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| Hellboy (Two-Disc Special Edition) | 
 enlarge | Actors: James Babson, Ladislav Beran, Selma Blair, Brian Caspe, Garth Cooper
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
Buy Used: $6.76
You Save: $13.22 (66%)
New (18) Used (47) Collectible (10) from $6.76
Avg. Customer Rating:  404 reviews
Sales Rank: 1249
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Number Of Items: 2
Running Time: 122
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: 01317
ISBN: 1404935924
UPC: 043396013179
EAN: 9781404935921
ASIN: B00008EY65
Theatrical Release Date: April 2, 2004
Release Date: June 21, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Ships Next Business Day!
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| Customer Reviews:
 When things go bump in the night, Hellboy bumps back July 30, 2004
21 out of 24 found this review helpful
"Hellboy" is the movie adapted from a comic book for people who did not read the comic book, which, in this case, would be me. That means I was free of any and all preconceptions regarding characters, casting, and plot this time around, unlike previous experiences with Batman, Spider-Man, and the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. But even from a tabula rassa perspective it is hard to believe that anybody other than Ron Perlman could have played the title role in "Hellboy."
The first key point about this movie is that "Hellboy" works even before Perlman shows up as Big Red and takes over the movie. We begin in 1944 in Scotland, where a bunch of Nazis have shown up in order to open an inter-dimensional portal to the dark side and summon forth the Seven Gods of Chaos. True, this is going to end the world, which is probably a bit more than Hitler was bargaining for, but it seems that the original Russian mad monk Grigori Rasputin (Karel Roden), his Aryan bride of death Ilsa (Bridget Hodson), and the blade loving Nazi psycho Kroenen (Ladislav Beran) have a slightly different agenda. Fortunately, young Professor Trevor Broom (Kevin Trainor), FDR's psychic advisor, and the U.S. Army stop the Nazi plot. The portal is closed, but not before a little red-skinned horned demon comes through from the other side.
We jump ahead to the present, where the rumored sightings of Hellboy are a tabloid staple. Young clean-cut F.B.I. agent John Myers (Rupert Evans) becomes a part of the agency's Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense where Professor Broom (John Hurt) introduces him to "Abe" Sapien (Doug Jones does the acting but the voice is provided by David Hyde Pierce), a fish like mind-reader/psychic and the adult Hellboy in all of his glory. Meanwhile, sixty years later Rasputin and his sidekicks are back again and have managed to unleash a monster from inside a statue at the museum. The fun part about this particular monster is that every time you kill one, two more are born to take its place. Hellboy has his work cut out for him this time, but Rasputin and Kroenen do something that makes this really personal for our hero.
But the ending of the world as we know it is a minor problem compared to Hellboy's love life, which is fixated on the melancholy Liz Sherman (Selma Blair). She is a pyrokineticist who bursts into flames when she gets excited or angry. He is a seven-foot red skinned demon from another dimension who is impervious to fire, so it is clearly a perfect match. But once John convinces Liz to come back to the fold they start spending time together, forcing Hellboy to sneak around on rooftops spying on them. However, this is all just a prelude to the final showdown with the bad guys and their monsters. More than any other comic book superhero on the big screen, Hellboy really takes a pounding. But the big guy keeps coming back for more.
Perlman is pitch perfect as Hellboy, his baritone voice providing depth to the character beyond the awesome makeup job. Working from Mike Mignola's Dark Horse comic books, director Guillermo del Toro ("Blade II") creates a suitable gothic atmosphere for Hellboy to have his knockdown drag out battles. But the star here is Perlman's Hellboy. This is pitch-perfect casting and Perlman is even better here than he was as Vincent on television's "Beauty and the Beast." If anything, he is bigger and better than the movie he is in, which is a pretty good accomplishment for a comic book movie. This guy watches out for kittens during a fight. What is not to love about Hellboy?
The bonus disc for this DVD is even better, especially for those who like to see the nuts and bolts of making a movie. There are two commentary tracks, the first by the creative forces of director Guillermo del Toro and the comic book's Mike Mignola, the second with actors Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Rupert Evans, and Jeffrey Tambor. The documentary, "Hellboy: The Seeds of Creation," is longer than the movie and you can spend hours going through everything. Be sure you find the illustrated biographies of the characters along with all the scene by scene comparisons available. I rated the movie, which is arguably the second best superhero movie of the century after "Spider-Man 2," a 4.5 and was going to round down, but that is impossible with this bonus disc.
