Blade (1998)

Country of Origin: USA
Year of Production: 1998
Running Times: 110 mins (Germany)     120 mins (USA)
Format: colour     35mm
Ratio: 2.35:1
Sound: DTS     Dolby Digital     SDDS

(Full Credits)

PRODUCTION
Production Companies: Amen Ra Films / Imaginary Forces / New Line Cinema
Executive in Charge of Production: Carla Fry
Production Executive: Leon Dudevoir
Executive Producers: Avi Arad, Joseph Calamari, Lynn Harris, Michael De Luca, Stan Lee
Producers: Peter Frankfurt, Robert Engelman, Wesley Snipes
Co-Producers: Andrew J. Horne, Jon Divens
For Marvel Films: Matt Edelman

SCRIPT
Script: David S. Goyer
Character: Gene Colan, Marv Wolfman

DIRECTION
Director: Stephen Norrington

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Theo van de Sande
2nd Unit Director of Photography: Raymond N. Stella

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Editor: Paul Rubell
Additional Editor: Adam P. Scott

MUSIC
Music: Mark Isham
Conductor / Orchestrator: Ken Kugler
Songs: Stephen Morris, Peter Hook, Bernard Sumner, Gillian Gilbert, Arthur Baker (Confusion (Pump Panel Recon Mix)); John Fogerty (Bad Moon Rising); Richard James (UT1-Dot); Naoko Yamano (Ah Singapore); DJ Krush (Yeah; Dig This Vibe); Chylow Parker, Fredro Scruggs, Kirk Jones, Tyrone Taylor, George Rodriguez, James Bernard (Playing With Lightning); Tom Holkenborg, Patrick Ian Tilon (Dealing with the Roster); Elmar Schulte, Ruediger Gleisberg (Soleil; Eclipse; Fearless); James Baker, Philip Aslett (Call and Response); David Hykes (Rainbow Voice); Matt Walker (Ether); Kelly Reverb, Chad Littlepage (Go Get On It); Steve Snow, Jimmy Hawes, Tom Maxwell (Rattle the Fear); Photek (Ni Ten Ichi Ryu (Two Swords Technique)); Damien Wagner (Chin Chin)
Songs Performed By: New Order (Confusion (Pump Panel Recon Mix)); Creedence Clearwater Revival (Bad Moon Rising); Polygon Window (UT1-Dot); Shonen Knife (Ah Singapore); DJ Krush (Yeah; Dig This Vibe); Expansion Union (Playing With Lightning); Junkie XL (Dealing with the Roster); Solitaire (Soleil; Eclipse; Fearless); Source Direct (Call and Response); David Hykes (Rainbow Voice); Siren (Ether); Southside Reverb (Go Get On It); Spirit Fire Child (Rattle the Fear); Photek (Ni Ten Ichi Ryu (Two Swords Technique)); Bang Wu Cherry and DJ Dune (Chin Chin)

SOUND
Sound Designer: Harry Cohen
Sound Mixer: Lee Orloff
Additional Photography Production Sound Mixer: Ken King

COSTUMES AND MAKE-UP
Make Up Department Head: Perry M. Germain
Make Up: Fred Blau, Deborah La Mia Denaver, Stephen Abrums
Make Up For Wesley Snipes: Cyndi Reece-Thorne
Additional Photography Make Up: Christine Steele, Cynthia Barr-Bright, Ken Diaz, Louis Lazzara
Hair Department Head: Joy Zapata-Chavez
Hair: Ora Tillman Green, Kim Santantonio
Hair For Wesley Snipes: Clifford R. Booker
Additional Photography Key Hair: Judy Crown
Costume Designer: Sanja Milkovic Hays

SPECIAL MAKE UP EFFECTS
Special Make Up Effects: Greg Cannom, Cannom Creations

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Effects Coordinator: Lou Carlucci
Additional Photography Special Effects Coordinator: John Hartigan
Special Effects: Barry L. McQueary, Christian Lemer, Dan Murphy, Daniel W. Orabona, Dennis A. Yeager II, James Allen Ochoa, John Carlucci, Kenneth L. Sher, Mark Byers, Matt Pope, Michael D. Roundy, Ronald E. Zarro, Rudy R. Perez, Steven C. Ficke, Todd K. Jensen, William E. Dawson, Adam Campbell, Blumes Tracy, C. Robert Vannix, Carmen Gonzáles, Chris Brenczewski, Chris D'Arcy, Curtis Jones Jr, Dale Ettema, Daniel Mustoe, David Blair, Joe Karas, Josh Hakian, Kevin Postel, Kevin W. Grimsley, Marvin Felton, Michael Clarke, Mike Vidal Jr, Morgan Guynes, Peter S. Spurr, Randy Krohmer, Reg Strawn, Richard Terry Tjelmeland, Richard Zarro, Roger Matsuo, Ron Petruccione, Ronald L. Myers, Ronald W. Mathews, Steve R. Moore, Thomas Baumann, Thomas M. Craven, Tony Tortolano, Tony Vandenecker, Vaughn Williams

