Hellboy

Ron Perlman Director: Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro

Overview

Mike Mignola's acclaimed comic book series about a creature from Hades who joins the battle against evil arrives on the screen in vivid form in this adaptation directed by distinctive horror filmmaker Guillermo del Toro. During World War II, the Third Reich has joined forces with the evil Grigori Rasputin (Karel Roden), who has used his occult powers to summon up a young demon from the depth of Hell to be used as the ultimate Axis weapon. However, the demonic creature is captured by American forces, and put in the care of Professor Broom (John Hurt), the founder of a top-secret organization called the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. Under Broom's tutelage, the creature develops empathy and a desire to do good while his physical powers and paranormal talents are honed to a fine point. Sixty years later, the demon, now known as Hellboy (Ron Perlman), is part of an elite secret defense team alongside Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), a beautiful young woman who can create fire with her mind, and Abe Sapian (Doug Jones), an aquatic humanoid with the power of telepathy. Despite his many years of fighting for right, Hellboy finds himself facing his greatest challenge when the powerful Rasputin returns, determined to bring the demon back to the forces of darkness so that evil may finally rule the world. Hellboy's supporting cast also includes Jeffrey Tambor, Rupert Evans, and Brian Steele.

Product Details

Release Date:	06/03/2008
UPC:	0043396272613
Original Release:	2004
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Sony Pictures
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound]
Time:	2:02:00
Sales rank:	5,490

Special Features

Closed Caption; Video introduction by Guillermo del Toro; Creator audio commentary: Guillermo Del Toro (director) and Mike Mignola (co-executive producer); Cast audio commentary: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Jeffrey Tambor and Rupert Evans; Branching DVD comics drawn by Mike Mignola; "Right Hand of Doom" set visits; "From the Den" Hellboy recommends...Gerlad McBoing Boing animated shorts; DVD-ROM printable original screenplay script supervisor's book director's notebook

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Ron Perlman	Hellboy
John Hurt	Prof. Trevor "Broom" Bruttenholm
Selma Blair	Liz Sherman
Rupert Evans	Agent John Myers
Karel Roden	Grigori Rasputin
Jeffrey Tambor	Dr. Tom Manning
Doug Jones	Abe Sapien
David Hyde Pierce	Abe Sapien
Brian Steele	Sammael
Ladislav Beran	Kroenen
Biddy Hodson	Ilsa
Corey Johnson	Agent Clay
Kevin Trainor	Young Broom
Brian Caspe	Agent Lime
James Babson	Agent Moss
Stephen H. Fisher	Agent Quarry
Garth Cooper	Agent Stone
Angus MacInnes	Sgt. Whitman
Jim Howick	Cpl. Matlin
Santiago Segura	Train Driver
Guillermo del Toro	Baby Hellboy/Kroenen/Samuel
Bridget Hodson	Ilsa
John William Johnson	Agent Clay
Mark Taylor	Truck Driver
Daniel Aarsman	Kid
Bettina Ask	kid
Alvaro Navarro	kid
Emilio Navarro	kid
Rory Copus	kid on rooftop
Tara Hugo	Doctor Jenkins
Richard Haas	Second Doctor
Andrea Miltner	Doctor Marsh
Jo Eastwood	Down's Patient
Charles Grisham	Museum Guard
Jan Holicek	museum guard
Jeremy Zimmerman	lobby guard
Monty L. Simons	orderly
Pavel Cajzl	Sherpa Guide
Andrea Stuart	Girl with Kittens
William Hoyland	Von Krupt
Mille Wilkie	Young Liz
Bob Sherman	Television host
Ellen Savaria	Blonde Television Reporter
Petr Sekanina	German Scientists
Ales Kosnar	German Scientists
Justin Svoboda	Young Guy
Winter Ave Zoli	Girlfriend
Albert May	Train Driver
Pete Anthony	Conductor

