Wolf (1994)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Mike Nichols

Writers (WGA):

Jim Harrison (written by) and
Wesley Strick (written by)

Release Date:

17 June 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Inside every man there are two people-one good, one beast.

Plot:

Publisher Will Randall becomes a werewolf and has to fight to keep his job.

Plot Keywords:

Wolf | Werewolf | Publisher | Co Worker | Jump From Height

Awards:

2 wins & 6 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Mon. July 20

2:00 AM

AMC

Cast

Jack Nicholson	...	Will Randall
Michelle Pfeiffer	...	Laura Alden
James Spader	...	Stewart Swinton
Kate Nelligan	...	Charlotte Randall
Richard Jenkins	...	Detective Bridger
Christopher Plummer	...	Raymond Alden
Eileen Atkins	...	Mary
David Hyde Pierce	...	Roy
Om Puri	...	Dr. Vijay Alezais
Ron Rifkin	...	Doctor
Prunella Scales	...	Maude
Brian Markinson	...	Detective Wade
Peter Gerety	...	George
Bradford English	...	Keyes
Stewart J. Zully	...	Gary

MPAA:

Rated R for language and werewolf attacks.

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS (8 channels) | Dolby SR

Certification:

Canada:14A (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Philippines:R-18 | Netherlands:12 | Netherlands:16 (DVD rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R (Approved #32419) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Bradbury Building - 304 S. Broadway, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Mia Farrow was slated to play Charlotte Randall. Mike Nichols had to fight to let Farrow have the part, due to the film company's hesitancy over her being too controversial at the time (the then current Mia Farrow/Woody Allen trial). She had to take a salary cut but in the long run she had to bow out anyway due to schedule conflicts.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Will switches off his nightstand lamp, the lamp on the other side of the bed turns off by itself.

Quotes:

Charlotte Randall: I never loved Stewart. It was a mistake Will. I'm going to talk to him. Stewart, never for one moment, mentioned he loved me.
Will Randall: You think that makes it better? To betray me over and over again with a man that ment nothing to you? To know you betrayed me for nothing.
Charlotte Randall: Don't be a smug...
Will Randall: Don't touch me! And Keep Away.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Gwok chaan Ling Ling Chat (1994)

cerebral horror at its finest

"Wolf" posits that the werewolf bite is not necessarily a curse, if what you really crave is a more wild and natural lifestyle than is possible in our "civilized" society. Quite cleverly, the story is set in a publishing company, an environment that is both civilized and predatory at the same time.

Nicholson gives one of his best performances of recent years here, playing against type - he's actually a nice, normal guy! Spader, on the other hand, does what he always does; he acts like a sleaze, and very good he is at it, too. Pfeiffer makes a tough, proactive heroine, and gets a much better part than you'd expect for a woman in a horror film (horror is very much a boy's genre, I'm afraid).

I'm going to get snooty here and suggest that most people just don't understand "Wolf," probably because its ideal audience is quite small. Fans of Nicholson's usual drama fare dislike the movie for its horror content, and fans of violent horror dislike the movie because it's lacking in action and gore. But if you like thoughtful horror that has more brains than blood, you're part of the small group of people who'll get something out of this.