VISUAL EFFECTS
Visual Effects: Blue Sky / VIFX; CIS Hollywood; Digiscope; Efilm; Flat Earth; IAI; PERFX Inc; Post Logic; The Production Plant; VIFX; Wildcat Digital Effects
Visual Effects Executive Producer: Lee Berger
Visual Effects Producers: Jennifer Bergman, Matthew Justice
Visual Effects Supervisors: Richard Hollander, Chuck Comisky, Kevin O'Neill
Additional Photography Production Supervisor: Debra J. Olchick

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Production Designer: Kirk M. Petruccelli
Art Director: Barry Chusid
Set Designers: Thomas C. Reta, A. Todd Holland, Chad S. Frey

LOCATIONS
Locations: London, England, UK; Los Angeles, California, USA; Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Location Manager: J. Marc Strachan
Additional Photography Location Manager: Lisa Block-Linson

STUNTS
Stunt Coordinator: Jeff Ward
Stunt Co-Coordinator: Henry Kingi Jr
Additional Photography Stunt Coordinator: Jeff Imada

CASTING
Casting: Rachel Abroms, Jory Weitz
Extras Casting: Chris Gray, Christopher Gray Casting

CAST
Wesley Snipes (Blade)
Stephen Dorff (Deacon Frost)
Kris Kristofferson (Abraham Whistler)
N'Bushe Wright (Dr Karen Jenson)
Donal Logue (Quinn)
Udo Kier (Dragonetti)
Arly Jover (Mercury)
Traci Lords (Racquel)
Kevin Patrick Walls (Officer Krieger)
Tim Guinee (Dr Curtis Webb)
Sanaa Lathan (Vanessa Brooks)
Eric Edwards (Pearl)
Donna Wong (nurse)
Carmen Thomas (Senior Resident)
Shannon Lee (resident)
Kenny Johnson (Heatseeking Dennis)
Clint Curtis (creepy morgue guy)
Judson Earney Scott (Pallantine)
Sidney Liufau (Japanese doorman)
Keith Leon Williams (Kam)
Andray Johnson, Stephen R. Peluso (paramedics)
Marcus Aurelius (pragmatic policeman)
John Enos III (Blood Club bouncer)
Eboni Adams (martial arts kid)
Lyle Conway (Reichardt)
Freeman White III (menacing stud)
D.V. DeVincentis (vampire underling)
Marcus Salgado, Esau McKnight Jr (Frost's goon)
Erl (Von Esper)
Matt Schulze (Crease)
Lennox Brown (pleading goon)
Yvette Ocampo (party girl)
Irene A. Stepic (Slavic vampire lord)
Jenya Lano (Russian woman)
Levani (Russian vampire)

PLOT SUMMARY

Blade, a half human, half vampire who inherited some of the undead's powers after his mother was bitten during pregnancy, wages a one-man war on vampire kind. One faction of vampires need Blade's blood to help them summon their "blood god" La Magra to help them finally assert their power over the human race.

CAPSULE REVIEW

The kind of film designed solely to make audiences mutter "cool" at regular intervals while marveling at state-of-the-art visual effects. Plot, characterisation and acting skills are secondary at best and for the most part aren't even bothered with. Snipes is terrible in the title role, simply snarling or pouting his way through the action with all the charm and personality of a dead slug and the supporting cast are made up of the techno-goth clichés we'd come to know and loathe from too many late 90s vampire movies. Like many films of its era, Blade simply tries to make up for its deficiencies with lots of noise and flashy editing that results in a predictable, seen-it-all-before action flick that's immediately forgettable except for a few impressive martial arts sequences.

Argentina
Video Distributor: Argentina Video Home

Belgium
Theatrical Distributor: RCV Film Distribution

France
Theatrical Distributor: Metropolitan Filmexport

Germany
Theatrical Distributor: Kinowelt Filmverleih
Video Distributor: BMG Video
DVD Distributor: BMG Video (includes - commentary by Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff, David S. Goyer, Theo Van de Sande, Kirk M. Petruccelli and Peter Frankfurt; La Magra featurette La Magra; Designing Blade featurette)

Luxembourg
Theatrical Distributor: RCV Film Distribution

Netherlands
Theatrical Distributor: RCV Film Distribution

Spain
Theatrical Distributor: Líder Films S.A.

