THIS MONTH'S SPECIAL EDITION DVD 25/12/06

This month's Special Edition DVD is the Region 1 (USA) 3-Disc Director's Cut of "Hellboy". Now I have a real aversion to going out and re-buying something I have already bought before as I had the original release 2-Disc Set of this when it was first released. Mr. Periwinkle told me that it was definitely worth getting and watching and luckily enough a friend purchased it for me for Christmas - Unfortunately I have to disagree with Mr. Periwinkle on this - Although the Unrated and Extended Version is interesting I don't think it really add's to the overall story in any way. It's more like subtle nuances than anything else - But it is worth adding to a DVD Collection because it is the Director's original vision which is always interesting as a viewpoint.

Suffice to say the story based on Mike Mignola's work is a triumph and covers a plot by the Nazi's to unleash hell on earth in the form of Ragnarok through the diabolical machinations of Rasputin. In the form of an anti-hero the demon Hellboy fights back with the help of an Occult organisation against the forces of evil - and Wow! what a roller-coaster of a ride it is... a cast over brimming with talent and a classic approach to film-making from Guillermo Del Toro in the use of models and miniatures brings off a quality piece of work. I am so looking forward to the sequel of "The Golden Army" reputed to deal with the real nature of Faerie and The Hollow Lands in 2008. Covering 3-Discs in individual cases: Case 1 features Hellboy on the cover/Disc One - SPECIAL FEATURES: Never-before-seen Extended, Unrated Version of the film with an all-new Commentary by Guillermo del Toro, exclusive to the Director's Cut with his new Video Introduction. Composer Commentary with Isolated score and a Branching DVD Comics feature drawn by Mike Mignola, with all new expanded text from Guillermo del Toro. The "Right Hand Of Doom" Set Visits and Factoids and a Storyboard Track - Now with hundreds of new images. DVD-ROM feature with Printable Original Screenplay, Script Supervisor's Handbook and Director's Notebook.

Case 2 features Liz Sherman on the cover/Disc Two - SPECIAL FEATURES: New Video Intro by Selma Blair with Hellboy: The Seeds Of Creation (A 2 Hour 30 Minute Making Of) plus Deleted Scenes with an Optional Commentary and Character Bios. Motion Board-A-Matics and Animatics with Multi-Angle Storyboard Comparisons and a Marquette Rotation Gallery. Trailers & TV Spots with Filmographies and Poster Explorations. Finally comes a Weblink to Hellboy Merchandise. Case 3 features Abe Sapien on the cover/Disc Three - SPECIAL FEATURES: New Video Intro by Ron Perlman and a Cast Video Commentary and Production Workshops with Makeup & Lighting Tests and the Q&A Archive: Comic-Con 2002. A Quick Guide To Comics and the Director's Notebook, Photo Galleries, Mike Mignola Pre-Production Art with Conceptual Art Galleries and Comic Book Artists Pin-Ups. Language: English/French Dolby 5.1. Subtitles: English & French. CC Region 1 (USA) NTSC. Runtime Approx: 132 Minutes. 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen Colour. Unrated. Columbia Tristar 2004. ISBN # 1404964126.

As a nice little added extra this set also includes an Exclusive Collectible: An "Excerpt From The Diary Of Grigori Rasputin" created by Mike Mignola which I've featured a couple of pages from below. All in all an excellent package and well worth getting!