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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
In 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
Product Description
AS DARK FORCES GATHER TO HASTEN THE APOCALYPSE, HELLBOY FIGHTSFIRE WITH FIRE IN THIS MIND-BLASTING SUPERMATURAL ACTION-ADVENTURE. BASED ON THE CELEBRATED DARK HORSE COMICBOOK.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
134 of 139 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I'll be discussing both the two disc and three disc edition of "Hellboy" here. Unfortunately, the automated systemed won't allow me to post this as a separate review so, just in case the review shows up under both, I'll include both.
TWO DISC EDITION:
It must be hell to have horns and a stone hand. Rasputin the mad monk who manipulated the Russian royalty prior to the Russian Revolution never died. He not only survived being stabbed, shot, poisoned and drowning but during World War II he worked for the Nazis. Hitler hoped that Rasputin might be able to unleash the 7 Gods of Chaos to help Hitler win the war and dominate the world. The only thing that can stop Hitler and Rasputin's minions which includes a nasty masochistic half mechanical man named Kroenen (Ladislav Beran in some scenes)is Professor Broom (Kevin Trainor as the young Bloom) who has studied the occult. He and a group of American soldiers storm Rasputin's castle stopping the 7 Gods of Chaos from entering our world. In the process Rasputin is sucked into the other strange realm and a tiny red monkey like creature that looks like Satan with a stone hand is released into our world.
Sixty years later Rasputin's minions revive him bringing him back from the other side. Meanwhile Professor Broom (Hurt) has established a paranormal division of the F.B.I with Hellboy (Perlman) and Abe Sapien (Doug Jones but voiced by David Hyde Pierce of "Fraiser" fame) a half human/half sea creature and Liz (Blair) a human with the ability to control fire. With the addition of a new assistant John Myers (Evans) recruited from the F.B.I. these five are all that stand between us and chaos. The only problem is that Rasputin has plans for using Hellboy himself to help release the 7 Gods of Chaos himself.
"Hellboy" looks surprisingly sharp and vivid capturing all the primary colors that percolated beneath the surface of Mike Mignola's comic book. The film does suffer a little bit due to all the extras included on the first disc and could have benefited from concentrating only on picture and sound quality of the film on the first disc and all the extras on the second.
The two disc set clearly went on an eating binge. How else to explain all the wonderful extras packed on this great set. To begin with we have a nice introduction by the director. On the first disc featuring the feature film there are branching behind the scenes sequences you can access while watching the film itself and then return to where you were. It's a fascinating glimpse behind the movie almost giving you the experience as if you were on the set then watching the assembled dailies the next same day.
THREE DISC DIRECTOR'S CUT:
There are some subtle and not so subtle differences in "Hellboy-The Director's Cut". The big difference involves how Rasputin was changed when he came back from the other side. There's also a number of dramatic moments such as Professor Broom discovery of his cancer as well as some fight sequences that have been extended in minor but subtle ways. That said, it's essentially the same film but richer for the include of the 15 or so minutes of additional footage.
The first disc has a brand new commentary by director del Toro and a commentary/isolated score by composer Beltram. The storyboard track now has new images added to it (quite a bit more as a matter of fact).The "branching comics" feature is much more extensive than the previous one but the features on the first disc remain pretty close to the previous edition.
The second disc has the bulk of what disc two of the two disc set had but there are a couple of additions worth noting. There's also a multi-angle storyboard comparison (which I believe to be new). I couldn't find the UPA cartoons on the original but haven't had a chance to investigate all the noons and crannies of the three disc set.
Disc three has a new video introduction by Ron Perlman. Here we get a video and audio commentary by the main actors(in fact it's the same as the audio commentary from the previous edition only this time we see the actors as they recorded their commentary and also see the movie as their watching it in a picture-in-picture mode). There's production workshops also included here, make up and lighting tests (although all involve the final make up for Hellboy), "A Quick Guide to Understanding Comics with Scott McCloud"--a featurette. Mike Mignola is absent from the commentary track but his pre-production artwork is included here. Ther's also the director's notebook (again--it's on two discs here for some strange reason), conceptual art galleries and comic book artists pin-ups on the last disc as well. Personally, I would have put the actors in pip mode vs. the movie as the version they're commenting on it is the theatrical release not the Director's Cut. Not sure why Columbia chose not to do this. Aside from that minor complaint (and not being able to find the UPA cartoons), this is the ultimate fan boy edition. Oh, there's also a reproduction of part of Rasputin's diary by Mignola as well included in paperback form.
The packaging is nice with three slimline DVD holders highlight Red, Blue and Liz. Personally, I would also like to have had a booklet similar to the one that came with the two discs set. Also, I'm unclear why the "seamlessly branching" DVD technology wasn't here to allow both the director's cut and the theatrical editions (much like "Alien" and "Aliens"). I don't have any use for keeping the previous edition (it was traded in) just for the theatrical cut (and I personally feel the Director's Cut is a superior version of the movie even though most of the changes are fairly minor overall).