UK
DVD Distributor: Entertainment In Video (EDV 9012; includes - deleted scenes; special effects featurette; Designing Blade featurette)

USA
Theatrical Distributor: New Line Cinema
Video Distributor: New Line Home Video
Laserdisc Distributor: Image Entertainment (ID 4252 LI); Image Entertainment (ID 5423 LI)
DVD Distributor: New Line Home Video (N4709 - Platinum Series; includes - commentary by Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff, David S. Goyer, The Van de Sande, Kirk M. Petruccelli and Peter Frankfurt; isolated musical score with commentary by Mark Isham; La Magra featurette; Designing Blade featurette; The Origins of Blade featurette; The Blood Tide featurette; House of Erebus; pencil sketches); New Line Home Video (N4789 - Platinum Series; includes - audio commentaries)

Argentina
Rating: 16

Australia
Rating: MA

Belgium
Rating: KNT

Finland
Rating: K-18

France
Rating: -12

Germany
Rating: 18 (nf); 16 (with 14 minutes of cuts)

Hong Kong
Rating: IIB

Japan
Rating: R

Malaysia
Rating: banned

Netherlands
Rating: 16

Norway
Rating: 18

Spain
Rating: 18

Sweden
Rating: 15

Switzerland
Rating: 16

UK
Rating: 18 (with cuts)

USA
Rating: R (for strong, pervasive vampire violence and gore, language, and brief sexuality)

1999
ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards, USA
Top Box Office Films (Mark Isham) - winner

Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, USA
Saturn Award: Best Horror Film - nominated
Saturn Award: Best Make-Up (Greg Cannom, Michael Germain) - nominated

Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, USA
Favorite Actor: Horror (Wesley Snipes) - winner
Favorite Villain (Stephen Dorff) - winner
Favorite Supporting Actor: Horror (Kris Kristofferson) - nominated

MTV Movie Awards, USA
Best Villain (Stephen Dorff) - winner (tied with Matt Dillon for There's Something About Mary (1998)
Best Fight (Wesley Snipes) - nominated (for the fight against vampires)

Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA
Golden Reel Award Best Sound Editing: Sound Effects and Foley - nominated

1998
August
19: USA - theatrical premiere
21: Canada, USA - theatrical release

September
10: Singapore - theatrical release

October
8: Australia - theatrical release
9: Spain - theatrical release
28: Belgium - theatrical release
29: Netherlands - theatrical release
30: Brazil, Denmark - theatrical release

November
1: Finland - shown at the Night Visions Film Festival
7: South Korea - theatrical release
12: New Zealand - theatrical release
13: UK - theatrical release
18: France - theatrical release
20: Iceland - theatrical release
25: Kuwait - theatrical release

December
3: Germany - theatrical release
4: Austria - theatrical release
10: Argentina - theatrical release
11: Portugal - theatrical release
22: USA - laserdisc release (Image Entertainment (ID 4252 LI)); DVD release (New Line Home Video (N4709 - Platinum Series))

1999
January
8: Russia - theatrical release
21: Hungary - theatrical release
28: Slovakia - theatrical release

February
4: Czech Republic - theatrical release
5: Norway - theatrical release
12: Sweden, Turkey - theatrical release
13: Indonesia - theatrical release
19: Switzerland (German speaking region) - theatrical release
26: Estonia, Finland - theatrical release

March
30: USA - laserdisc release (Image Entertainment (ID 5423 LI))

May
22: Japan - theatrical release

July
26: UK - DVD release (Entertainment In Video (EDV 9012))

September
6: Germany - DVD release (BMG Video - cut version)
14: USA - DVD release (New Line Home Video (N4789 - Platinum Series))

December
10: Germany - DVD release (BMG Video - uncut version)

2000
January
7: Italy - theatrical release

The power of an immortal. The soul of a human. The heart of a hero.

Against an army of immortals, one warrior must draw first blood.

Vampire Hunter

Sometimes it takes one to kill one.

Have you given blood lately?

Part Man. Part Vampire. All Hero.

Blade, the Vampire Slayer - working title
Blade el cazavampiros - Venezuelan title
Blade, cazador de vampiros - Argentinian title
Penge - Hungarian title
Blade, O Caçador de Vampiros - Brazilian title

SEQUELS
Blade (2000)
Blade II (2002)

INCLUDES FOOTAGE FROM
Mortal Kombat (1995)

MAGAZINES

Empire June 1999 p.142 (UK)
review (by Adam Smith)

Film Review December 1998 p.21 (UK)
review (by Jason Caro)

NEWSPAPERS

Diário de Notícias, DNmais 12 December 1998 (Portugal)
review (by José De Matos-Cruz)

Expresso, Cartaz 12 December 1998 (Portugal)
review (by Manuel Cintra Ferreira)

Svenska Dagbladet 12 February 1999 (Sweden)
review (En halv vampyr ger inte en hel film by Ludvig Hertzberg)

comic into film, vampires, blood, vampire slayers, messiahs, exploding heads, suicide, prophecy, switchblade, subway, trains, revenge, nightclubs, swords, marvel comics, scientists, injections, serums, decapitations, impalement

Last Updated: 15 October, 2008