Hellboy: Director’s Cut (Blu-ray)
Studio: Sony Year: 2006 Rated: Unrated Film Length: 132 minutes Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 High Definition 1080p Disc Type: BD-50 Dual Layer Codec: AVC Mpeg-4 Audio: English & German Uncompressed 5.1 PCM (48kHz, 24-Bit), Dolby Digital English, German & French 5.1 Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French, Czech, Dutch, Greek, Croatian, Bulgarian, Korean, Polish, Turkish, Hungarian, Romanian, German & Arabic |
Release Date: June 5, 2007
The Movie:
(****/*****) 4/5
Comic book adaptations have had a huge resurgence over the past decade or so, and it’s no wonder: The comic book or graphic novel has been a huge source of creative expression since the early 20th century and continue to be a breeding ground for original storytelling. I must admit, however, that my comic knowledge is a bit lacking and I’d never heard of Hellboy when it hit theaters in 2003. So, with little knowledge of the source material, I found myself fascinated with the characters and scenarios portrayed in Guillermo del Toro’s exciting and fresh adaptation.
Deep into the throes of World War II, a group of allied soldiers and scientists stumble upon the ever occult-obsessed Nazi’s in the midst of them trying to open a portal to hell. Fortunately for the safety of the entire world, they are stopped in the nick of time. Perhaps even more fortunately, a strange demon manages to slip through and is quickly befriended by a scientist on the scene. Flash forward sixty or so years and that young demon is now Hellboy: hunter of stray demons and employee of the FBI. Sounds kind of strange, doesn’t it?
Well, it is strange, but it really does work. Again, not being familiar with the comic, I could have very easily been turned off by such material, but Hellboy is so straightforward and matter of fact, that what would ordinarily seem idiotic and far-fetched, comes across as totally believable. Well, for the most part. Effects are generally great throughout the film and the story is extremely efficiently told. I was never bored and found the subject matter constantly intriguing. With all the junk that hits multiplexes on a weekly basis, it’s nice to see a film like Hellboy that manages to tell a good story as well as appeal to the action crowd.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
The Video:
(*****/*****) 5/5
Hellboy is a very welcome addition the the Blu-ray format. Encoded with the AVC codec, this is another first-rate example of how a transfer should be done. Colors are vibrant without ever blooming, detail is exceptional and the picture is absolutely artifact-free. There are several scenes in the film where snowy, white locations are heavily contrasted to a certain blood-covered individual in the foreground. This is an exceptional example of how high definition can display extremely challenging material with ease as color accuracy and contrast are never sacrificed. Each extreme is beautifully rendered. Hellboy not only qualifies as being extremely faithful to the theatrical presentation, it is also first-rate demo material. This is a disc that will definitely wow your friends!
HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!
The Audio:
(*****/*****) 5/5
In addition to its fantastic video presentation, Hellboy features an absolutely outstanding uncompressed PCM 5.1 soundtrack. This really is a stellar track with an immense spatial feel and impressive surround usage. Having never personally been in a gunfight, I can only imagine that bullets whizzing past my head would pretty much sound like they do in Hellboy. There are many settings in the film, subway tunnels, museums and city streets, that all come to life with an amazing expressiveness. I was particularly blown away by the huge soundstage of the film and the tight and accurate deep bass. Once again, Sony delivers an outstanding audio presentation!
HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!
The Supplements:
(***/*****) 3/5
Here’s what’s included:
-“Hellboy: The Seeds of Creation”
-Director’s Commentary
-“Scott McCloud’s Guide to Understanding Comics”
-“Visual Effects How-to’s”
-“Make-up and Lighting”
-Deleted Scenes
“Hellboy: The Seeds of Creation” kicks off the supplements of this set with a bang. This lengthy and extremely in-depth documentary is the definitive guide to everything related to Hellboy that you would likely ever need to know. Mr. del Toro’s engaging commentary track serves as a nice counterpoint to this feature and underscores many of his directorial and creative decisions that keep this film true to its source material. The various technical features were a bit on the boring side, but the excellent “Scott McCloud’s Guide to Understanding Comics” nicely rounds out the set.
RECOMMENDED!
The Final Analysis:
(*****/*****) 5/5
A truly engaging story, phenomenal video and audio as well as a nice supplemental package make Hellboy an easy Blu-ray set to recommend. Don’t shy away from this one, if you aren’t already a fan of the comic. This is a story worth experiencing!
HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!
Equipment used for this review:
Panasonic DMP-BD10 Blu-Ray Player
JVC DLA-RS1 Front Projector – 1080p
Carada 93” diagonal 16x9 Criterion Series/Brilliant White Screen – www.carada.com
Rotel RSX-1056 Surround Receiver
Rotel RB-1080 Amplifier
B&W Speakers
M&K MX-125 Subwoofer
Interconnects: www.catcables.com
It is a Sony release, and credit where credit is due, this is one of Sony's best releases (PQ and AQ) to date.
