When
I was a kid, I thought that Blade was a cool comic book character. As
an adult, I kind of tickled to discover that Blade is just as cool, if
not cooler because the character has grown up too. The movie version of
BLADE ($20) contains all the blood, gore and inappropriate language
that would never have found its way onto the pages of a comic book, at
least not when I was a kid.
For
those of you who never had a chance to experience the character in comic
book form, Blade is a (pre-Buffy) vampire slayer with a serious attitude
problem. Blade kills vampires to take revenge on the creatures that killed
his mother just before he was born and turned him into something not completely
human. Blade’s blood was tainted while he was still in his mother's
womb rendering him half human and half vampire. This unique condition
gives Blade all the powers of a vampire, without any of their weaknesses.
Wesley Snipes is the perfect embodiment of the badass vampire slayer,
bringing the right combination of physicality, attitude and heroics to
the role.
The plot of BLADE follows the vampire hunter on his quest to eliminate
Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorff). Frost, a particularly ambitious vampire,
hopes to use the power of an ancient blood god to bring vampire domination
to the world. The cast of BLADE also features Kris Kristofferson
as Blade's mentor Abraham Whistler, N'Bushe Wright as Karen- the doctor
who may be able to cure Blade of his thirst, Donal Logue as Quinn- Deacon
Frost's right hand man and Udo Kier as Dragonetti- the chieftain of the
elite vampire society. Look for Traci Lords in a brief, but entertaining,
cameo. Director Stephen Norrington brings a genuine sense of style to
BLADE, making the film an intense visual experience. The movie
is fast paced and filled with Hong Kong inspired martial arts sequences,
high tech weaponry, sword play and state-of-the-art special effects.
New
Line Home Video has released BLADE as part of their outstanding
Platinum Series of DVDs. Dual layer technology has been utilized by New
Line to offer the wide screen version of BLADE, plus a wealth of
supplemental material. The Letterboxed transfer of BLADE recreates
the film's 2.35:1 theatrical framing almost perfectly, without a sign
of compromise to edges of the screen, additionally this presentation also
contains the highly desirable 16:9 anamorphic enhancement for wide screen
televisions. The world cinematographer Theo Van de Sande's has created
for BLADE is very dark and highly stylized; however the DVD reproduces
his work with stunning clarity. The transfer keeps the image dark, however
detail hasn't been sacrificed by maintaining the integrity of Van de Sande's
work. Color reproduction is good, although sequences shot under florescent
lighting tend to have a greenish cast. Saturation is respectable and the
color red, which tends to be problematic for analogue video sources, reproduces
without a bit distortion. Impressive DVD authoring conceals almost all
indications of digital compression artifacts.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack boasts an exciting mix that aggressively
uses each of the discrete channels, while keeping the dialogue clean and
intelligible. If you are looking for another show off DVD to give your
audio system a workout, this is the disc for you. Additionally,
the track has solid bass reproduction that kicks some serious booty. Both
the film's score and source music pulse with a life of their own, plus
they are reproduced with excellent fidelity. A matrixed Dolby Surround
soundtrack and English subtitles have also been encoded into the DVD.
The interactive menus have a very cool interface that is replete with
animation, music, sound and full motion video. Through the interactive
menus one can access the DVD's extensive supplemental section. Chief amongst
the supplements is an audio commentary featuring producer/star Wesley
Snipes, actor Stephen Dorff, writer David S. Goyer, cinematographer Theo
Van de Sande, production designer Kirk M. Petruccelli, and producer Peter
Frankfurt. The commentary appears to have been edited together from separate
sources, giving the viewer a balanced look at the production from various
viewpoints.
The film's score is offered on an isolated track, which also includes
composer Mark Isham’s comments. Other supplements include various
"featurettes" that contain on screen interviews, deleted scenes,
an alternate ending to the film, a look at vampire lore, as well as look
Blade's origins as a comic book character. Each of the "featurette"
is interesting and well worth viewing. Also included are production designs,
a closer look at various tribes of vampires depicted in the film, cast
biographies/filmographies and a theatrical trailer. BLADE is also
a "PC Friendly" DVD with features that can only be accessed
via a DVD-ROM drive and if you are running the Windows 95 or higher operating
system.
BLADE
is tremendous fun for horror fans, action fans and those comic book
fans that remember the good old days of Blade's origins. As part of New
Line Home Video prestigious Platinum Series, BLADE isa
state of the art DVD certain to please any collector. Absolutely recommended.