Overall, this is a terrific boxed set that has some minor flaws. Hopefully Columbia will learn from this mistake and correct any future releases of Director's Cuts vs. theatrical editions. Also, releasing both at the same time so fans can make a choice (vs. being double dipped) would be the right thing to do from a customer service stand point. Plus, there wouldn't be all those used copies eating away at their sales of the set.
TWO DISC EDITION:
It must be hell to have horns and a stone hand. Rasputin the mad monk who manipulated the Russian royalty prior to the Russian Revolution never died. He not only survived being stabbed, shot, poisoned and drowning but during World War II he worked for the Nazis. Hitler hoped that Rasputin might be able to unleash the 7 Gods of Chaos to help Hitler win the war and dominate the world. The only thing that can stop Hitler and Rasputin's minions which includes a nasty masochistic half mechanical man named Kroenen (Ladislav Beran in some scenes)is Professor Broom (Kevin Trainor as the young Bloom) who has studied the occult. He and a group of American soldiers storm Rasputin's castle stopping the 7 Gods of Chaos from entering our world. In the process Rasputin is sucked into the other strange realm and a tiny red monkey like creature that looks like Satan with a stone hand is released into our world.
Sixty years later Rasputin's minions revive him bringing him back from the other side. Meanwhile Professor Broom (Hurt) has established a paranormal division of the F.B.I with Hellboy (Perlman) and Abe Sapien (Doug Jones but voiced by David Hyde Pierce of "Fraiser" fame) a half human/half sea creature and Liz (Blair) a human with the ability to control fire. With the addition of a new assistant John Myers (Evans) recruited from the F.B.I. these five are all that stand between us and chaos. The only problem is that Rasputin has plans for using Hellboy himself to help release the 7 Gods of Chaos himself.
"Hellboy" looks surprisingly sharp and vivid capturing all the primary colors that percolated beneath the surface of Mike Mignola's comic book. The film does suffer a little bit due to all the extras included on the first disc and could have benefited from concentrating only on picture and sound quality of the film on the first disc and all the extras on the second.
The two disc set clearly went on an eating binge. How else to explain all the wonderful extras packed on this great set. To begin with we have a nice introduction by the director. On the first disc featuring the feature film there are branching behind the scenes sequences you can access while watching the film itself and then return to where you were. It's a fascinating glimpse behind the movie almost giving you the experience as if you were on the set then watching the assembled dailies the next same day.
THREE DISC DIRECTOR'S CUT:
There are some subtle and not so subtle differences in "Hellboy-The Director's Cut". The big difference involves how Rasputin was changed when he came back from the other side. There's also a number of dramatic moments such as Professor Broom discovery of his cancer as well as some fight sequences that have been extended in minor but subtle ways. That said, it's essentially the same film but richer for the include of the 15 or so minutes of additional footage.
The first disc has a brand new commentary by director del Toro and a commentary/isolated score by composer Beltram. The storyboard track now has new images added to it (quite a bit more as a matter of fact).The "branching comics" feature is much more extensive than the previous one but the features on the first disc remain pretty close to the previous edition.
The second disc has the bulk of what disc two of the two disc set had but there are a couple of additions worth noting. There's also a multi-angle storyboard comparison (which I believe to be new). I couldn't find the UPA cartoons on the original but haven't had a chance to investigate all the noons and crannies of the three disc set.
Disc three has a new video introduction by Ron Perlman. Here we get a video and audio commentary by the main actors(in fact it's the same as the audio commentary from the previous edition only this time we see the actors as they recorded their commentary and also see the movie as their watching it in a picture-in-picture mode). There's production workshops also included here, make up and lighting tests (although all involve the final make up for Hellboy), "A Quick Guide to Understanding Comics with Scott McCloud"--a featurette. Mike Mignola is absent from the commentary track but his pre-production artwork is included here. Ther's also the director's notebook (again--it's on two discs here for some strange reason), conceptual art galleries and comic book artists pin-ups on the last disc as well. Personally, I would have put the actors in pip mode vs. the movie as the version they're commenting on it is the theatrical release not the Director's Cut. Not sure why Columbia chose not to do this. Aside from that minor complaint (and not being able to find the UPA cartoons), this is the ultimate fan boy edition. Oh, there's also a reproduction of part of Rasputin's diary by Mignola as well included in paperback form.
