Hellboy (2004)

A demon, raised from infancy after being conjured by and rescued from the Nazis, grows up to become a defender against the forces of darkness.

Director:

Guillermo del Toro

Writers:

Guillermo del Toro (screenplay), Guillermo del Toro (screen story)

Stars:

Ron Perlman, Doug Jones, Selma Blair

3 wins & 23 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ron Perlman	...	Hellboy
John Hurt	...	Trevor "Broom" Bruttenholm
Selma Blair	...	Liz Sherman
Rupert Evans	...	John Myers
Karel Roden	...	Grigori Rasputin
Jeffrey Tambor	...	Tom Manning
Doug Jones	...	Abe Sapien
Brian Steele	...	Sammael
Ladislav Beran	...	Karl Ruprecht Kroenen
Biddy Hodson	...	Ilsa Haupstein (as Bridget Hodson)
Corey Johnson	...	Agent Clay
Kevin Trainor	...	Young "Broom"
Brian Caspe	...	Agent Lime
James Babson	...	Agent Moss
Stephen Fisher	...	Agent Quarry

Storyline

At the end of World War II, Nazi officers Karl Ruprecht Kroenen and Ilsa Haupstein start an experiment to raise the forces of hell trough Russian dark mystic Rasputin on a Scottish island, but it's interrupted by an allied commando guided by professor Trevor "Broom" Bruttenholm. He prevents killing the human-demonic half-blood which was accidentally created and raises this 'Hellboy', while rising to head of a secret CIA-linked US agency Bureau of Paranormal Research, which secret studies and uses the to the occult, including supernatural freaks. As 'father' Broom is aging, he hand-picks brilliant, sensitive agent John Myers as new minder-companion, as regular 'warrior' agent Clay can't empathize and lacks flexibility mental. Hellboy is quite a handful, regularly spotted by worried civilians on unauthorized excursions, especially to pyro-telekinetic freak friend Liz in a mental asylum. Johnny, Hellboy and Clay team up on missions against paranormal threats with aquatic-bionic freak Abe...

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Plot Keywords:

nazi | demon | superhero | hero | assassin | 

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Taglines:

Here to protect

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Genres:

Action | Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence and frightening images

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Sony Pictures [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

2 April 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ellespuika

Filming Locations:

Czech Republic

Box Office

Budget:

$66,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$23,172,440, 4 April 2004, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$59,623,958

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$99,414,250

Company Credits

Production Co:

Revolution Studios, Lawrence Gordon Productions, Starlite Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min 132 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS (DTS HD Master Audio 5.1) (5.1 Surround Sound) (5.1) Dolby Digital (Dolby Digital 5.1) (5.1 Surround Sound) (5.1) SDDS (8 channels) (5.1 Surround Sound) (5.1) D-Cinema 48kHz 5.1 (D-Cinema prints) (5.1 Surround Sound) (5.1)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The filmmakers decided not to make the film too bloody, so as to avoid an R-rating, and thought of things they could substitute for the blood. While filming the fight between Hellboy and the monster in front of the people in the subway, Ron Perlman suggested that Hellboy could grab a gumball machine and start beating the monster over the head with it, with the flying gumballs standing in for the blood. Instead, Hellboy rips a payphone off the wall and beats the monster over the head with the phone, with the coins that go flying out standing in for the blood.

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Goofs

When the giant pendulum smashes the bridge, the amount of bridge remaining changes between shots.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Professor Trevor 'Broom' Bruttenholm: What is it that makes a man a man? Is it his origins, the way things start? Or is it something else, something harder to describe? For me it all began in 1944, a classified mission off the coast of Scotland. The Nazis were desperate. Combining science and black magic, they intended to upset the balance of the war. I was 28, already a paranormal advisor to President Roosevelt. I could never have suspected that what would transpire that night would not only effect the course of ...

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Crazy Credits

The film title is formed from a cathedral passageway, accompanied by documents of Hellboy's sightings.

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Alternate Versions

The Hellboy 3-disc director's cut DVD is ten minutes longer. (132 minute director's cut versus 122 minute regular version). Restores a few deleted/extended scenes back into the movie.

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Connections

Referenced in Strongbad_email.exe: Disc Six (2008)

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Soundtracks

Heart Attack and Vine
Written and Performed by Tom Waits
Courtesy of Elektra Entertainment Group
By Arrangement with Warner Strategic Marketing

User Reviews

Hell of a Movie!

Alright, so seeing as how I'm comment #430, I don't imagine that anyone is going to read my review, or that anyone will be encouraged to watch Hellboy because of anything that I'll say. There are others who have written short novels on IMDb about what a great movie this is, so there's no point in me doing more of the same.

Suffice it to say that this movie is beautifully shot, well acted (with the exception of the kid who plays the FBI agent) and directed by masterful Guillermo Del Toro with style and grace. It's not for everyone, and those who are fans of the comic will probably enjoy it more than your average moviegoer. But if you like movies like The Crow or Darkman, this one is right down your dark little alley.