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Technical Information
Studio: Columbia
Tristar Home Entertainment
Year of Theatrical Release: 2004
Disc Format: 2
single-sided, Dual Layer
Image Format: Anamorphic
Widescreen
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Region
Encoding: 1
Sound
Format: Dolby
Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0 (pro logic)
Running Time:
121 minutes
Director: Guillermo
Del Toro
Stars: Ron Perlman,
Selma Blair, John Hurt, Rupert Evans
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Disc
Supplements:
- Disc Introductions
- Commentary track by director Guillermo Del Toro and
Hellboy creator Mike Mignola
- Commentary track by Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Jeffrey
Tambor and Rupert Evans
- Branching DVD comics
- Right Hand of Doom set visits
- Storyboard track
- DVD-ROM content
- Hellboy Seeds of Creation documentary
- Deleted scenes
- Character bios
- Animatics
- Multi-angle storyboard comparisons
- 3D character sculptures
- Poster explorations
- Trailers and TV spots
- Filmographies
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Most superhero movies spend too much time
focused on the super powers and not nearly enough time on the
super hero. In today's age of over-the-top special effects,
the ironic thing is that one of the best of the genre, Superman:
The Movie, was made at a time before visual effect technology
could effectively portray his powers. And yet that didn't matter.
We "got" that Superman could fly and that opened up
the film to tell us about the man.
Recently technology has managed to catch up
with the imaginations of the comic book artists. The result
is a film like Daredevil, which was technically good and certainly
appealing to members of the target audience, but simply lacked
the widespread appeal of Superman.
What's missing from many of these films is
the human element. The spectacle becomes the point rather than
simply being one aspect of the story.
And this is why I had such low expectations
going into Hellboy. In such situations, I really love being
wrong.
Hellboy is a ridiculous movie by any stretch
of the imagination, but it makes no apologies for this. In fact,
it revels in it. This is a film born out of the pure giddy joy
of making a super hero movie. And somehow along the way everyone
involved manages to tell an engaging story filled with really
interesting characters.
The star of the story is, of course, Hellboy
(Ron Perlman), a demon accidentally conjured into this world
by the Nazis (yes, Nazis). He is discovered by Professor Bruttenholm
(John Hurt), who recognizes potential in this little creature
beyond just mindless carnage and evil. Under a government sponsored
veil of secrecy, Bruttenholm raises Hellboy to become an agent
for good.
The full story involves nothing less than
the potential destruction of the entire universe as we know
it and only Hellboy can save us all. There are, to be sure,
other heroes, such as the aquatic Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) and
the fiery (literally) Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), but Hellboy
is the real star of the show.
The great thing about Hellboy is that despite
his red, fire resistant skin, his demon horns and his gigantic
rock hand, he's just a cursing, cigar smokin', beer drinkin',
workin' stiff. Oh, and he also has a soft spot for cats.
To be honest, I've never read a Hellboy comic
book, so I really can't say how much of the character's personality
comes right out of those illustrated pages, or from Ron Perlman's
excellent performance. It doesn't really matter because either
way, Hellboy is one greatly entertaining hero.
If this first outing is any indication for
the potential of a Hellboy movie franchise, then I can't wait
for the sequel.
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top |
Hellboy was filmed like a living
comic book. That is to say that it uses a very specific color palette
and sharp, bold contrasts. Much of the film uses shadow to enhance
scenes and focus our attention and it would have been very easy
for this transfer to become a muddy, incoherent mess. But not so.
The picture remains razor sharp and despite the darkness, it is
filled with detail. Colors, particularly Hellboy's bright red skin,
pop right off the screen. I noticed no evidence of digital noise
problems and only very slight edge enhancement.
:::back to top |
Like should be expected from any
superhero film, the soundtrack here is pounding and full of life.
Full use is made of all surround speakers, especially during the
action-filled battle scenes. There is a wide dynamic range and deep,
room-shaking bass.
:::back to top |
OK, take a deep breath before we
dive in here:
This special edition set begins with
an introduction on disc one by director Guillermo
Del Toro. Following that are two commentary tracks.
The first is by Del Toro and Hellboy creator Mike Mignola. This
is the meat. The two talk pretty in-depth about both the film and
the comic and the work that went into transforming Hellboy into
something filmable (a feat that many thought could never happen).
Track two features actors Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Jeffrey Tambor
and Rupert Evans and this is the desert. This track leaves seriousness
at the door and the group simply has fun reminiscing about the film.
There are some insights to be found, but for the most part this
track is just purely for the laughs.
When it comes to two-disc editions,
that might be enough for disc one, but this set is just getting
started. In addition to the commentaries, there is also an option
to watch the film with a feature that allows you to jump to special
mini-comic books created by Mike Mignola just for this
disc. The Right Hand of Doom features eight unedited
behind-the-scenes bits and a storyboard option
allows you to view the storyboards along with the movie. Finally,
on the DVD-ROM side, you can access and print the original
screenplay.
Disc two starts off with an introduction
by Selma Blair that seems just a bit subdued, but once you get beyond
that you can access a massive documentary that
runs better than two and half hours. Thankfully, the documentary
is broken up into plenty of segments, making it easier to digest.
There are also deleted scenes, character
bios, animatics, storyboard to
final scene comparisons, a 3D video gallery,
promotional materials and trailers.
Some of this stuff will certainly appeal more to film buffs and
comic book fans than to the average viewer, but this is all worthwhile
stuff and it will take hours to get through it all.
:::back to top |
Hellboy was truly an unexpected surprise and
just an all around fun movie. As a DVD, this is one of the most
packed special editions I've seen in a long time and, refreshingly,
very little of it is just filler or fluff. This is the kind of DVD
that Saturday evenings were made for.
:::back to top |
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| Hellboy is a fairly intense
film and it does deal with demons, Nazis and mayhem, but it is all
handled with such a great sense of fun that this film works for a
wide age group. It is certainly no more inappropriate than X-Men or
Spider-man. |
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| -- By Robert Wurth. Copyright
© 2004. |
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