The packaging is nice with three slimline DVD holders highlight Red, Blue and Liz. Personally, I would also like to have had a booklet similar to the one that came with the two discs set. Also, I'm unclear why the "seamlessly branching" DVD technology wasn't here to allow both the director's cut and the theatrical editions (much like "Alien" and "Aliens"). I don't have any use for keeping the previous edition (it was traded in) just for the theatrical cut (and I personally feel the Director's Cut is a superior version of the movie even though most of the changes are fairly minor overall).
Overall, this is a terrific boxed set that has some minor flaws. Hopefully Columbia will learn from this mistake and correct any future releases of Director's Cuts vs. theatrical editions. Also, releasing both at the same time so fans can make a choice (vs. being double dipped) would be the right thing to do from a customer service stand point. Plus, there wouldn't be all those used copies eating away at their sales of the set.
45 of 45 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The Director's Cut release completes with an unrated, extended cut of the film, in total about 132 minutes (10 min. more than the special edition). This DVD comes with 3 discs, most of them are same as the 2-disc special edition (feel free to read my review on Hellboy Two-Disc Special Edition), but this adds alot of extra brand new special features, all new director's commentary, production design, workshops, deleted scenes, etc. This edition details are roughly shown below:
[Disc 1]
- Director's Commentary: new commentary from Guillermo del Toro, exclusively for the Director's Cut DVD
- Composer's Commentary with isolated score
- Video Introduction to Disc 1 by Guillermo del Toro
- DVD ROM: Director's Notebook, Printable Script and expanded Script Supervisor's Book
- Eight Branching DVD Comics by Mike Mignola: A never-been-done DVD feature containing eight Branching DVD comics by Mike Mignola - an onscreen look at Hellboy comic books with all new expanded text from Guillermo del Toro
- Right Hand of Doom: Set Visits and Factoids
- Expanded Storyboards: picture-in-picture storyboard track plays simultaneously with the film
- Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1)
[Disc 2]
- Hellboy: The Seeds of Creation
- Four Animatics - computer-generated animated scene breakdowns. The next level in storyboarding. Director's use them to help visualize what some of the more complicated shots will look like.
- Five Board-A-Matics: side-by-side comparison of scenes with the animated storyboards
- Weblink: Hellboy merchandise
- Three deleted scenes with optional commentary
- Scene deconstruction: director Guillermo del Toro walks us through the evolution of a scene from his sketches to the storyboards to the finished scene
- Kroenen's Lair: four storyboard to film comparisons
- Maquette Rotations Gallery
- Poster Explorations for the Hellboy theatrical campaign
- Filmographies
- Previews
[Disc 3]
- Cast Video Commentary with Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Jeffrey Tambor and Rupert Evans
- Production Workshop featurettes
- Q&A Archive: Comic Con 2002 featuring Guillermo del Toro, Ron Perlman and Mike Mignola
- A Quick Guide to Understanding Comics with Scott McCloud
- Video Introduction to Disc 3 by Ron Perlman
- Production Design Photo Gallery
- Mike Mignola Pre-Production Artwork
- Conceptual Art Galleries
Overall, it is a great movie with lots of extra freebies features. If you are the Hellboy comic fans, go for it! If you already own a copy of the 2-Disc Special Edition, you may not find this worth the money, but if you don't have a copy yet, this is a no-wrong choice!
*** Otto Yuen's DVD Special Rating for Hellboy (Director's Cut) ***
1. Film Rewatchability: MEDIUM-LOW
2. DVD Featurability: EXCELLENT
3. Picture Quality: EXCELLENT
4. Sound Quality: EXCELLENT
(Reviewed by Otto Yuen, 14-Aug-2004)
[Disc 1]
- Director's Commentary: new commentary from Guillermo del Toro, exclusively for the Director's Cut DVD
- Composer's Commentary with isolated score
- Video Introduction to Disc 1 by Guillermo del Toro
- DVD ROM: Director's Notebook, Printable Script and expanded Script Supervisor's Book
- Eight Branching DVD Comics by Mike Mignola: A never-been-done DVD feature containing eight Branching DVD comics by Mike Mignola - an onscreen look at Hellboy comic books with all new expanded text from Guillermo del Toro
- Right Hand of Doom: Set Visits and Factoids
- Expanded Storyboards: picture-in-picture storyboard track plays simultaneously with the film
- Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1)
[Disc 2]
- Hellboy: The Seeds of Creation
- Four Animatics - computer-generated animated scene breakdowns. The next level in storyboarding. Director's use them to help visualize what some of the more complicated shots will look like.
