Hellboy: Sword of Storms (Animated)
by Phil Weinstein
List Price:
Our Price: $13.49
You Save: $1.49 (10%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $0.90 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Director: Phil WeinsteinBrand: STARZ HOME ENTERTAINMENT
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Published), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; Spanish (Published), Dolby Digital 2.0
Format: Animated, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 73 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-02-06
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
DVD Reviews of Hellboy: Sword of Storms (Animated)
DVD Review: Oniboy
Summary: 3 Stars
Japanese folklore is rich with monsters and demons... so it seems appropriate that Hellboy would encounter one or two along his way.
And the animated spinoff movie "Hellboy: Sword of Storms" does a decent enough job ushering some fun Japanese goblins and monsters into Mike Mignola's world. The entire storyline is rather straightforward and bogged down by a tepid tragic-love-story-from-the-past that putters out, but Hellboy's adventures in a menacing Wonderland and the attacking dragons make for a good adventure story.
First off: the team ventures into a green, slimy, root-filled underground temple, where they must battle an ancient bat-deity and a small army of Aztec mummies. Then to the main plot -- a history professor receives an ancient scroll that tells the story of the demonic brothers Thunder and Lightning, and a doomed love between a princess and a young samurai. And when the professor finds the samurai's sword -- surprise! -- he gets possessed by the demons.
But when the BPRD is called in, Hellboy touches the sword as well -- and is sucked into a bizarre otherworld full of monsters, ghosts and magical creatures. In the meantime, Abe and Liz are caught in a typhoon that strands them in the middle of nowhere -- and it turns out that dragons are on the way. To save human civilization, Hellboy must not only escape from the otherworld of Japenese legend, but also deal with the demons and some tragic ghosts....
"Hellboy: Sword of Storms" is not quite the twisty, mysterious tale that its sister story "Blood and Iron" is: it's a pretty straightforward action/fantasy story of monstrous creatures about to be unleashed on the world, and a rather sentimental ghostly "Romeo and Juliet" tale. The latter is the weakest part of the entire movie, actually -- none of the ghosts are very interesting, and the climax of their subplot just sputters out and dissolves like a wet firecracker.
Fortunately the rest of the story is more entertaining -- lots of thunderstorms, very angry dragons, and Hellboy's rather peeved journey through a very creepy world of Japanese legend. Bouncing-head goblins, a vicious kappa ("He really likes cucumbers... WHAT IS YOUR NAME?!"), an eerie spider-woman who spins bloodied threads on an instrument, and a fox that has a knack for turning into a wise old lady all make appearances, and most of them end up at the wrong end of Hellboy's stone fist.
Of note: The head-goblins actually are from a Mike Mignola short story that goes the same way, but the writers managed to sneak in a few other references to Mignola's comics (including Katie rambling about a mythic king and his berserker warriors).
Ron Perlman's vocals make this Hellboy absolutely perfect -- he's sarcastic but good-hearted ("You're lucky we let you be seen with us!"), while Doug Jones is excellent as the resourceful, mellow fish-man Abe. Selma Blair has some trouble (which she admits, if you watch the making-of featurette) making Liz sound lively, but after some initial rockiness she does manage it. And the animation is pretty good stuff -- the jewel-toned landscapes of Japanese legend have a bad habit of turning into spooky nightmares.
"Hellboy: Sword of Storms" suffers somewhat from a padded ghostly-romance subplot, but the rest of it is a solid, straightforward tale of Japanese folklore and the occasional cursed sword. Worthwhile spinoff.
DVD Review: Sword of Storms - rocky start
Summary: 3 Stars
The good: the special features, the commentraies, it comes with a full color, glossy, 32-page comic book "Phantom Limbs," and it's not a bad story 6.5/10.
The bad: not enough story for the run time so it has a bit of filler and a couple of weak points in it.
Summary: If you're a fan of Hellboy I rcommend it.
DVD Review: More Of The Great Hellboy!
Summary: 5 Stars
Released in 2006, Sword of Storms was the first Hellboy Animated DVD in which a Japanese professor of folklore opens and reads a scroll which causes two demons to possess him. These demons wish to wreak havoc upon the world of the humans. It is up to Hellboy to stop them.
I loved the animation, the style and the plot of this story (some parts came straight from the comic books). I thought the Japanese mythology aspect was absolutely wonderful (Hellboy must outwit, outsmart and outfight many Japanese demons and ghosts). I also love Hellboy's wit and sarcasm. He makes me chuckle every time.
The DVD itself is very good. It has enough extra features to satisfy without becoming overwhelming (I thought the director's cut of the live action Hellboy DVD was almost too much). Plus, the extra little comic book included was a nice side story with more Hellboy action and wit told with more great art. I highly recommend this DVD to any fan of Hellboy, underground comics, animation or just plain good movies.
DVD Review: Not too involving
Summary: 3 Stars
I was expecting to like this, but I found it to be surprisingly dull, slow-paced and generally uninvolving. And that's a shame, because I wanted to like it. Hellboy is a fun character and I like his world, but this project didn't do much for me.DVD Review: Helboy-Sword of Storms........
Summary: 4 Stars
Hellboy: Sword of Storms is the first of the Hellboy Animated series based on Mike Mignola's popular comic book series called Hellboy. It is directed by Phil Weinstein & Tad Stones and written by Mike Mignola & Tad Stones. It features the vocal talents of: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, and Peri Gilpin. A Japanese professor of folklore named Professor Sakai opens a forbidden scroll and becomes possessed by the ancient Japanese demons of Thunder and Lightning, who seek to return and summon their brothers, the Dragons, to dominate the human world. The BPRD is brought in after Sakai attacks one of his associates. But, when Hellboy picks up an ancient sword, he disappears into a weird land of Japanese mythology. In the meantime, BPRD agents Corrigan and Russell Thorne (a psychic) follow the trail of the possessed professor, while Abe and Liz are stranded on an island in the middle of the ocean where they battle one of the Dragons.
