Hellboy
3-Disc Director’s Cut
Directed by Guillermo del Toro
Starring Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones
2004

In preparation for all my Hellboy shenanigans of the past few weeks, I decided to pick up the Director’s Cut of the first film, mostly since I hadn’t seen the movie in a while and felt that I needed to bone up on the filmed version of everyone’s favorite big red demon. The two words I have for this edition of the film are long and exhaustive. If you enjoyed the deluxe editions of the Lord of the Rings films, you will drool with ecstasy over this set. The edition comes with three discs’ worth of features and extras, including an extended cut of the film, multiple commentaries, and a bevy of behind-the-scenes footage.

The first disc holds the Director’s Cut, which has about twelve minutes of footage that was cut from the original release. Most of the dropped stuff is character moments that add a bit to the film but weren’t really missed, at least in my opinion. The best moments are given to Selma Blair’s performance, but everyone gets a little extra fleshing out in this version.

The real highlight of the first disc is the commentary by director Guillermo del Toro where he goes into the history behind the influences that formed the movie, both his and Hellboy creator Mike Mignola’s. It’s an entirely fascinating look into the director’s mind, and well worth the listen. It doesn’t hurt that you can really feel the enthusiasm Del Toro has for this film. Other features on the first disc are a composer commentary, a DVD comic with art by Mignola, a special feature that lets you see set visits and facts about the film throughout the film, and a storyboard track. The first disc also has a DVD-ROM with the original screenplay, script supervisor’s book, and director’s notes.

The main feature of the second disc is a thorough documentary covering all aspects of the creation of the film, from the pre-production, to the creatures, the make-up effects, music, basically everything that went into making the film. At 2½ hours, every question you have will probably be answered. It’s hand’s down one of the most interesting behind-the-scenes films I’ve ever seen. Other features on the second disc are even more deleted scenes, character bios created by Del Toro, animatics, more storyboards, and all the trailers and commercials for the film.

The third disc holds even more production extras, with a lot of focus on the comic behind the film, including a great film with Scott McCloud, writer of Understanding Comics, a ton of Mignola’s pre-production art, conceptual art, and other pin-ups by various comics creators. Other extras include commentaries with the actors, production workshops, and make up tests.

Overall, the three discs hold enough to keep the most rabid fan interested for days on end.

So, if you’re a longtime fan of the film, or just looking to get caught up before the second film drops, I’d highly recommend checking this set out. I was able to find it super cheap, and I’d imagine lots of places will have this prominently displayed this week, so it shouldn’t be hard to find. Really, this is one of the best sets I have in my film collection now, and I’m glad I picked it up.

Now, it’s time for me to get ready to see the sequel again and enjoy it with others.