Blade (film)

Blade is a 1998 American superhero horror film directed by Stephen Norrington and written by David S. Goyer. Based on the Marvel Comics superhero of the same name,[4] it is the first part of the Blade film series. The film stars Wesley Snipes in the title role with Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristofferson and N'Bushe Wright in supporting roles. In the film, Blade is a Dhampir, a human with vampire strengths but not their weaknesses, who together with his mentor Abraham Whistler and hematologist Karen Jenson, fights against vampires, namely the exceptionally vicious Deacon Frost.

Not to be confused with The Blade (film).

Blade
Theatrical release poster
Directed byStephen Norrington
Produced by
Written byDavid S. Goyer
Based on
Starring
Music byMark Isham
CinematographyTheo van de Sande
Edited byPaul Rubell
Production
company
  • Marvel Enterprises
  • Amen Ra Films
  • Imaginary Forces
Distributed byNew Line Cinema
Release date
  • August 21, 1998 (1998-08-21)
Running time
120 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$45 million[2]
Box office$131.2 million[3]

Released on August 21, 1998, Blade became a commercial success by grossing $70 million at the U.S. box office, and $131.2 million worldwide. Despite mixed reviews from film critics, the film received a positive reception from audiences and has since garnered a cult following. It was followed by two sequels, Blade II and Blade: Trinity, both written by Goyer who also directed the latter.

Blade was a dark superhero film for its time.[5] The success of Blade began Marvel's film success and set the stage for further comic book film adaptations.[6][7]

Plot

In 1967, a pregnant woman is attacked by a vampire, causing her to go into premature labor. Doctors are able to save her baby, but the woman dies of an unknown infection.

Thirty years later, in 1997, the child has become the vampire hunter, Blade. He raids a Los Angeles rave club owned by the vampire Deacon Frost. Police take one of the vampires to the hospital, where he kills Dr. Curtis Webb and feeds on hematologist Karen Jenson and escapes. Blade takes Karen to a safe house where she is treated by his old friend Abraham Whistler (Kristofferson). Whistler explains that he and Blade have been waging a secret war against vampires using weapons based on their elemental weaknesses, such as sunlight, silver, and garlic. As Karen is now "marked" by the bite of a vampire, both he and Blade tell her to leave the city.

Meanwhile, at a meeting of the House of Erebus, a council of vampire elders, Frost, the leader of a faction of younger vampires, is rebuked for trying to incite war between vampires and humans. As Frost and his kind are not pure-bloods (natural-born vampires), they are considered socially inferior. In response, Frost has one of the elders executed and strips the others of their authority.

Upon returning to her apartment, Karen is attacked by police officer Krieger, who is a "familiar", a human slave controlled by a vampire. Blade subdues Krieger and uses information from him to locate an archive that contains pages of the Book of Erebus (the vampire bible); he comes upon Pearl, a morbidly obese vampire and tortures him with a UV light into revealing that Frost is planning to conduct a ritual to summon the vampire blood god, La Magra. Later, at the hideout, Blade injects himself with a special serum that suppresses his urge to drink human blood. However, the serum is beginning to lose its effectiveness due to overuse. Krieger informs Frost of what happened, and Frost kills and eats Krieger.

While experimenting with the anticoagulant EDTA as a possible replacement, Karen discovers that it explodes when combined with vampire blood. She manages to synthesize a vaccine that can cure the infected but learns that it will not work on a human-vampire hybrid like Blade. Karen is confident that she can cure Blade's bloodthirst but it would take her years of treating it. Frost and his men attack the hideout, infect Whistler, and abduct Karen. When Blade returns, he helps Whistler commit suicide and arms himself with special syringes filled with EDTA.

When Blade attempts to rescue Karen from Frost's penthouse, he is shocked to find his still-alive mother, who reveals that she came back the night she was attacked and was brought in by Frost, who appears and reveals himself as the vampire who bit her. Blade is then subdued and taken to the Temple of Eternal Night, where Frost plans to perform the summoning ritual for La Magra. Karen is thrown into a pit to be devoured by Webb, who has transformed into a decomposing zombie-like creature. Karen injures Webb with a sharp bone and escapes. Blade is drained of his blood, but Karen allows him to drink from her, causing him to recover. Frost completes the ritual and obtains the powers of La Magra. Blade confronts Frost after killing all of his minions, including Blade's mother. During their fight, Blade injects Frost with all of the syringes, causing his body to inflate and explode, killing him.