I got to be honest, I was expecting more from the first animated feature. I was expecting it to have a much darker tone, like the comics or even the movie but it doesn't. Overall, though, it is a good animated feature. Well worth getting if you're into Hellboy or animation. Just don't expect it to be as spectacular as you might think it'd be & you'll do just fine.
Description of Hellboy: Sword of Storms (Animated)
In this first animated feature from Director Tad Stones (Buzz Lightyear of Star Command), and Creative Producers Mike Mignola (creator of HELLBOY comics) and Guillermo del Toro (writer/director of the HELLBOY movie), a folklore professor becomes unwittingly possessed by the ancient Japanese demons of Thunder and Lightning. But when The Bureau of Paranormal Research & Defense dispatches a team of agents to investigate, a cursed samurai sword sends Hellboy (Ron Perlman) to a supernatural dimension of ghosts, monsters and feudal mayhem.Now while pyrokinetic Liz Sherman (Selma Blair) and fishboy Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) battle one very pissed-off dragon, a lost and cranky Hellboy must find his way home. Even if he can survive the perilous journey, how much crap does a guy have to put up with from the two most vengeful and ferocious spirits of Japanese legend?
Features:
Widescreen Presentation enhanced for 16x9 TVs
Teaser Trailer
Still Galleries
Original Production Art
A New Breed: Creating - The New Hellboy
A VIEW FROM THE TOP - The "Heads" sequence
Also on DVD
Audio Commentary Featuring Hellboy Creator Mike Mignola, Supervising Producer/Director Tad Stones and Director Phil Weinstein
Conquering Hellboy - The Actor's Role
DVD Rom - Live Transcript; Live Transcript Search; Synced Storyboards; Enhanced Script to Screen; Documentary Sync; Kill count - which keeps track of each of the major characters' kills; Character sync; A ""Key Moments"" list; Weblinks
Hellboy Goes East: A Revealing look at many of the inspirations, backstories and secrets of Hellboy: Sword of Storms. This includes: Tale Spin - A deconstruction of the ""Spider Lady"" sequence; Prop Perfecture - A look at how ordinary objects animate to life; Origins - The filmmakers are inspired by Japanese mythology; Samurai Songs - Hellboy's music to live and fight by
Keepers of Hellboy: A Comic Con 2006 Panel Discussion
Motion Menus
To Hell And Back - How Mike Mignola Created Hellboy (Part I)
General DVDs
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Bestsellers in General DVDs
![The Dark Knight (+ Digital Copy and BD Live) [Blu-ray] Image](/images/The-Dark-Knight-Digital-Copy-and-BD-Live-Blu-ray-B001GZ6QEC-X.jpg)
The Dark Knight (+ Digital Copy and BD Live) [Blu-ray]Warner Brothers; Release date: 2008-12-09; DVD
Best price: $17.69
Price in other shops:
Taken (Extended Cut)Release date: 2009-05-12; DVD
Best price: $16.99
Price in other shops:
Gran Torino (Widescreen Edition)Release date: 2009-06-09; DVD
Best price: $17.49
Price in other shops:
The Day the Earth Stood Still (Two-Disc Widescreen Edition)Twentieth Century Fox; Release date: 2009-04-07; DVD
Best price: $11.98
Price in other shops:
Bedtime StoriesRelease date: 2009-04-07; DVD
Best price: $7.89
Price in other shops:
AustraliaTwentieth Century Fox; Release date: 2009-03-03; DVD
Best price: $12.99
Price in other shops:
The WrestlerTwentieth Century Fox; Release date: 2009-04-21; DVD
Best price: $11.49
Price in other shops:
Quantum of SolaceRelease date: 2009-03-24; DVD
Best price: $8.85
Price in other shops:
CapricaUniversal; Release date: 2009-04-21; DVD
Best price: $13.50
Price in other shops:
Twilight (Two-Disc Special Edition)Universal; Release date: 2009-03-21; DVD
Best price: $14.45
Price in other shops:
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
Ultimate Avengers 2 (Rise of the Panther)LION'S GATE ENTERTAINMENT; Release date: 2006-08-08; DVD
Best price: $5.98
Price in other shops:
Ultimate Avengers - The MovieLions Gate; Release date: 2006-02-21; DVD
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops:
The Invincible Iron ManLions Gate; Release date: 2007-01-23; DVD
Best price: $3.50
Price in other shops:
Superman: DoomsdaySUPERMAN; Release date: 2007-09-18; DVD
Best price: $1.78
Price in other shops:
Batman Gotham Knight (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2008-07-08; DVD
Best price: $3.74
Price in other shops:
Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer SupremeLION'S GATE ENTERTAINMENT; Release date: 2007-08-14; DVD
Best price: $3.34
Price in other shops:
The Amazing Screw-on HeadLions Gate; Release date: 2007-02-06; DVD
Best price: $4.67
Price in other shops:
Hellboy (Two-Disc Special Edition)Sony; Release date: 2004-06-21; DVD
Best price: $5.70
Price in other shops:
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Widescreen)Universal; Release date: 2008-11-11; DVD
Best price: $8.99
Price in other shops:
Hellboy - Blood and Iron (Animated)STARZ HOME ENTERTAINMENT; Release date: 2007-06-12; DVD
Best price: $3.92
Price in other shops: