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Although it's a 'big' movie, I enjoyed Blade much more on the small screen than I did this past summer in theatres; it's incredibly stylish junk food fit for a rainy afternoon, a vampire fable on Ecstacy (or however they're spelling it these days). It's the best Ridley Scott movie that Ridley Scott never made.
Blade was born a vampire to a bitten human, which is why he's a "day-walker," a bloodsucker possessed of both human and vampyric immunities. Ably assisted by Whistler (Kristofferson), the leather-clad MacGyver who raised him, Blade's existence revolves around ridding the world of his kin. Enter Deacon Frost (Dorff), a nocturnal anarchist obsessed by the possibility of re-enacting a mythic ritual which, if successful, will grant he and his cronies the godly powers of the ancient spirit La Magra. The catch: they require Blade's body for sacrifice.
Blade is so mighty it's amusing. He can backflip onto ledges, leap tall buildings in a single bound, and he fist-fights with the speed of Jet Li. Where he learned martial arts is unclear, as it obviously wasn't from Whistler, the sort of whiskey-guzzling mechanic Cher would've brought home in Mask. (I laughed hard at the moment when Whistler one-ups Blade's fearlessness: he casually smokes a cigarette next to a leaky gas pump. I'll bet at one time they compared penises.) Thankfully, Blade suffers the same weakness as his enemies: a constant thirst for blood (and an ever-increasing need for blood) that plays a pivotal role in the juicy but overwrought climax.
Director Stephen Norrington has opted for an oppressive, fluorescent lighting scheme in many scenes that nicely accentuates the ugliness of the vampires' sunless world. His cutting is spasmodic, but not in a random, Michael Bay way. Indeed, a lot of the movie is assembled in the style of the opening meat locker/dance club massacre, as if the nightwalkers are guided by the beat of goth techno. Which I'll take over the bodice-ripping nonsense of an Anne Rice story any day of the week.
A few things still nag at me regarding Blade: Snipes' natural charisma dissipates beneath the tough physical aspects of his character. He's a fine performer capable of better work. As well, the oedipal subtext is unnecessary--although the film could use more exploration of the race issue, which remains sub-sub-subtext at best. (Is it mere coincidence that all of Blade's enemies are white? Or that only a black vampire can be sacrificed for La Magra?) But it's the epilogue of Blade that irks me most: what utter nonsene to move the story to Moscow for two minutes of denouement!
Blade is a Platinum Series DVD from New Line Home Video, which is to say it's stacked. There are a wealth of Criterion-worthy supplements included (whether or not the movie deserves such lavish treatment is not quite the issue) that take literally hours to comb through. The film is presented in its original Panavision aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and generously divided into 38 chapters; the 16x9-enhanced image looks excellent downcoverted for a 4:3 television. It is a mostly-awesome digital rendering save for a few minor annoyances. For starters, the red titles smear when presented on a solid black background, which makes certain names and credits difficult to decipher. Secondly, moments in almost total darkness, such as the beach meeting before dawn, lack clarity and are further muddied by a blue-green cast that was effective in a darkened theatre but looks a mess on video.
The majority of the transfer is magnificent, virtually duplicating the experience of viewing an actual print: smooth, well-coloured and devoid of compression artifacts. Along with a thunderous soundmix (presented in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0) that often employs booming bass (Blade on his motorcycle as well as the opening blood shower rattle one's furnishings) and hyperactive surround channels, Blade constitutes another fine effort from New Line, who are quickly surpassing most studios' quality standards. (The folks at Laser Pacific deserve a big, fat Christmas bonus this year.)
New Line, I love you guys, but these DVD-ROM exclusive features are for the birds. The RSDL Blade includes a cornucopia of highlights accessible only to those with the right computer hardware. I'll quote New Line's liner notes to describe them, as I am unable to preview them myself:
Read the screenplay
Print and read David S. Goyer's original script. Click on the screenplay and be launched to the corresponding scene in the movie.
The Daywalker
The following features are included in this section:
Flash Novel -
An animated version of the campy "Fotonovels" of the 1970s which were published in conjunction with popular movies of the era.
ComiCon -
An in-depth look at the largest comic book convention in the world.
Vampire Bulletin Board System -
Upon connecting to the Internet, join the thousands of individuals conversing and role-playing in the hundreds of chat rooms.
Some DVD collectors/gurus, like Steve Tannehill of The DVD Resource, have bitched about New Line's PC-only DVD-ROM support. No, the problem is the DVD-ROM exclusives, period. A Blade fan or an avid movie nut is going to purchase this disc regardless of his/her player: I doubt a printable screenplay is much of an enticement for previously uninterested PC-users. Meanwhile, people who own actual DVD players, who are more likely to be film buffs than computer completists, are left out in the cold.
I'd love to compare Goyer's draft to the finished film. He's a screenwriter who has had a lot of work produced (The Crow: City of Angels, Dark City), and it's always good for an aspiring moron like me to examine what studios obviously thought filmable.
DVD-ROM supps out of the way, there remains a wealth of material for the average DVD user to browse, such as two two-hour audio commentaries. On one track, we have Goyer, Snipes, Dorff, D.P. Theo Van De Sande, production designer Kirk M. Petruccelli and producer Peter Frankfurt all providing screen specific anecdotes that have been cobbled together into a cohesive audio documentary. (Where is director Norrington?) Mayhaps because of the film geek--er, freak--in me, I found Van De Sande the most interesting participant. Cinematographers rarely get their say or due; I now know how they made the dripping blood look like the speckling of particles, and why virtually every scene appears as if it's taking place inside cold storage. (Aside: Snipes is much more personable on this track than he is on camera.)
The second audio commentary contains an isolated score by Mark Isham, and in between passages, ruminations from the composer himself on what it is to score something like Blade, a film that crossbreeds many genres.
Be sure to sample the four included featurettes produced by Mark Rance (which were shot on videotape and are not subtitled or closed-captioned). Synopses:
La Magra (14 mins.)
One of New Line's head honchos, Michael DeLuca, presents the alternate ending and reasons for its demise. Laughable effects aside, this ending is just plain bad--noisy and unscary. It is presented in its work print form. This section also includes an extension of a scene that made it to the final cut in which Frost reveals his blood storage facility. Comments from Frankfurt, Petruccelli and Goyer resonate here, particularly Goyer's expression of fear that Blade sequels will be more "user friendly" (i.e. less profane and bloody) to appeal to a younger, Batman Forever demographic.
Designing Blade (22 mins.)
The longest doc of the bunch, an in-depth look at the F/X work involved in bringing Blade to life. Greg Cannom explains how he created the 1500 pound naked vampire guard "Pearl"; Petruccelli and Jeff Ward discuss various production designs and stunt work, respectively (note: includes B-roll footage of Snipes rehearsing a fight scene); and a strange, melancholy man named Richard "Dr." Baily (he even wears a labcoat) goes into great detail on the creation of the largely CGI subway sequence.
The Origins of Blade (12 mins.)
The best of the bunch if you're a comic book lover. Stan Lee, Brian Clemens, and Gareb Shamus--editor of Wizard Magazine--take us on a tour through comic book history, from EC comics to the "Comic Book Code" (not dissimilar to the Hayes Code that existed in Hollywood for so many years) to the day Marvel decided to disobey the comic book code. (A fight ensued over an anti-drug issue of "Spiderman.") Blade the character could not exist before censorship concerns were abandoned. 12 minutes.
The Blood Ties (20 mins.)
What begins as an explanation of blood ("liquid and cells") from Dr. Gary Schiller becomes an examination of real life blood rituals and the origins of vampyrism. Goyer, Nina Auerbach, J. Gordon Melton, Howard Stern look-alike Mick Farren, and Father Gregory Coiro are each quite knowledgable, but the attempt to mine even a shred of realism from Blade is futile, not to mention ridiculous. It's 20 minutes of Interviews with Vampires and Vampire Lovers. (Co-produced by Susan Ricketts.)
Whew! I should also mention: "The House of Erebus," an electronic guide to "the twelve tribes"' symbols (it works like an interactive dictionary); "Pencil to Post" demonstrates the evolution of a single comic book and includes storyboards and production sketches from Blade as well as text interviews; cast and crew bios (which unfortunately omit the career of supersexycool Arly Jover, who plays Frost's ass-kicking, icy blonde sidekick Mercury); and a trailer presented at 2.35:1 and in 5.1! All of these extras are accessible via the second-coolest 3-D animated menu of the year (first place: Tomorrow Never Dies SE).
This is one bloody good (pun intended) package, but the non-participation of director Norrington in the preparation of this definitive Blade is conspicuous, especially since everyone else involved speaks highly of him.-Bill Chambers
© Film Freak Central; filmfreakcentral.net. This review may not be reprinted, in whole or in part, without the express consent of its author.
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