Karen offers to help Blade cure himself, but he asks her to create a new serum he can sustain on instead, as he intends to continue his crusade against vampires. In a brief epilogue, Blade confronts a vampire in Moscow.

Cast
Deacon Frost.
  • Wesley Snipes as Eric Brooks / Blade: A half-vampire "daywalker" who hunts vampires. Blade is highly skilled in martial arts and always equips himself with vampire-killing weapons.
  • N'Bushe Wright as Dr. Karen Jenson: A hematologist who is bitten by a vampire. She stays with Blade to remain safe while she finds a cure for herself and eventually becomes his partner in fighting Deacon Frost's party.
  • Stephen Dorff as Deacon Frost: An upstart vampire with great ambitions and influence. He emerges as Blade's primary enemy and also wants to conquer the human race.
  • Kris Kristofferson as Abraham Whistler: Blade's mentor and weaponsmith.
  • Donal Logue as Quinn: A cocky minion of Frost's, capable of surviving wounds that kill lesser vampires.
  • Udo Kier as Gitano Dragonetti: A vampire elder.
  • Sanaa Lathan as Vanessa Brooks: Blade's mother, who has become a vampire.
  • Arly Jover as Mercury: A fleet-footed vampire and Frost's lover.
  • Kevin Patrick Walls as Officer Krieger: A "familiar", or human servant, of Frost's.
  • Tim Guinee as Dr. Curtis Webb: Karen's ex-boyfriend, who is killed by Quinn and later becomes a zombie-like creature
  • Traci Lords as Racquel: A seductive vampire who leads a man to the blood rave.
  • Jen Taylor as Baby
  • Stephen Norrington portrayed Michael Morbius in a cameo, but the scene was cut.[8]

Production

Development

Marvel Studios had developed the film as early as 1992, when rapper/actor LL Cool J was interested in playing the lead role.[9] Blade was eventually set up at New Line Cinema, with David S. Goyer writing the script. According to Goyer, New Line originally wanted to do Blade as "something that was almost a spoof" before the writer convinced them otherwise.[2] After failing to get a Black Panther film into production,[10] in 1996 Wesley Snipes signed on to star as Blade.[11]

Casting

When Goyer first pitched the idea of doing a Blade film, the executives of New Line felt there were only three actors who could possibly do the role: Snipes, Denzel Washington, and Laurence Fishburne, but to Goyer, Snipes was always the perfect choice for Blade.

Patrick McGoohan was the first choice to play Whistler, as Stephen Norrington was a fan of The Prisoner (1967). Marc Singer was also considered for the role.

Jet Li was offered the role of Deacon Frost but opted to do Lethal Weapon 4 instead. Mark Wahlberg was also considered for the role of Frost. Skeet Ulrich lobbied for the role of Frost.

Filming

Blade was produced on a budget of $45 million[2] and principal photography commenced on February 5, 1997,[12] in large part done in Los Angeles, with some scenes being shot in Death Valley. All sets were constructed, and all on-set filming occurred, in what was formerly the Redken Shampoo factory in Canoga Park.[13] The effects for the film were done by Flat Earth Productions.[14]

Soundtrack
Main article: Blade (soundtrack)

A soundtrack containing hip hop music was released on August 25, 1998, by TVT Records and Epic Records. It peaked at #36 on the Billboard 200 and #28 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The British techno band The Prodigy was approached to do the soundtrack and score to the film but had to turn down the offer due to other commitments.

Post-production

The first cut of the film was 140 minutes long. It had a disastrous test screening with audiences. Heavy edits and re-shoots were implemented which delayed the release date for more than half a year. The most significant change was the addition of the final sword fight between Blade and Deacon Frost, which did not exist in the original cut. In the original ending, Frost turned into La Magra and became a large swirling mass of blood instead of keeping his form. This was scrapped because the filmmakers could not get the special effects to look right. It can be seen as a special feature on the DVD. Stan Lee originally had a cameo that was ultimately cut from the film. He played one of the cops that came into the blood club during the aftermath and discover Quinn's body on fire. The scene where Karen and Deacon are talking about the cure for vampirism initially ran slightly longer and answered the question of how the vampires would feed if everybody was turned into a vampire. They would keep some humans alive in giant blood bags to harvest them. The bags can still be seen in a doorway during the scene, and later played an integral part of the plot in Blade: Trinity.[15]

Connections to the comic

The character Blade was created in 1973 for Marvel Comics by the writer Marv Wolfman and artist Gene Colan as a supporting character in the 1970s comic The Tomb of Dracula. The comic Blade used teakwood knives and was much more the everyman in his behavior and attitude. Though courageous and brave, he displayed flaws as well, such as an inability to get along with certain other supporting cast members and hatred of vampires that bordered on fanaticism.