Technical Credits

Guillermo del Toro

Guillermo del Toro	Director,Original Story,Screenwriter
Georgina Abanto	Makeup
Peter Afterman	Musical Direction/Supervision
Nick Allder	Special Effects Supervisor
Simon Allen	Animator
Peter Amundson	Editor
Dovi Anderson	Animator
Pete Anthony	Musical Arrangement
Jason Armstrong	Animator
Merche Arque	Makeup Special Effects
Michael Axinn	Editor
Cheryl Bainum	Executive Producer
Richard Baker	Makeup Special Effects
Dan Balcer	Camera Operator
Jeff Barnes	Executive Producer
Dave Beavis	Special Effects Supervisor
Marco Beltrami	Score Composer
Pavel Bezdek	Stunts
Kay Bilk	Makeup
Beverly Binda	Makeup
Steve Boeddeker	Sound/Sound Designer
Petr Bozdech	Stunts
Peter Briggs	Original Story
Ronan Browne	Animator
Zuzana Brozová	Costumes/Costume Designer
Michael Brunet	Animator
Keith Bryant	Producer
Todd Bryant	Stunts
Craig Davis	Stunts
Zuzana Drdacka	Stunts
Chuck Duke	Animator
Zdenek Dvoracek	Stunts
Hana Dvorska	Stunts
Will Elder-Groebe	Animator
Jiri First	Stunts
Grant Fletcher	Stunts
Karin Fong	Art Director
Peter Francis	Art Director
Victor Garcia	Makeup Special Effects
Kameron Gates	Animator
Justine Gerenstein	Editor
Aaron Gilman	Animator
Richard Goodwin	Asst. Director
Lawrence Gordon	Producer
Lee Greenwood	Animator
Rene Hajek	Stunts
James Hambridge	Art Director
Jim Hart	Stunts
J. Michael Haynie	Asst. Director
Mark Holding	Sound Mixer
Traci Horie	Animator
Louie Horvath	Stunts
Andy Howard	Asst. Director
Spectral Motion Incorporated	Special Effects
Eric Ingerson	Animator
Roman Janecka	Asst. Director
Julie Jaros	Animator
Timothy James Kane	Camera Operator
Michael Kitchen	Animator
Juan Leiva	Camera Operator
Lloyd Levin	Producer
James Likowski	Editor
Paul Loewe	Makeup Special Effects
Jan Loukota	Stunts
Joaquin Manchado	Camera Operator
Brian Mendenhall	Animator
Jose M. Menses	Makeup Special Effects
Mike Mignola	Associate Producer
David Mottl	Stunts
Guillermo Navarro	Cinematographer
Olina Norkova	Makeup Special Effects
Luke O'Byrne	Executive Producer
Patrick Palmer	Executive Producer
Wendy Partridge	Costumes/Costume Designer
Tomas Peterac	Stunts
Jan Petrina	Stunts
Gabriela Polakova	Makeup
Morgan Ratsoy	Animator
Ljuba Reznickova	Costumes/Costume Designer
Silva Reznickova	Costumes/Costume Designer
Mike Richardson	Producer
Miguel Rodriguez	Makeup Special Effects
Jules Roman	Executive Producer
Matt Rose	Makeup Special Effects
Marco Bittner Rosser	Art Director
Alonzo Ruvalcaba	Executive Producer
Marc Sadeghi	Executive Producer
Buck Sanders	Producer
Stephen Scott	Production Designer
Jaromir Sedina	Camera Operator
Phillip Lee Seegar	Asst. Director
Juan Serrano	Makeup Special Effects
Jiri Simbersky	Stunts
Sergio Simenovic	Asst. Director
Klara Slavikova	Stunts
Dita Moers Strouhal	Production Manager
Ivan the Terrible	Stunts
Tomas Tobola	Stunts
David Listvan Tomas	Stunts
Margaret Yen	Musical Direction/Supervision
Kamila Zenkerova	Stunts
Jeremy Zimmerman	Casting

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Hellboy
1. Start [5:38]
2. Closing the Portal [:11]
3. Hellboy [:52]
4. Resurrection [1:07]
5. Bump Back [:09]
6. The Rest of the Family [2:07]
7. First Sammael [4:29]
8. Westside Highway [2:14]
9. Fireproof [3:44]
10. Liz [:10]
11. The Seed of Destruction [2:02]
12. "I'm Learning Control to It" [2:27]
13. Inferno [:35]
14. Underwater Chamber [:08]
15. Doing His Job [5:04]
16. Man Down [1:03]
17. Home Sweet Home [:10]
18. On a Mission [2:24]
19. His Destiny [2:46]
20. "Something's Wrong" [2:36]
21. Moscow [3:53]
22. "Something Big" [3:38]
23. "That's it For You, Pinhead' [2:45]
24. Egg Chamber [:08]
25. The Right Hand of Doom [2:56]
26. Apocalypse [1:47]
27. "Hoiw Big Could it Be?" [:11]
28. The Kiss [3:07]

