Blade (1998 film)

Background

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 a 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. Goyer replaced the daggers Blade used in the comics with a sword and gave him a more samurai-like aesthetic.^[8] The film's version of Deacon Frost also differs greatly from his comic counterpart. He was older with white hair and literally a church deacon, but the film retains Frost's upstart ambitions.^[8][9]

Development

When New World Pictures bought the rights to Marvel Comics, they were set to make a Mexico-set western starring Richard Roundtree as the vampire hunter. Marvel Studios then started to develop the film in early 1992, when rapper/actor LL Cool J was interested in playing the lead role.^[10] Blade was eventually set up at New Line Cinema, with David S. Goyer writing the script. When Goyer heard a film was in development he went in to pitch with director Ernest Dickerson.^[9] David Fincher was also attached to the project and even worked on the script with Goyer.^[11][12] New Line Cinema originally wanted to do Blade as "something that was almost a spoof" before the writer convinced them otherwise.^[2] At one point, the studio even asked if Blade could be white.^[12] Goyer wanted to take the character seriously, and ground them in a sense of reality with vampirism as a biological disease.^[13] He even pitched a trilogy of movies "almost Wagnerian in scope".^[9][12] He also wanted to demystify the vampires and treat them as serious villains with a greater sense of realism instead of the doomed romantic characters shown in Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire. Goyer's early drafts predated but took a similar post-modern approach as the films From Dusk till Dawn and Vampire in Brooklyn.^[9] After failing to get a Black Panther film into production,^[14] in 1996, Wesley Snipes signed on to star as Blade.^[15] Snipes also produced through his company Amen Ra Films, and worked with the writers to invest the story with elements of classic tragedy - ”like Lear, like Hamlet"- to heighten the characters' emotional drama.^[16]

Casting

When Goyer first pitched the idea of doing a Blade film, Michael De Luca, head of New Line Cinema, suggested Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, and Laurence Fishburne, but to Goyer, Snipes was always the perfect choice for Blade.^[12] The finalized script was sent to Snipes and no other actor was seriously considered.^[9]

Patrick McGoohan was the first choice to play Whistler, as Stephen Norrington was a fan of The Prisoner (1967). Jon Voight was also considered for the role.^[9][17]

Filming

Blade was produced on a budget of $45 million^[2] and principal photography commenced on February 5, 1997,^[18] 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.^[19] The effects for the film were done by Flat Earth Productions.^[20]

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.^[21]

Marvel was not going to give Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan credit for the characters they had created, but Goyer insisted. He asked New Line and they accepted, but representatives of Marv Wolfman said only he should get credit, and not Gene Colan. Goyer insisted that both be credited.^[8]

Theatrical

Blade premiered on August 19, 1998 at New York's Sony Theaters Lincoln Square, with another screening at Los Angeles' Grauman's Chinese Theatre the following day before opening wide on August 21.^[22] The film was banned from showing in Malaysia, widely considered to have the most controlling censors in Southeast Asia.^[23]

Home media

Blade was first released on DVD and VHS on December 1, 1998 by New Line Home Entertainment.

The film was released on Blu-ray on June 19, 2012.^[24]

The film was released in 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on December 1, 2020.^[25] The remastered 4K release differs from earlier versions by using a widescreen 2.39:1 format.^[26][27]

Lawsuits

Marv Wolfman unsuccessfully sued Marvel and New Line Cinema 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.^[28] He, along with artist Gene Colan, received a "based on characters created by" credit in this film.^[29] Three extras in the blood rave scene sued the studios and effects company Reel Creations Inc. claiming the stage blood caused permanent blemishes to their skin.^[30]

Box office

In North America, Blade dislodged Saving Private Ryan, which led the previous four weeks in the box office, to finish at number one with $17.1 million across 2,322 screens.^[31] The film would top the box office for two weekends until it was overtaken by There's Something About Mary.^[32] The film also opened in number one in both Spain, with $1.5 million (US) in 200 theaters, and Australia, with $1 million from 132 cinemas.^[33] 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.^[34] 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,^[35] as was Brazil, making $855,000 in four days from 133 cinemas.^[36] Blade remained atop the North American box office in its second weekend, earning $11.1 million.^[37] Blade finished its box office run with $70 million domestically and $61 million worldwide for a total of $131.2 million.^[3]

Despite the success of the film, Marvel shared only a flat fee of $25,000.^[38]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 58% based on 112 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10. The site's critics 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."^[39] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 47 out of 100 based on reviews from 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[40] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.^[41]

Roger Ebert gave the film three stars out of four, 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".^[42] 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".^[43] 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".^[44] Dennis Harvey of Variety wrote: "Though slick and diverting in some aspects, increasingly silly pic has trouble meshing disparate elements -- horror, superhero fantasy, straight-up action -- into a workable whole".^[45] 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".^[46]

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".^[47]

Accolades

The film was nominated for Best Horror Film and Best Make-up at the Saturn Awards.^[48] Stephen Dorff won Best Villain at the MTV Movie Awards while Wesley Snipes was nominated for Best Fight.^[49]