Hellboy (Director's Cut)
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DVD details
Actor: Ron Perlman, Selma BlairBrand: Sony
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: AC-3, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Director's Cut, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 1.85:1
Running Time: 132 minutes
Published: 2004-10-01
DVD Release Date: 2004-10-19
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
DVD Reviews of Hellboy (Director's Cut)
DVD Review: Give Evil Hell...
Summary: 5 Stars
In the world of comic books there are many well known heroes that populate the various universes of each publishing company's books. From DC Comics' popular characters of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman to Marvel's Spiderman, X-Men, and Fantastic Four; each of those characters are beloved by comic book fans worldwide. Aside from those characters and their respective companies there are numerous other characters that have built a cult following in the comic world, but are not as well known by the mainstream public. One such character would be the Dark Horse comic book Hellboy, created by writer/artist Mike Mignola.
In theaters many of Marvel and DC's heroes have been finding their way to the big screen with varying degrees of success, most are wildly successful, but a few have faltered along the way, but not too many of the other companies have managed to bring their properties to life with as much success. Sure, there was "Spawn" (property of Image Comics) and "Judge Dredd" (British publication called '2000 A.D.') in the mid-nineties, but they weren't all that successful, so the likelihood of these little known characters finding success with movie audiences was slim to none. At least that was the case until director Guillermo del Toro ("Blade 2") passed on an opportunity to direct the 3rd installment in the 'Harry Potter' franchise, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", to bring one of his favorite comic characters to life.
With a successful director, such as Guillermo behind the lens, New Line Cinema must have felt fairly confident in the film's success after he had done wonders for them with the second installment in the 'Blade' trilogy, so with a director on board who respected the source material, and a talented cast of actors consisting of Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, and John Hurt, this little known comic book was about to become a living, breathing reality on the silver screen.
"Hellboy" begins in 1944 during World War 2, when Rasputin, a mad sorcerer in league with Hitler, opens a dimensional portal to Hell, and through this dimension a baby demon emerges. Before Rasputin can take the baby demon and raise him to be an instrument of death and destruction, the Allied forces stop him. Among the Allies, is a young man who raises this demon, appropriately named Hellboy, teaching him the ways of the hero. As an adult, Hellboy (Ron Perlman) works with an agency known as the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, founded by the very man that raised him Professor Bloom (John Hurt), their job is to track any paranormal activity on Earth, and protect humanity from any danger that may be the result of that activity. Now, 60 years after releasing Hellboy on Earth, Rasputin has returned with the intention of using Hellboy to unleash the 7 gods of chaos upon Earth. With Earth's survival hanging in the balance, Hellboy and company, consisting of the firestarter Liz (Selma Blair), a human/amphibian hybrid named Abe Sapien (acted out by Doug Jones, but voiced by David Hyde Pierce), and FBI agent Myers, are in for the most difficult fight of their lives.
After finding moderate success in Hollywood with the science-fiction/horror movie "Mimic", and following that up with his much more successful comic book hit "Blade 2", director Guillermo del Toro probably seemed without a doubt the best choice to bring Hellboy to the big screen. Not only is Guillermo a gifted director in the arena of special effects and horror, but he also has a knack for making his characters have a sense of humor which serves to lighten the mood in his otherwise darker toned movies, those elements combined together with his affection for the source material created the optimal conditions for another comic book movie franchise to be born, proving him the right man for the job.
After Guillermo signed on, it was time to build the cast for the project. Now, I'm sure casting for this movie was probably typical by most comic book movie standards, but the difficult part had to have been finding the right man to don the red paint and prosthetics that are used to create Hellboy's demonic visage. Enter actor Ron Perlman ("Alien: Resurrection"), an actor that has made a career of playing somewhat strange, even scary characters, and who by the way is no stranger to wearing plenty of prosthetics. After all, Ron Perlman's best known role was that of the Beast in the live-action TV series "Beauty and the Beast" opposite actress Linda Hamilton ("The Terminator"), so with his experience with prosthetics and his penchant for strange characters, it was almost as if he was destined to be this character. The supporting cast members do very well with providing depth and reality to these strange new heroes that join together to face monsters determined to destroy us. There really wasn't a weak actor/actress in the entire bunch, a true rariety in the various genres that this movie fits into, i.e. horror, science-fiction, comic book. It was a welcome addition that everyone involved on screen and off appeared to have a deep respect for the source material and the fan base, and not just being there to collect a paycheck.
The special effects for the movie were very well done, especially the scenes with Liz's fire power being showcased. These scenes are where the CGI really shines. As I touched on earlier, the prosthetics and costume department also deserves great praise for their oustanding work done here, from Hellboy to the monsters that he faces, to Abe Sapien or Kronen, every aspect of costumes, prosthetics, and practical effects is top-notch all the way. And finally, the story for "Hellboy" was very fast paced and entertaining, without skimming on the details of the character, which I appreciated greatly due to my lack of awareness in regards to this comic book. Without this entertaining and engaging story that was smartly written to play well with audiences that would be hard-core fans of the comic and those that have either little or no knowledge of the character whatsoever.
With all of that being said, "Hellboy" is a terrific comic book based movie, that as far as I know, stays true to the source material without making newcomers to the character feel lost in the shuffle. Definitely a solid entry into the pantheon of comic book movies and a welcome addition at that.
"Hellboy" is rated PG-13 for violence and language.
Description of Hellboy (Director's Cut)
As dark forces gather to hasten the apocalypse hellboy fights fire with fire in this mind-blasting supermatural action-adventure. Based on the celebrated dark horse comic book. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 01/22/2008 Starring: Ron Perlman Selma Blair Run time: 132 minutes Rating: UrIn the ongoing deluge of comic-book adaptations, Hellboy ranks well above average. Having turned down an offer to helm Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in favor of bringing Hellboy's origin story to the big screen, the gifted Mexican director Guillermo del Toro compensates for the excesses of Blade II with a moodily effective, consistently entertaining action-packed fantasy, beginning in 1944 when the mad monk Rasputin--in cahoots with occult-buff Hitler and his Nazi thugs--opens a transdimensional portal through which a baby demon emerges, capable of destroying the world with his powers. Instead, the aptly named Hellboy is raised by the benevolent Prof. Bloom, founder of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, whose allied forces enlist the adult Hellboy (Ron Perlman, perfectly cast) to battle evil at every turn. While nursing a melancholy love for the comely firestarter Liz (Selma Blair), Hellboy files his demonic horns ("to fit in," says Bloom) and wreaks havoc on the bad guys. The action is occasionally routine (the movie suffers when compared to the similar X-Men blockbusters), but del Toro and Perlman have honored Mike Mignola's original Dark Horse comics with a lavish and loyal interpretation, retaining the amusing and sympathetic quirks of character that made the comic-book Hellboy a pop-culture original. He's red as a lobster, puffs stogies like Groucho Marx, and fights the good fight with a kind but troubled heart. What's not to like? --Jeff Shannon
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