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I've updated the FURY OF THE WOLFMAN page on the Naschy site, with a few screen captures, but this is most of the text concerning the differing versions:

There are several versions of LA FURIA DEL HOMBRE LOBO worthy of consideration as each has at least one element that is distinctive. This may seem to compound the difficulty of assembling a "totally uncut" version, but this review will be a template for such an enterprise should someone desire to make such a meritable attempt. This review, however, cannot be considered complete, as other versions may exist, containing other minor variants, and the dialogue in the Spanish version certainly warrants more study. There are four primary versions I will deal with in my analysis:

1) The Spanish version released by Unicorn Video years ago and out-of-print.

2) The Alpha Video DVD version, which is considered the non-nude TV print variant of the film. This version is similar to ones the company released in video form once upon a time and the English-language version released by Unicorn, also once upon a time. 16mm prints of this version have appeared on eBay.

3) The Charter video release, likewise out-of-print, which contains alternate nude scenes. This was the release commonly available in the United States and for a while was considered "uncut."

4) The "Wolfman Never Sleeps" English language variant, sourced from a rare Swedish video and now available as a DVD-R from Midnight Video, which contains even more nude scenes than the Charter version!

As of this date, the Midnight Video version is the most complete of this title, so we'll start with a look at this version and work our way from there. Unlike all previous video/dvd versions, this variant is available in widescreen format, though still not full using the 2.35:1 dimensions of the original Techniscope framing. Freed up from pan-and-scan, the film obviously takes on new dimensions. The running time clocks in at a misleading 1:23:06 (nearly a minute shorter than the cut version!), which is accounted for by the increase in frame-rate of the presentation.

WOLFMAN NEVER SLEEPS, though, is not fully integral. The film deletes the entire beginning narration, starting at a point slightly later in Daninsky's car ride through the mountains with the credit: "International Film presents". To make up for the lost narration, and to present the more traditionally known THE FURY OF THE WOLFMAN credits, Midnight Video adds as a supplement the beginning from the Charter version, which has the opening credits in widescreen (and only the opening credits, alas). Unfortunately, half of the narration in the Charter version is missing! The full narration, a translation of the one in the Spanish version, is: "When the heliotrope starts growing among rough rocks and the full moon shines at night, in a certain area of the earth a man turns into a wolf." The Charter version, which contains the visual information that accompanies the narration, is silent until: "In a certain area of the earth a man turns into a wolf." After Waldemar Daninsky is back home, two very minor edits occur. When a bare-chested Waldemar stands looking out of the window, a shot of the sky has been cut; a minute or so later, a shot of a reflecting lake that ends his nightmarish dream of his Tibetan experiences is also missing. These two cuts were probably made because the content is curious: the sky shot doesn't look anything like a night sky during a thunderstorm, which is occurring outside, and the reflecting water (a shot that seems to be lifted from LA MARCA DEL HOMBRE LOBO) is an odd transition. [There are more curiosities concerning this reflecting lake shot: In the cut Alpha and Unicorn versions of the film, a close-up of the pentagram on Daninsky's chest dissolves smoothly to the reflecting water, but in the Charter version the dissolve is missing; the shot comes up instantly. Furthermore, in the Alpha and Charter versions, there is a bad edit to from the reflecting water to the subsequent shot of the university at which Waldemar teaches; the change is clumsily done, with a hint of an obscure fame and a second of a black screen. In the Unicorn video version (which is the censored version), this rough transition has been deleted, creating a well-done edit from one scene to the next.]

The Spanish version contains dialogue that is different and, at least in one case, missing from the English-dubbed version. More study needs to be done regarding the Spanish audio track, but this is what I was able to pick up from a brief sampling. After Ilona slaps Karen for suggesting that she is still obsessed with Daninsky, Ilona embraces Karen, asking for forgiveness, and, in the Spanish version, addresses her as "carino"--dear one, beloved. This accentuates the Sapphic, or Sapphic-tinged, relationship between the two. In the English dub, the line is simply, "Oh, Karen, oh, Karen, please forgive me." Later on, when Daninsky is wired up and in torment with radio waves pounding into his brain, the Spanish version has an over-dub of the Tibetan priest warning him about the pentagram (the audio is taken from the Tibetan nightmare Danisky has at the beginning of the film). In the English dub, these lines are missing, replaced only by the pained moans from Daninsky. Here, again, a important plot element is diluted, as it is Ilona who is behind the transformations of Daninsky into a full-fledged wolfman, and this shows how she is reinforcing his Tibetan experiences in his subconscious. Incidentally, all versions have the same print damage in the cellar transformation sequence before Ilona begins whipping Daninsky.

