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Blade

  • 19981998
  • K-18K-18
  • 2h
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
258K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
527
216
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Wesley Snipes and Stephen Dorff in Blade (1998)
Trailer
Play trailer0:31
3 Videos
99+ Photos
ActionHorrorSci-Fi

A half-vampire, half-mortal man becomes a protector of the mortal race, while slaying evil vampires.A half-vampire, half-mortal man becomes a protector of the mortal race, while slaying evil vampires.A half-vampire, half-mortal man becomes a protector of the mortal race, while slaying evil vampires.

IMDb RATING
7.1/10
258K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
527
216
  • Director
    • Stephen Norrington
  • Writer
    • David S. Goyer
  • Stars
    • Wesley Snipes
    • Stephen Dorff
    • Kris Kristofferson
Top credits
  • Director
    • Stephen Norrington
  • Writer
    • David S. Goyer
  • Stars
    • Wesley Snipes
    • Stephen Dorff
    • Kris Kristofferson
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 674User reviews
    • 181Critic reviews
    • 47Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 5 wins & 11 nominations

    Videos3

    Blade
    Trailer 0:31
    Blade
    Where Blade Could Make His Debut in Phase Four
    Clip 4:21
    Where Blade Could Make His Debut in Phase Four
    Who Else Almost Played Blade?
    Video 2:09
    Who Else Almost Played Blade?

    Photos164

    Wesley Snipes in Blade (1998)
    Stephen Dorff in Blade (1998)
    Wesley Snipes and N'Bushe Wright in Blade (1998)
    Wesley Snipes in Blade (1998)
    Wesley Snipes in Blade (1998)
    Wesley Snipes in Blade (1998)
    Wesley Snipes in Blade (1998)
    Wesley Snipes in Blade (1998)
    Wesley Snipes in Blade (1998)
    Wesley Snipes and Stephen Dorff in Blade (1998)
    Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff, and N'Bushe Wright in Blade (1998)
    Wesley Snipes in Blade (1998)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Wesley Snipes
    Wesley Snipes
    • Bladeas Blade
    Stephen Dorff
    Stephen Dorff
    • Deacon Frostas Deacon Frost
    Kris Kristofferson
    Kris Kristofferson
    • Whistleras Whistler
    N'Bushe Wright
    N'Bushe Wright
    • Karenas Karen
    Donal Logue
    Donal Logue
    • Quinnas Quinn
    Udo Kier
    Udo Kier
    • Dragonettias Dragonetti
    Arly Jover
    Arly Jover
    • Mercuryas Mercury
    Traci Lords
    Traci Lords
    • Racquelas Racquel
    Kevin Patrick Walls
    • Kriegeras Krieger
    Tim Guinee
    Tim Guinee
    • Curtis Webbas Curtis Webb
    Sanaa Lathan
    Sanaa Lathan
    • Vanessaas Vanessa
    Eric Edwards
    Eric Edwards
    • Pearlas Pearl
    Donna Wong
    • Nurseas Nurse
    Carmen Thomas
    • Senior Residentas Senior Resident
    Shannon Lee
    Shannon Lee
    • Residentas Resident
    Kenny Johnson
    Kenny Johnson
    • Heatseeking Dennisas Heatseeking Dennis
    • (as Kenneth Johnson)
    Clint Curtis
    Clint Curtis
    • Creepy Morgue Guyas Creepy Morgue Guy
    Judson Scott
    Judson Scott
    • Pallantineas Pallantine
    • Director
      • Stephen Norrington
    • Writer
      • David S. Goyer
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit
    In a world where vampires walk the earth, Blade has a goal. His goal is to rid the world of all vampire evil. When Blade witnesses a vampire bite Dr. Karen Jenson, he fights away the beast and takes Jenson back to his hideout. Here, alongside Abraham Whistler, Blade attempts to help heal Jenson. The vampire Quinn who was attacked by Blade, reports back to his master Deacon Frost, who is planning a huge surprise for the human population. —Film_Fan
    vampirevampire hunterrevenge1990sstylized violence267 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Taglines
      • The power of an immortal. The soul of a human. The heart of a hero.
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Horror
      • Sci-Fi
    • Certificate
      • K-18
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      David S. Goyer explained in the DVD commentary that the scene where Karen touches Blade's sword was originally longer as she went on to discover a weird, hybrid infant of some kind floating in a tank. It came with a jump scare, and Goyer says "I think it would have scared the living shit out of the audience, but New Line felt it was just too horrible."
    • Goofs
      (at around 1h 35 mins) There are twelve pure-bloods needed to complete the ritual, but Mercury seemingly kills one of them before the ritual starts. However, careful viewing of their entry to the temple floor shows there to be thirteen pure-bloods in the group. Evidently they brought a spare.
    • Quotes

      Blade: Some motherfuckers are always trying to ice-skate uphill.