The character was not originally a "daywalker" but a human being immune to being turned into a vampire. Lacking the superhuman speed and strength of his undead quarry, he relied solely on his wits and skill until he was bitten by the character Morbius as seen in Peter Parker: Spider-Man #8, first published in August 1999. The film portrayal of Blade was updated for a 1990s audience and the comics character was subsequently modified to match. The film's version of Deacon Frost also differs greatly from his comic counterpart. Although the film retains Frost's upstart ambitions, he was a great deal younger and more updated for the 1990s.

Release

Blade was Marvel's first box office success, and set the stage for further comic film adaptations. Blade followed Howard the Duck as the second Marvel property to get a wide theatrical release in the United States.

Box office

The film went to number one in both Spain and Australia for their opening weekends. With 200 theaters showing the film, Spain's filmgoers earned the film $1.5 million (US) in three days, whilst Australia earned $1 million from 132 cinemas showing the film.[16] In the Flemish Region of Belgium, the film earned $323,000 from 20 cinemas, and the Netherlands earned the film $246,000 from 44 cinemas.[17] France made $1.9 million in five days from 241 cinemas, but the film was less successful in Hong Kong (with $182,000 from 22 cinemas) and South Africa ($159,000 from 64 cinemas). The United Kingdom was more successful, taking in $5.7 million over 10 days,[18] as was Brazil, making $855,000 in four days from 133 cinemas.[19] The film was banned from showing in Malaysia, widely considered to have the most controlling censors in Southeast Asia.[20] Despite the success of the film Marvel shared only a flat fee of $25,000.[21]

Critical reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 55% rating based on 103 reviews, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The site's consensus states: "Though some may find the plot a bit lacking, Blade's action is fierce, plentiful, and appropriately stylish for a comic book adaptation."[22] On Metacritic the film has a score of 45/100 based on reviews from 23 critics.[23] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.[24]

Roger Ebert gave the film 3 stars out of 4, writing: "Blade ... is a movie that relishes high visual style. It uses the extreme camera angles, the bizarre costumes and sets, the exaggerated shadows, the confident cutting between long shots and extreme closeups. It slams ahead in pure visceral imagery."[25] James Berardinelli gave the film 2½ stars out of 4, writing: "Blade has the capacity to dazzle, but it also will leave many viewers dissatisfied."[26] Berardinelli also wrote: "Blade opens brilliantly, with a series of fast-paced, visually-engaging scenes that display the seedy underbelly of vampire society and introduce the implacable title character in true superhero fashion. For about its first hour, the movie offers violent, visceral, rapid fire entertainment that concentrates as much on developing a distinctive atmosphere as on advancing a minimalist storyline. Unfortunately [...] it keeps going and going, eventually wearing out its welcome."[27] John Krewson of The A.V. Club was critical of the story and the dialogue, but praised the "creative cinematography and non-stop, decently choreographed gratuitous violence".[28]

Critics such as A. Asbjørn Jøn have noted not only the important place of Blade in the wider vampire genre but also possible intertextual links between the Whistler character and a character named Whistler in A Dozen Black Roses (1996) by Nancy A. Collins, as they possess "striking similarities in role, dramatic focus, visual appearance, and sharing the name".[29]

Lawsuit

Marv Wolfman unsuccessfully sued Marvel, New Line, and Time Warner for $35 million after the release of the film, claiming he was not bound by a work for hire contract when he created the character in 1972.[30] He, along with artist Gene Colan, received a "based on characters created by" credit in this film, but did not receive a credit in Blade II or the TV series.[31]

Video game
Main article: Blade (video game)

A video game based on the film was published and released by Activision in 2000.[32] The game received mixed reviews. On Metacritic it received a weighted average score 51% based on reviews from 11 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[33] A separate game for the Game Boy Color was also released.[34][35]