When
I was a kid, I thought that Blade was a cool comic book character. As
an adult, I kind of tickled to discover that Blade is just as cool, if
not cooler because the character has grown up too. The movie version of
BLADE ($20) contains all the blood, gore and inappropriate language
that would never have found its way onto the pages of a comic book, at
least not when I was a kid.
For
those of you who never had a chance to experience the character in comic
book form, Blade is a (pre-Buffy) vampire slayer with a serious attitude
problem. Blade kills vampires to take revenge on the creatures that killed
his mother just before he was born and turned him into something not completely
human. Blade’s blood was tainted while he was still in his mother's
womb rendering him half human and half vampire. This unique condition
gives Blade all the powers of a vampire, without any of their weaknesses.
Wesley Snipes is the perfect embodiment of the badass vampire slayer,
bringing the right combination of physicality, attitude and heroics to
the role. 
The plot of BLADE follows the vampire hunter on his quest to eliminate
Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorff). Frost, a particularly ambitious vampire,
hopes to use the power of an ancient blood god to bring vampire domination
to the world. The cast of BLADE also features Kris Kristofferson
as Blade's mentor Abraham Whistler, N'Bushe Wright as Karen- the doctor
who may be able to cure Blade of his thirst, Donal Logue as Quinn- Deacon
Frost's right hand man and Udo Kier as Dragonetti- the chieftain of the
elite vampire society. Look for Traci Lords in a brief, but entertaining,
cameo. Director Stephen Norrington brings a genuine sense of style to
BLADE, making the film an intense visual experience. The movie
is fast paced and filled with Hong Kong inspired martial arts sequences,
high tech weaponry, sword play and state-of-the-art special effects.
New
Line Home Video has released BLADE as part of their outstanding
Platinum Series of DVDs. Dual layer technology has been utilized by New
Line to offer the wide screen version of BLADE, plus a wealth of
supplemental material. The Letterboxed transfer of BLADE recreates
the film's 2.35:1 theatrical framing almost perfectly, without a sign
of compromise to edges of the screen, additionally this presentation also
contains the highly desirable 16:9 anamorphic enhancement for wide screen
televisions. The world cinematographer Theo Van de Sande's has created
for BLADE is very dark and highly stylized; however the DVD reproduces
his work with stunning clarity. The transfer keeps the image dark, however
detail hasn't been sacrificed by maintaining the integrity of Van de Sande's
work. Color reproduction is good, although sequences shot under florescent
lighting tend to have a greenish cast. Saturation is respectable and the
color red, which tends to be problematic for analogue video sources, reproduces
without a bit distortion. Impressive DVD authoring conceals almost all
indications of digital compression artifacts. 
The Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack boasts an exciting mix that aggressively
uses each of the discrete channels, while keeping the dialogue clean and
intelligible. If you are looking for another show off DVD to give your
audio system a workout, this is the disc for you. Additionally,
the track has solid bass reproduction that kicks some serious booty. Both
the film's score and source music pulse with a life of their own, plus
they are reproduced with excellent fidelity. A matrixed Dolby Surround
soundtrack and English subtitles have also been encoded into the DVD. 
The interactive menus have a very cool interface that is replete with
animation, music, sound and full motion video. Through the interactive
menus one can access the DVD's extensive supplemental section. Chief amongst
the supplements is an audio commentary featuring producer/star Wesley
Snipes, actor Stephen Dorff, writer David S. Goyer, cinematographer Theo
Van de Sande, production designer Kirk M. Petruccelli, and producer Peter
Frankfurt. The commentary appears to have been edited together from separate
sources, giving the viewer a balanced look at the production from various
viewpoints. 
The film's score is offered on an isolated track, which also includes
composer Mark Isham’s comments. Other supplements include various
"featurettes" that contain on screen interviews, deleted scenes,
an alternate ending to the film, a look at vampire lore, as well as look
Blade's origins as a comic book character. Each of the "featurette"
is interesting and well worth viewing. Also included are production designs,
a closer look at various tribes of vampires depicted in the film, cast
biographies/filmographies and a theatrical trailer. BLADE is also
a "PC Friendly" DVD with features that can only be accessed
via a DVD-ROM drive and if you are running the Windows 95 or higher operating
system.
BLADE
is tremendous fun for horror fans, action fans and those comic book
fans that remember the good old days of Blade's origins. As part of New
Line Home Video prestigious Platinum Series, BLADE is a
state of the art DVD certain to please any collector. Absolutely recommended.
