The Pact of the Wolves: a beautiful moment of cinema
The Pact of the Wolves has been restored in 4k and with a director's cut for a real moment of fun and entertainment in the room.
Synopsis:
In 1766, a mysterious beast raged in the mountains of Gévaudan and caused many victims, without anyone being able to identify or kill it. People are afraid. It is a monster from hell or a punishment from God. The affair quickly took on a national dimension and undermined the King's authority. The knight Grégoire De Fronsac, naturalist moreover, is then sent to the region of Gévaudan to draw the portrait of the beast. Handsome, frivolous and rational, he is accompanied by the strange and taciturn Mani, an Indian of the Mohawk tribe. The latter settled with the Marquis Thomas d'Apcher. During an evening given in his honor, Fronsac met Marianne De Morangias and her brother Jean-François, heirs of the most influential family in the country. Fronsac soon encountered the animosity of influential figures in the region. 
Analysis:
The film The Pact of the Wolves was released in France on January 31, 2001. It was a huge success in theaters with more than 5 million admissions. It was well received by the young audience, fans of genre cinema, Asian cinema, manga and anime. At that time there was no equivalent in French cinema. Christophe Gans had already directed Crying Freeman which was an unexpected success. Christophe Gans is a passionate director committed to a love for genre cinema, Asian cinema, japanimation. Christophe Gans' films are declarations of love and respect that he offers to a forgotten and neglected audience. In 2001 The Pact of the Wolves was a breath of fresh air for this audience as well as for myself. We had the opportunity to meet Christophe Gans on the occasion of the 4k version release of The Pact of the Wolves. 
Why did you choose to make a restored version and a director's cut?
"It was the 1stfilm shot digitally in France and we suffered the first plasters of this technology. The calibration of 3000 shots at the time was a monster job. We went straight from an SD copy to 4K. From the reel of the time."
The fear of this type of restoration is the risk of distorting the primary emotion of the discovery of films for a spectator?
"For me it is a philosophical point of view to respect the nature of the work in the intention of the restoration and the director's cut. There are films whose director's cut improves the film. The film has not been modified it is the initial team who edited this version. The film at its release was 2:10 and then it was reduced to 1:30
" This version is a very beautiful cinema, the spectator is immersed in the film. We see the beauty of the sets, the details of the costumes and most importantly: the Beast. The appearances of the Beast will make you jump on your seat. The Beast is imposing and scary when it appears on screen. Christophe Gans assures us that:
"You see intentions in the film that you didn't see before. for example, Monica Bellucci wears lenses of different colors that we did not see. She had either silver, blue, black eyes, etc. Because he was a spy-faced character. »
The question of African spirituality is addressed by the character of Vincent Cassel. Christophe Gans evoked one of the theories surrounding the initial nature of the Beast: "The character of Vincent Cassel returning from Africa was traumatized. Moreover, Vincent Cassel's Cabinet is a crazy setting for Serial Killer. The Beast is a baby lion abused to become this monster. Moreover , Christophe Gans evokes a theory about the Atlas lions at that time that would have been imported by travelers so this explains the choice of the Lion. The new version is a real moment of cinematic pleasure for all generations of spectators. Christophe Gans is a passionate director of genre and action cinema that can be found in the Pact of the Wolves.
Distribution:
Director: Christophe Gans Screenplay: Stéphane Cabel, adapted by Stéphane Cabel and Christophe Gans Music: Joseph LoDuca Artistic direction: François Decaux and Thierry François Set design: Guy-Claude François Costumes: Dominique Borg Photography: Dan Laustsen Sound: Jean-Paul Mugel, Cyril Holtz, Philippe Amouroux, Florent Lavallée Editing: Xavier Loutreuil, Sébastien Prangère and David Wu Production: Richard Grandpierre and Samuel Hadida Samuel Le Bihan : Chevalier Grégoire de Fronsac14 Vincent Cassel : Jean-François de Morangias Émilie Dequenne : Marianne de Morangias Monica Bellucci : Sylvia Jérémie Renier : the marquis Thomas d'Apcher Mark Dacascos : Mani Jean Yanne : the count of Morangias Jean-François Stévenin : Father Henri Sardis Jacques Perrin : the marquis Thomas d'Apcher, elderly (also narrator) Édith Scob : the countess Geneviève de Morangias Johan Leysen : Antoine de Beauterne Bernard Farcy : the intendant Pierre-Jean Laffont Hans Meyer : the marquis d'Apcher Christophe Gans ©Just Focus