    • Crazy credits
      The opening and closing New Line Cinema logos are in red.
    • Alternate versions
      The TNT/TBS cable TV version cut the graphic violence and gory explosions and made usual adjustments to language but sometimes would omit the Moscow ending and end right after Blade and Karen say goodbye.
    • Connections
      Edited into The Blood Tide (1998)
    • Soundtracks
      Confusion (Pump Panel Recon Mix)
      Written by Stephen Morris, Peter Hook, Bernard Sumner, Gillian Gilbert and Arthur Baker

      Performed by New Order

      Courtesy of London Records 90 Limited

      By Arrangement with PolyGram Film & TV Music

    User reviews674

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    "Blade" is a strong, mature comic-book film, with outstanding performances and a unique visual style...
    Stephen Norrington's 1998 release "Blade" (based on the Marvel comic character) is the film that arguably lead to the recent trend of comic-book movies. It's success (along with that of "X-Men") caused people to do something they always should have- take comics seriously as an art form and a medium for storytelling. The film is an incredible, Gothic ride with great performances and unique visuals, and should be seen by any fan of action, horror or film in general.

    Blade (Wesley Snipes) is a half-human, half-vampire. His mother was bitten while pregnant, and his blood was infected by the vampire virus, granting him some vampire-like powers (such as inhuman strength), although he also suffers from "The Thirst"- the vampire's natural need to feast on human blood, which he combats using treatments and serums, almost like a drug addict. Blade and his mentor Whistler (Krist Kristopherson) spend their nights hunting and killing vampires who feed on the humans.

    At the same time, a vampire named Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorf) is plotting to overthrow the noble heads of the various vampire clans, and using them as sacrifices to bring about "La Magra" a vampyric blood-god, to destroy humanity and grant himself untold power. Blade and Whistler (along with help from a pathologist played by N'Bushe Wright) must figure out a way to stop Frost's deadly plans before he wipes out all of humanity.

    The film is truly dark and Gothic. Norrington's direction sets an ominous and deadly mood, and the visuals are all well-crafted. The score by Mark Isham is tragic and melancholy, with some nice techno-y action music thrown in for good measure.

    Acting is generally good (though Dorf does get a little hammy at times) and everything meshes quite well. The action is nice, though it feels a little staged and over-choreographed, and the visual effects, for the time, were outstanding. I should also mention that this is a violent, violent film. It is the bloodiest of the three movies, and has a lot of gore, which actually almost took me "out" of the movie a few times- some scenes felt campy with the sheer amount of carnage and goo being flung at the screen.

    In addition, there are a couple of scenes and jokes that stick out like a sore thumb, and the tone is a bit too oppressive, making this a hard movie to sit through if you are not in the right mood.

    I'm giving this a good 8 out of 10. I'd highly recommend it to fans of action and horror. It is a strong vampire film. (Also, a cool note, this movie is one of the several pre-"Matrix" films to utilize "bullet-time", that cool trick where action slows down dramatically to the point where you can see individual bullets whooshing through the air. Just a fun little piece of trivia- "The Matrix" did not invent this trick.)
    helpful•14
    2
    • TedStixonAKAMaximumMadness
    • Feb 17, 2012

    FAQ10

    • In the nightclub scene at the start, how was Quinn able to withstand being pinned to the wall with two silver stakes fired from Blade's shotgun without disintegrating/burning up?
    • What is 'Blade' about?
    • Is "Blade" based on a book?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 26, 1999 (Finland)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Blade
      • Official Facebook
    • Languages
      • English
      • Russian
      • Serbian
    • Also known as
      • Blade - The Daywalker
    • Filming locations
      • Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    • Production companies
      • Amen Ra Films
      • Imaginary Forces
      • Marvel Enterprises
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $45,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $70,087,718
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $17,073,856
      • Aug 23, 1998
    • Gross worldwide
      • $131,183,530
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 2h
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
      • DTS-Stereo
      • Dolby Atmos
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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