Menu

Disc #1 -- Hellboy
   Introduction
   Play Movie
   Special Features
      Commentaries
      DVD Comics
      "The Right Hand of Doom" Set Visits
      Storyboard Track
      "From the Den" - Hellboy Recommends...
         Gerald McBoing Boing
         Gerald McBoing! Boing! on Planet Moo
         How Now Boing Boing
         The Tell-Tale Heart
      DVD-ROM
   Scene Selection
   Set Up
      Audio Set Up: English
      Audio Set Up: French/Français
      Subtitles: English
      Subtitles: French/Français
      Subtitles Off

Editorial Reviews

The stylish direction of Guillermo del Toro makes this colorful adaptation of Mike Mignola's graphic novel a lot more entertaining than it might have been in less capable hands. The principal character, after all, isn't just some costumed do-gooder; he's a supernatural being whose origin is considerably less benign than that of the average comic-book crime fighter. Hellboy (portrayed by Ron Perlman), a genuine spawn of the netherworld, is found in the waning days of World War II by Professor Trevor Bruttenholm (John Hurt), who also looks after other mutants kept safe from prying eyes in a secret compound. When the reincarnated Grigori Rasputin -- yes, that Rasputin -- unleashes long-suppressed demonic forces against America, the FBI enlists Hellboy's aid in combating the inhuman creatures doing the evil mesmerist's bidding. Perlman, having played bestial characters before, brings much-needed warmth and humor to Hellboy. He's well supported by Hurt and Selma Blair, properly enigmatic and more than a little wistful as Liz Sherman, whose pyro-kinetic abilities make her dangerous to be around. Doug Jones, totally unrecognizable in makeup and prosthetics, turns in a fine performance as Abe Sapien (voiced by David Hyde Pierce), the half-man/half-fish who aids Hellboy when the FBI comes calling. Very much like the comic books it brings to life, Hellboy pulsates with energy and teems with dynamic visual effects. While the film has wry, humorous moments, it never condescends to its audience. That's more than can be said for many comic-book movies; and for that, del Toro deserves considerable credit.

Barnes & Noble - Ed Hulse

Completely original and stunningly realized, Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy is a masterstroke of awe-inspired entertainment that sparkles with bold storytelling that dares to go where no monster movie has gone before. Adapted from the original Hellboy comic miniseries The Seed of Destruction, the film takes creator Mike Mignola's dynamic graphic style and molds it into its own cinematic marvel, using a color palette that explodes around one of the strangest lead characters ever brought to the screen. However dark his origins might be, Hellboy (as brilliantly embodied by Ron Perlman) fits the American action-hero role to a T; full of witty one-liners and the first to fearlessly jump into the fray, the character is immediately personable and a perfect fit for the kind of bigger-than-life heroes to which people have flocked for years. What's wonderful, too, is that there's an incredible amount of heart to this beast -- in fact, to the whole film. When the movie's not wowing you with its stellar production design or thrilling you with its wall-to-wall action, the filmmakers have instilled real emotion into a story line that, for all good measure, probably wouldn't have been this juicy if it were not for del Toro. Bringing a loving humanity to each of this film's strange clique of characters isn't something that any storyteller would just pull out of their hat for a flick like this, which is all the more reason to soak it up here. For your buck, you not only get over-the-top action, but also a comical adventure that's based around a gothic tale of love and belonging (oh yes, with a whole lot of Lovecraftian horror for good measure). If that sounds like a little too much, don't worry, because all of those pieces only fit together only for the sake of pleasing you, the viewer. With a genuinely quirky score from Marco Beltrami that thankfully strays far away from Danny Elfman's recent cut-and-paste superhero jobs, Hellboy in every way looks, feels, and sounds completely different from anything else out there. If ever Hollywood had the cards stacked against it while selling a comic book idea to general audiences, this is it. The fact that it works is unbelievable. The fact that it's as fun as it is makes it that much more satisfying.

All Movie Guide - Jeremy Wheeler

Del Toro moves his story along with unrelenting energy and wit while introducing the opposing parties with admirable efficiency.

Washington Post - Richard Harrington

One of those rare movies that's not only based on a comic book, but also feels like a comic book. It's vibrating with energy, and you can sense the zeal and joy in its making.

Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert

So forget about taking anyone under 12. But if you want to see what a benign demon looks like when he's eating nachos and unwinding to Al Green, this is the movie for you.

Boston Globe - Ty Burr

Guillermo del Toro is in a class with Peter Jackson as a fan-boy who gets it--a brilliant filmmaker who has a kind of metabolic connection to horror and sci-fi that helps him transform secondhand genre material into something deep and nourishing.

Slate - David Edelstein

Read More