- Five Board-A-Matics: side-by-side comparison of scenes with the animated storyboards
- Weblink: Hellboy merchandise
- Three deleted scenes with optional commentary
- Scene deconstruction: director Guillermo del Toro walks us through the evolution of a scene from his sketches to the storyboards to the finished scene
- Kroenen's Lair: four storyboard to film comparisons
- Maquette Rotations Gallery
- Poster Explorations for the Hellboy theatrical campaign
- Filmographies
- Previews
[Disc 3]
- Cast Video Commentary with Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Jeffrey Tambor and Rupert Evans
- Production Workshop featurettes
- Q&A Archive: Comic Con 2002 featuring Guillermo del Toro, Ron Perlman and Mike Mignola
- A Quick Guide to Understanding Comics with Scott McCloud
- Video Introduction to Disc 3 by Ron Perlman
- Production Design Photo Gallery
- Mike Mignola Pre-Production Artwork
- Conceptual Art Galleries
Overall, it is a great movie with lots of extra freebies features. If you are the Hellboy comic fans, go for it! If you already own a copy of the 2-Disc Special Edition, you may not find this worth the money, but if you don't have a copy yet, this is a no-wrong choice!
*** Otto Yuen's DVD Special Rating for Hellboy (Director's Cut) ***
1. Film Rewatchability: MEDIUM-LOW
2. DVD Featurability: EXCELLENT
3. Picture Quality: EXCELLENT
4. Sound Quality: EXCELLENT
(Reviewed by Otto Yuen, 14-Aug-2004)
27 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Not being knowledgable with the comic series, I was a bit nervous about going to see this one. I've seen most of the comicbook-to-film movies, so I thought I would give this one a shot, too. Besides, I happen to be a Ron Perlman fan of sorts, so that was further impetus to me.
I was actually shocked! It was very well done! I shouldn't have been too shocked, though, as the director is Guillermo Del Toro, the one who gave us Blade 2 (say what you will about it, but I found it was a shade better than the first even and I liked the first). He's definitely experienced enough now to turn a comic book movie into real cinema and he has no problem making the characters of Hellboy believable.
I think if I had to choose a complaint, it would be this. There are a good number of characters, but due to the amount of them, it's difficult to give much development to them all. Still, given the time the movie runs, all the characters do get a fair treatment and all of them have at least some development, if not a good amount (as Hellboy or Myers). Also, only one or two of the lines struck me as entirely cheesy or campy, and on the whole the writing was great.
The action flowed nicely and there was a good amount of it, though not too much where it can be overwhelming. The plot was interesting and kept the audience involved. Sure, it's not believable, but let's be serious: it's a movie based on a comic, how true-to-life do you WANT the plot to be? The villains are well done and very good at their parts. The CGI doesn't distract too much from the film as they blend that with the rest of the movie very seemlessly. They definitely did their homework and took their time with this one.
Also, on a side note, the PG-13 rating it totally deserved and goes to show how good a movie can be without an overdose of gore, sex, or foul language (the worst word in it being 'ass' I believe). The gore and bloodshed are kept very low (yes, people still die, but aside from one particular scene, the sight of blood is almost non-existent). It's not Puritanical, but well done without overdoing it.
It's totally worth the watch and you will definitely want to do so in the theater. You really need to get that full effect. It will most likely be added to my collection on DVD when it comes out. Enjoy!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
2 Disc Special Edition is awesome,
I Love this movie. I would recommend this to everyone. It has some amazing features and it a good movie.
Published 29 days ago by nicoleadams
Big Red
I've never been a fan of the Hellboy comics, but I did enjoy this movie for the most part. An above average cast and some very cool CGI didn't hurt at all.
Published 8 months ago by S. Carlson
Light your cigar with a wooden match, it preserves the flavor
This movie has many subtle points that might evade the viewer. For example Jeffrey Tabor's boss man, like Ron Perlman's Hellboy, is always smoking a cigar. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Ulfilas
Extra-licious
Loaded with extras, including a cool "Tell-tale Heart" cartoon, which I believe can only be had with this 2-disc set.
Published 9 months ago by Nathan Dotson
A director who knows what to cut.
For those who've seen the theatrical edition you'll be pleased that nothing is missing from this version. Atleast nothing I noticed. Read more
Published 10 months ago by doineedapenname
pretty good
This movie is pretty good. Entertaining enough- not one of my favorite Marvel Comic movies, but it's alright...better than Dare Devil...
Published 12 months ago by k&r.w
Great Buy
I love the movie and the service was great. The best seller I came across so far. 5 star service will buy again.
Published 13 months ago by Buyfly
The Best
This is one of my Favorite movies of all time, and one of my favorite directors as well, Ron Pearlman was made for this Movie it is a awsome love action comedy whamo!!!!
Published 13 months ago by Naboria
HB 3 disk
Came in a small amount of time. Works brilliantly, love all the bonus features! Excellent product for any die hard HB fan!
Published 15 months ago by NASH
A hero with a personality, yes
There's been quite a few comic book adaptations being done, although that I haven't read any of the comics before watching the movies. Read more
Published 21 months ago by S. Harris
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