Wolf (1994)

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 | Toilet

Awards:

2 wins & 6 nominations

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

Colour:

Colour (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:

In the scene where Will meets with Alden and his lawyer, in the bookshelves you can see six Robert Jordan books: One copy of 'The Eye of the World', one copy of 'The Great Hunt', two copies of 'The Dragon Reborn', and two copies of 'The Shadow Rising'.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Stewart attacks Will with a pitchfork, the tines bend and show that it is a prop. In the next shot, the tines are straight and are now sticking into Will's shoulder.

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 Roy Chubby Brown: Clitoris Allsorts - Live at Blackpool (1995) (V)

Wolfman Jack?

"Wolf" is not your average blood and guts horror flick. Rather it is a high budget drama with horror overtones with a top notch cast skillfully directed by Mike Nichols.

Jack Nicholson stars as Will Randall a meek book editor whose life suddenly is thrown into turmoil when he is bitten by a wolf while driving home from a business meeting. Suddenly he begins to feel younger and more energetic and to have keener senses of smell, sight and hearing. But to his horror, he begins to experience memory black outs during which several tragic events occur. He gradually comes to realize that he is taking on the characteristics of a wolf.

At the office, Randall has just been fired from his job by owner Raymond Alden (Christopher Plummer) and his place taken by the arrogant brown nosing Stewart Swinton (James Spader). Randall also learns that Swinton has been having an affair with his wife (Kate Nelligan). At that time he meets Alden's beautiful but self-centered daughter Laura (Michelle Pfeiffer) and naturally they become involved (Who wouldn't howl at the moon after spending the night with Michelle Pfeiffer?).

When Randall's wife is murdered, he begins to fear the worst so he turns to Laura for help in helping him to subdue his urges. But is he guilty murder? We have to wait to find out what's really going on until the last part of the film.

The performances by all cast members are top notch. Nicholson as usual stands out as the tragic, doomed Randall. Pfeiffer (who is a much better actress than she is given credit for) is excellent as Laura. Plummer is suitably oily and manipulative as Alden and Spader is really good as the over ambitious Swinton. Look for David Hyde Pierce in a small role as Randall's assistant and look real close for David Schwimmer as one of the cops who tries to arrest Randall at the zoo.

An off beat but different sort of horror film.