A definitive edition must embrace all these variants. Perhaps the best way to do so would be a presentation of the Spanish original, employing accurate English subtitles, with inserted nude scenes from the uncensored English version if no such elements can be found in a hitherto unseen Spanish-dub. An English audio track should be an option, as the voices used are quite good. (Whoever dubbed Ilona nailed her temperament down perfectly; the dubbing for Naschy is excellent also, voicing a person sympathetic and slightly bewildered.) Right now it is important that all original elements be located and saved from the ravages of time. Spanish vault elements are particularly important here. Spanish government and cultural institutions should be solicited to this end, and Swedish government and film institutions should be contacted regarding the WOLFMAN NEVER SLEEPS version.Indeed, a worldwide search for elements of this film is warranted, given its dismissive long-thought public domain status that could leave its variants abandoned in inadequate, even harmful, storages areas. This mind-boggling masterpiece must be saved!

Mirek

Of Naschy's completed wolfman films, I'm most fearful about the loss of elements for LA FURIA DEL HOMBRE LOBO and LOS MONSTRUOS DEL TERROR. A print of LA MARCA DEL HOMBRE LOBO should be in good hands in Spain, as Manga released a very nice-looking widescreen video a few years ago, and I assume the rest are in safe keeping.

Mirek

I've added the following to the Mark of Naschy "La Furia del Hombre Lobo" page, which I've only modified in regard to directions to reach the thread here on the Latarnia Forums:

When Seeing is Not Believing

In my original review above, I wrote "the DVD-R displays a greenish tinge to the picture, common in video transfers to this format," and presented three screen captures, two of which clearly displayed this effect. I was notified that my screen capture card was not accurately picking up the colors presented on the DVD-R and that the best way to gauge the true colors would be view the disc via my TV monitor rather than a computer. I had already watched the disc using both computer and TV/DVD-player, but hadn't picked up on any differences in color hue. Nevertheless, I had to go back and research the possibility of inaccurate color representation. Well, the colors rendered through a TV monitor are more accurate. As best as possible, I've worked on the screen captures to make them better representative of watching the DVD-R on a TV monitor. Here are the before and after differences:









I also checked the Midnight Video page for WOLFMAN NEVER SLEEPS, where sample screen captures are offered of all available DVD-Rs. Here, too, I saw a greenish tint in the screen captures, though perhaps not as noticeable as the screen captures I had done. (Check the colors on the skeleton in the lab shot to gauge color representation.) After an e-mail pow-wow with Midnight's honcho Bill Knight, the following conclusion was reached: Screen captures of DVD-Rs that have been sourced from PAL videos are not accurate; adjustments, using Photoshop or another such program, need to be made. I want to investigate this issue further, as I still see a tincture of a greenish undercurrent in every color DVD-R that I've watched on my TV monitor (and a softening up of the original video picture), but the problem is clearly not as great as I thought when I did my initial screen captures. I'd be interested to hear in other people's experiences with the DVD-R format, as I've kept my familiarity with DVD-Rs to a minimum. You can either e-mail me or, better still, converse on the issue here at the Latarnia Forums. My apologies to Bill Knight for the errors in the original evaluation.

Mirek

Quote:

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how on earth can you offer this stuff FOR FREE?

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Okay, I'm charging starting next week....

But, seriously, thanks for the compliment on the research, Steve. As to the issue of placing research online that's available for others to use, possibly without credit, that's something I've been thinking about for a while. I've also had some phone conversation with Robert Monell on this topic. I may be making some changes in the future, which won't be effecting the Naschy site, as that's done in honor of the man himself and for his fans (myself included). There's a larger issue here, websites that want to be thorough and professional, but are faced with the firm conviction among most cyber-travellers that everything on the internet, save perhaps porn sites, should be free. There's a slogan out there, concerning the internet: FREE KILLS. Websites that are completely free usually wind out of steam or just die out, unless there's some serious personal funding being applied.

Mirek

At this point I have no intention of charging for the message board, certainly not for the Naschy section, but I've been debating for a while whether to charge for certain sections of the Latarnia site when they get developed a bit more. The issue of plagiarism is serious, however. I've been seeing plagiarism of website content increase in the last year and that concerns me and anyone else who writes for the web or maintains website content. One of the best tools against plagiarism is to reveal and embarrass the guilty on message boards, but I know that administrators of most message boards would have a @#%$-fit if instances of plagiarism were exposed, as most such administrators don't want deal with this topic. "Take it to private e-mails" would be the hasty admonition. I, myself, have been soft on this crime in the past, merely hinting now and then at my knowledge of an act of plagiarism. But maybe some tough love is called for.

Mirek