Sequels
Main articles: Blade II, Blade: Trinity, and Blade (TV series)

Future

In August 2014, Snipes spoke about his desire to return to the franchise, saying: "I'd be open to it. I think we've got some stones left unturned and there's some latitude left for us to build on and I'd love to get back in the suit again and do some things I've learned how to do now that I didn't know how to do then."[36]

On 20 July 2019, during their 2019 San Diego Comic-Con presentation, Marvel Studios announced a Blade reboot that would be set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Mahershala Ali starring as Blade.[37]

See also

References
  1. "BLADE (18)". British Board of Film Classification. September 18, 1998. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  2. Allstetter, Rob (August 1997). "Special Report: Blood on the Big Screen". Wizard (72). pp. 122–3.
  3. Blade at Box Office Mojo
  4. Turan, Kenneth (November 6, 1992). "Blade to Snipes' Heat". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  5. Lichtenfeld, Eric (2007). Action Speaks Louder: Violence, Spectacle, and the American Action. Wesleyan University Press. p. 289. ISBN 0-8195-6801-5.
  6. "An unsung hero: How Blade helped save the comic-book movie". Blastr.com. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  7. "5 Lessons Blade Taught Studios About Superhero Movies (They Have Clearly Forgotten)". Whatculture.com. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  8. Seddon, Dan (August 4, 2019). "Blade nearly introduced another Marvel character 20 years early". Digital Spy. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  9. Staff (December 8, 1992). "Marvel characters holding attraction for filmmakers". Variety. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  10. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/black-panther-wesley-snipes-reveals-untold-story-behind-90s-film-1078868
  11. Gary Levin (December 29, 1996). "Perelman takes Marvel to bankruptcy court". Variety. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  12. Michael Fleming (January 27, 1997). "Hughes Bros. Turn out 'Pimp'". Variety. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  13. Bashirah Muttalib (October 8, 1998). "As more pics shoot in Calif., coffers swell". Variety. Retrieved December 13, 2008.
  14. Marc Graser (October 1, 2001). "Flat Earth founder forms new company". Variety. Retrieved December 13, 2008.
  15. staff. "BLADE test screenings".
  16. Don Groves (October 13, 1998). "Germans embrace Ryan at the B.O." Variety. Retrieved December 13, 2008.
  17. Don Groves (November 3, 1998). "Antz swarming o'seas". Variety. Retrieved December 13, 2008.
  18. Don Groves (November 9, 1998). "Antz, Exorcist impressive o'seas". Variety. Retrieved December 13, 2008.
  19. Don Groves (November 24, 1998). "Mary, Whisperer top $100 mil mark o'seas". Variety. Retrieved December 13, 2008.
  20. Don Groves (November 5, 1998). "Ryan under attack". Variety. Retrieved December 13, 2008.
  21. https://slate.com/business/2012/09/marvel-comics-and-the-movies-the-business-story-behind-the-avengers.html
  22. "Blade". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  23. "Blade (1998)". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  24. "Cinemascore". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on December 20, 2018. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  25. Roger Ebert (August 21, 1998). "Blade". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on June 20, 2013. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  26. James Berardinelli. "Blade - Reelviews Movie Reviews - James Berardinelli". Reelviews.net. Archived from the original on May 9, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  27. James Berardinelli. "Blade - A Film Review by James Berardinelli, for Playboy Magazine". Playboy magazine. Archived from the original on May 9, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  28. John Krewson (4/10/02). "Blade". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 20, 2020. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  29. Jøn, A. Asbjørn (2003). "Vampire Evolution". mETAphor: 23. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  30. Marla Matzer (August 21, 1998). "Blade Suit Seeks Slice of the Action for Its Creator". Los Angeles Times.
  31. "Wolfman loses Blade lawsuit against Marvel". The Comics Journal. Archived from the original on February 24, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  32. "Gamespot.com: Blade for PlayStation". Retrieved July 21, 2009.
  33. "Blade for PlayStation Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on August 27, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  34. "Blade". Nintendo Power. Vol. 139. Nintendo of America. December 2000.
  35. "Blade for Game Boy Color". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  36. "Wesley Snipes back for fourth 'Blade'". Toronto Sun. August 28, 2014.
  37. CHARLIE RIDGELY (July 20, 2019). "Marvel Studios Announces Blade Reboot During SDCC Presentation". ComicBook.com. Retrieved July 20, 2019.

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