 Ron Perlman. He's the whole movie; the rest is 'meh' April 6, 2004
19 out of 54 found this review helpful
Hellboy is cliche after cliche, but with one heck of a sweet performance by Ron Perlman as Hellboy himself. And there's the rub. This really should have been a movie about Hellboy and his travails, sinking deep into his character--perhaps even as a narrator. Instead, we get a pastiche of well-worn fan-boy story standards--Nazis, Lovecraftian "elder gods," Nostrodamus, etc.--tied together by unnecessary clutter. And then, every so often, Perlman drops in with an endearing scene, and some great lines.There's no great villain here. The special effects are so-so (you can even see Perlman battling the wires on one jump), and the directing is workmanlike and not much more. Too bad.
Good film, but doesn't excell April 21, 2004
19 out of 19 found this review helpful
Ron Perlman effectively carries this film when the plot mechanics bog down the story. He's funny and violent and vulnerable, perfect. If he doesn't work, the film doesn't. One thing that I disagree with about the film is that it shouldn't be rated pg-13. There's a lot a violent and gruesome content in this film and it's combined with occultic themes, kids shouldn't be seeing this stuff, that's all. I had the same quibbles with the Lord of the Rings, they pushes R rated violence into the pg-13 territory because they wanted to make their money back. Enough of my puritanical rant, I just feel that this movie earns the R and doesn't end up getting it, that's all. By the way, kudos to Jeffrey Tambor, who plays a character who you don't like and is still OK to like at the end because he's such a obnoxious dufus. To all who've seen it, I hope you stuck around for the credits to catch a little bit more of him.
Monster Seeking Monsters October 4, 2004
18 out of 19 found this review helpful
Hellboy, when it was first announced as a film project, shocked me because I kept trying to figure out how it was going to be made. First I pondered the budget necessary to make a film version of Mike Migola's insanely cool comic without making it look stupid and cheap. Second I worried greatly about the director. Last, I couldn't even begin to think about who the hell would play Hellboy.
Amazing as it seems, the budget was more than adequate, the director more than capable (Guillermo del Toro), and the actor playing Hellboy (Ron Perlman) was, is, and always will be the film incarnation of the big red guy. In fact, if I had my way I'd nominate Perlman for an Academy Award (and in doing so validate those frivolities very existence). Betcha it don't happen though.
This film is the grandest presentation of a fanboy project since The Fellowship of the Ring, made all the more amazing by the fact that the source material is a borderline underground comic. Del Toro's genius is in proving that great film making can come from the semi-obscure.
Every shot with Hellboy is eyecatching, and with the special effects teams involved it's no wonder. From creature animation, to backgrounds the best of the best had there hand in this film.
While Hellboy is bad ass, Abe Sapien is perhaps one of the most beautiful creature creations brought to film ever, kind of like the Creature from the Black Lagoon with a yen for book learning instead of white bikinis. Liz, is a Firestarter that would roast Drew Barrymore like some leftover cocktail weenie.
Throw in a tick tock man made of gears and cogs who was a nazi super assassin, the mad monk Rasputin, and several demon/gods from hell and you've got an action/horror hybrid that's enough to put any SFX junkie into joy riddled convulsions.
The best part about this movie (aside from the reported sequel in the works) is that it increased the world's knowledge exponentially of the wonderful comic by Mike Mignola. People are now seeking out the haunting artwork and surreal storytelling of Hellboy and I envy anyone their first glance into Mignola's imagination.
Now for one last thing, apparently a director's cut is on the way, and while on the one hand I feel cheated, I also find myself curious. I'm having a psychic moment, it involves the future and a willfull relinquishing of hard earned funds. Hopefully it will be worth it. I know the original theatrical release was. One of the top 10 movies of 2004.
A red hot love story July 31, 2008
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
"There lived a certain man in Russia long ago
He was big and strong, in his eyes a flaming glow"
("Rasputin" by Boney M)
Short Attention Span Summary (SASS):
1.German military says "Ra Ra Rasputin" , and tries to open a portal to another dimension
2.US Army shows up and all Hellboy breaks loose
3.Forget music - it's a Baby Ruth that soothes a savage beast
4.Fast forward 60 years and Hellboy and his friends are attached to the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense
5.His friends include a fishy character named Abe, and a hot chick named Liz who's in denial
6.Rasputin and his gang show up and release a nasty creature named Sammael who goes forth and multiplies
7.Newbie from the FBI gets baptism by fire
8.Lots of killings follow
9.As Inigo Montoya (from Princess Bride) once said (several times) "......Prepare to die"
Lots of paranormal stuff, out-of-this-world special effects, and strong performances by Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, John Hurt, Doug Jones and Karel Roden, among others, make for an action-packed fantasy adventure in itself, and recommended viewing before watching Hellboy II
A red hot love story that's definitely not a chick flick.
Amanda Richards, July 30, 2008
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