenes make excellent use of Russia's stunning vistas. This should make it palatable for those who enjoyed LOTR, unless they are jealous fanboys enraged at the lack of dwarves.

But it is the cast and the spell-binding way they breath life into their obligatory characters that make this film shine. The hero looks like the embodiment of the russian spirit, the women are beautiful in a wholesome way that is diametrically opposed to the cheap, transitory tinsel of the latet hollywood babe, and they play out their roles in a way that makes the viewer forget that what he is watching is conventional and predictable, making us care about the characters in the process. This makes watching the movie a delight, and raises it to a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. Surprisingly, though I watched the dubbed version, the voice acting was mostly good, the main noticeable goofiness being the hero's boyhood self in the beginning being dubbed by an obvious adult speaking in a higher tone (why do they always do that? I'm reminded of an old kung fu movie where THEY DUBBED A BARKING DOG! I guess we wouldn't understand a chinese dog bark.)

Fantasy fans owe it to themselves to catch this one as long as they aren't expecting anything revolutionary. Lovers of good cinema will enjoy it also, if they are just looking for good characters, acting and cinematography. In fact, I think it's worth watching a second time.

The main reason I ordered this for the store was the amount of heated debates centering on what movies it copied and actual filming location comparisons (Russian landscape). For an estimated 20 million dollar budget, they gave it a heck of a try.

Per Weinstein protocol, they managed to do the usual bare bones DVD and no distribution. But for what this is, it manages to convey an interesting story with some epic CGI and a great deal of beautiful Russian countryside. The cover art states "Conan meets LOTR", and that is relatively fair. There is plenty of corn and cheese to go around like Conan (tons of extra blood and bad fighting), and way too much storytelling (almost 2.5 hours worth) for a non fan (that water village with the Hawaiian-looking queen was schmaltz central).

The film quality is promising and competent throughout, but the sound is a killer at times. I tried watching the English dub and that was an absolute mess. They remove the credit sequence and dub the bad guys with weak voice work instead of the overdone Russian monster mash. Watching the Russian version almost felt like they either mixed it wrong in the editing room, or they never recorded sound during the exteriors (dubbed in later). The CGI looks great during some sequences and average in others, but the winner goes to that bat. You read about this main guy's sidekick everywhere, and I have to admit he felt like he flew right out of being the owl in Clash of the Titans, but he entertains in his own little way.

Probably worth the watch for those fans wanting a fantasy epic that never completely delivers, but definitely has a high production look to it. I have read the story changed quite a bit from the books, but it might be watchable. No special features (there should be tons), Russian and English 5.1, rated R for violence, brief nudity and cheese. Enjoy.