Product Description: Columbia Pictures Hellboy (Blu-ray) From visionary writer/director Guillermo del Toro (director of "Blade II," "The Devil's Backbone") comes "Hellboy," a supernatural action adventure based on Mike Mignola's popular Dark Horse Comics series of the same name. Born in the flames of hell and brought to Earth as an infant to perpetrate evil, "Hellboy" (Ron Perlman) was rescued from sinister forces by the benevolentDr. Broom (John Hurt), who raised him to be a hero. In Dr. Broom's secret Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, Hellboy creates an unlikely family consisting of the telepathic "Mer-Man" Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) and Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), thewoman he loves who can control fire. Hidden from the very society that they protect, they stand as the key line of defense against an evil madman whoseeks to reclaim "Hellboy" to the dark side and use his powers to destroy mankind.
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
Average Great as far as the BlueRay HD Goes. Story line to long, movie dragged at times.
Man...I STILL can't get over how much I dug this film...! I loved this movie; what a complete and total surprise!
I am a comic book fan of the highest order: I still get them every Wednesday...I have over 13,000...I defend the artform to anyone who will listen.
But somehow, I never "got into" Hellboy." I knew it was highly regarded. The visuals appeared interesting. But I never took the dive.
I bought the DVD, never watched it. I bought the "Special Edition"; never watched it. I have that disease. Gotta get them just in case they sell out and you can find them anymore...y'know?
I just got my Blu-Ray player, and for some strange reason, I picked up "Hellboy" in my initial batch of a dozen discs.
It ended up being the first movie I put in my player. It sort of "called" to me.
Wow. I was hooked from the opening sequence to the bold credits. And not just because the images were razor-sharp and the sound was goose-bump-making perfect.
It's because Hellboy, and his dad, and the fish guy, and Jeffrey Tambor and freakin' Guillermo Del Toro all conspired to suck me into this world that I bought hook, line and giant rocky right hand.
The action is outstanding, the humor delicious, the special effects supreme. The plot is a tad muddled, but you won't care.
The characterizations...the dialogue...just sparkles. I was reminded of those old-fashioned movies...ones where what the characters were saying is just as important as what they are doing.
Yes, even if that character is a big, red demon-like dude who saws off his horns.
Not only can't I wait to watch this again, but now I'm going to make every effort to check out the sequel in a few weeks, and see it on the REALLY big screen...
Man...I STILL can't get over how much I dug this film...!
In the absence of light, darkness prevails While some good directors never quite "get it," it took Guillermo Del Toro only one misfire -- the icky, slow-paced "Blade 2" -- to get the whole comic-book adaptation thing right.
In fact, just about everything is right with "Hellboy" -- Del Toro crafted an action blockbuster with a grimy, slimy cult-movie feel and a quirky sense of humor. It's graced with excellent acting, spectacular action scenes, and the trappings of clockpunk and Lovecraftian horror -- not to mention that it stars a six-foot-tall scarlet demon with a soft spot for kittens.
In 1944, young Professor Broom accompanied an army regiment to a remote Scottish island, where the Nazis -- led by Rasputin -- were about to open a portal to another world, and allow the vast tentacled Ogru Jahad (Seven Gods of Chaos) to enter our world. Rasputin and the Nazis were destroyed, but something came through the portal -- a baby demon, whom Broom names Hellboy.
Fast-forward sixty years -- a grown Hellboy (Ron Perlman) and his fishy friend Abe (Doug Jones) are working at a paranormal government agency that specializes in policing the supernatural, with the weirded-out Agent Myers (Rupert Evans) just joining the team. Soon afterwards, Hellboy is called on to kill Sammael the Hellhound -- but it turns out that Sammael can replicate himself indefinitely.
As Hellboy and his team try to hunt down the remaining Sammaels, the dying Professor Broom (John Hurt) finds that a revived Rasputin and his immortal Nazi followers have orchestrated all this. And Rasputin is continuing to pull the strings behind the scenes -- including using Hellboy's love Liz (Selma Blair), a depressed pyrokinetic. And when Hellboy suffers a devastating loss, his journey will take him right back to his roots -- and the potential destruction of the world.
Watching "Hellboy," it's easy to see how Guillermo Del Toro because world-famous for the exquisitely dark "Pan's Labyrinth," and why he's been chosen to direct the forthcoming "Hobbit" movies. This adaptation could have just been another paint-by-numbers comic-book story, but Del Toro gives it the kind of grime, quirk, brains and heart that a lasting cult movie should have.
Part of that cult appeal is "Hellboy's" distinctive look, with Lovecraftian tentacle-gods and some steampunky details. And the action scenes are pretty spectacular -- trains, slimy hellhounds, sword-swinging Nazis with chopped-up faces, giant clock cogs, and a fiery explosion in a mental asylum. And there are some truly spectacular action scenes in a vast underground labyrinth, full of ancient hammers and collapsing bridges. There's just enough action and grossness, without going overboard.
But Del Toro is able to balance out the action with some truly touching moments, such as the aged Broom's final scenes in his firelit study. And there's a lot of dark humor here as well -- and not all of it is Hellboy's dry one-liners. The movie is liberally peppered with dark humor moments ("1945, you mean. Hitler died in '45." "DID he now?"), including some hilariously macabre scenes involving a bad-tempered Russian zombie ("This is Ivan Klimatovich. Say hi, Ivan." "Go that way, Red Monkey!").
Most importantly, Del Toro is able to give his characters little human quirks -- hair plugs, love of cats, and Hellboy sanding down his horns in the morning. Perlman is simply amazing as "Red," whose gruff scarlet exterior hides a kindly, affectionate heart. Not many actors could emote through that many prosthetics (including a very lifelike tail), but Perlman makes it look natural.
Though he's playing a ninetyish old professor, Hurt plays his role with a quiet, powerful sense of goodness. Jones and Evans also do excellent jobs, one as an erudite psychic fish-man ("We lead a charmed life," he observes as cockroaches skitter around him) and an earnest young agent. Selma Blair is the one downside -- she sort of mumbles in a monotone most of the time.
"Hellboy" is one of the best comic-book adaptations that Hollywood has turned out, primarily because of the darker, eerier aesthetic Guillermo Del Toro brings to it. Definitely a must-see.
great movie This movie is great. It looks and sounds awesome on blu-ray. Dont have dvd to be able to compare.
Good movie made better in Blu While not one of my favorite movies I do like the movie and story line (although the whole good guy against an occult infatuated nazi bad guy is quite re-used in hollywood) and find it fun to watch from time to time therefore a good addition to the blu collection. I had the DVD and have to say the transfer to Blu is SOOO much sharper and crisper then the DVD.
Quick reply to the donk who claimed blu-ray wouldn't be around much longer... (Blue ray to bad, Updated, December 26, 2007 By Robert J. Talbot) I saw a Betamax player on Craigslist that you might be interested in...
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