The Wolfman

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Joe Johnston directs. Shelly Johnson behind the camera. Danny Elfman scores. Dennis Virkler cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Romanian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1$150M budget — tentpole studio territory.
• 2Earned back only 94% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
• 3Released 16 years ago.
• 4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Romanian.
• 5259+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
• 6Directed by Joe Johnston, shot by Shelly Johnson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 7Original score by Danny Elfman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 8Editor Dennis Virkler shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 9Benicio del Toro and Anthony Hopkins and Emily Blunt carry the top of the cast.
• 10Marketing tagline: "When the moon is full, the legend comes to life.".
• 11IMDB entry: tt0780653 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 12Classified under 9 themes, including "parent child relationship", "victorian england", "remake", "wolfman".
• 13Released under 12 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography

Shelly Johnson

Original score

Danny Elfman

Editing

Dennis Virkler

Production design

Rick Heinrichs

Costume design

Milena Canonero

Makeup / hair

Göran Lundström

VFX supervisor

Asregadoo Arundi

Sound

Chris Jenkins

Runtime

103 min · 1h 43m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$150,000,000

Box office

$140,700,000

Return

94% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

The Wolfman (2010) ↗

Rotten Tomatoes

32% 🥫 Rotten

Metacritic

43/100

IMDB rating

5.9/10 · 116,889 votes

MPAA

R

Also by

Joe Johnston

• 
  LIGHT & MAGIC

  2022 · ★ 7.9
• 
  October Sky

  1999 · ★ 7.7
• 
  Jumanji

  1995 · ★ 7.2
• 
  Captain America: The First Avenger

  2011 · ★ 7.0
• 
  Hidalgo

  2004 · ★ 6.9
• 
  The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles

  1992 · ★ 6.5

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Benicio Del Toro Transforms Into A Werewolf - Extended Preview

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  The Wolfman (2010) Original Trailer [FHD]

  Trailer
• 

  ▶
  Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins Fight Scene

  Clip · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• John Chard2020-10-04
  ★ 7/10

  Extended Cut: Proving in fact that The Wolfman is no monstrosity. The Wolfman is directed by Joe Johnston and adapted to screenplay by Andrew Kevin Walker and David Self from Curt Siodmak's original 1941 screenplay. It stars Benicio del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving. Music is scored by Danny Elfman and Shelly Johnson is the cinematographer. Plot is set in 1891 and finds Toro as Lawrence Talbot, who upon learning of his brother's grizzly murder, returns to his estranged father's estate in Blackmoor to investigate. Upon arriving he forms an instant bond with his dead sibling's fiancée, Gwen (Blunt), but soon Lawrence finds himself mired in a world of lycanthropy and family secrets. It had a much publicised troubled production, with a director switch, numerous release date changes and enforced cuts to the running time, sitting atop of this particular iceberg. With that it mind, film is arguably better than it had any right to be. What is now readily available is an extended cut of the film where some 17 minutes of footage have been put back into the story. Footage cut originally to foolishly speed up the moment when the first transformation from man to wolfman arrives. Is the extended cut a far better movie than the trimmed theatrical version? The answer is resounding yes it is. It still contains flaws, but now the narrative is stronger and crucially by waiting much longer for the first "big change scene", tension and anticipation now exist where previously it didn't. In spite of some modern day advancements for this 21st Century wolfman - excessive speed for the wolf - creature smack down finale - Johnston's movie is very faithful and respectful of the 1941 original. Which is perhaps not surprising since the weight of Universal is backing this remake of one of their original classic monsters from the 30's and 40's. But it's nice to see that a remake keeps the things that made the original so beloved. Gothic texture is rich, none more so than with the mist/smog shrouded village, while the tortured sadness that permeated Lon Chaney's take on Larry Talbot back in 1941, is perfectly essayed by del Toro this time around. The creature design itself cleaves close to the original, with Rick Baker and Dave Elsey picking up the Academy Award for Best Makeup for their excellent efforts. Fans of shred and gore are also well served here, with Johnston (The Rocketeer/Jumanji) showing a keen eye for action construction. An attack at a Gypsy camp and a bloody rampage through a bus are the stand outs, while an asylum sequence is also not to be sniffed at. Chuck in the murder mystery element, and the intriguing father and son axis, and it's a film that has more to it than merely being a CGI popcorn piece. Even Elfman's score fits neatly into the period setting. Problem wise it comes down to Blunt and Weaving being under used, and Hopkins veering dangerously close to over hamming the omelette, yet all remain strong in characterisations. Toro, though, is not, as some have suggested, miscast. Already lupine like before transformation, he plays it perfectly troubled and brooding like. Talbot has inner demons and unanswered questions in his past, a past he has tried to shred but finds he now must confront those demons. The onset of lycanthropy serving, one feels, as a metaphor for his personal torment finally being unleashed. Toro nails it with an excellent and subdued portrayal, even if the choice of hair style leaves much to be desired. Worth a mention as well is Shelly Johnson's photography, where nice atmospheric visuals complement the tone and period flavour of the piece. More homage than outright horror, but with a little something for everyone interested in Horror/Gothic/Mystery type movies, The Wolfman in extended form is an enjoyable enough experience. 7/10

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Universal Pictures

  US

• 

  Relativity Media

  US

• ST

  Stuber Pictures

  US

Key crew

• StuntsSian Milne
• EditorDennis Virkler
• Production DesignRick Heinrichs
• Costume DesignMilena Canonero
• CastingPriscilla John
• ProducerSean Daniel
• EditorWalter Murch
• ProducerBenicio del Toro
• ProducerRick Yorn
• Art DirectionPhil Harvey
• Art DirectionJohn Dexter
• ProducerScott Stuber
• Original Film WriterCurt Siodmak
• Visual EffectsSachin Bangera
• StuntsMarc Mailley
• Special EffectsKen Petrie
• Sound Effects EditorChristopher Assells
• Executive ProducerJon Mone
• Music EditorChris Newlin
• Music EditorScott Stambler
• Music EditorAlex Gibson
• Sound Effects EditorJon Title
• Still PhotographerFrank Connor
• Supervising Sound EditorKaren Baker Landers

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• parent child relationship
• victorian england
• remake
• wolfman
• rural area
• curse
• werewolf
• gothic horror
• flesh

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical2010-02-12R

Also known as

International titles

• WolfmanIT
• El hombre loboES
• 狼嚎再起CN
• 狼嚎再起TW
• O LobisomemBR
• WilkołakPL
• El Hombre LoboSV
• مرد گرگ نماIR
• Hombre LoboMX
• Hombre LoboES
• Hombre LoboUS
• Le Loup-GarouCA