The pedigree of Guillermo del Toro's DVDs continues unabated with this past summer's Hellboy 2. Like others including Jeff, I'm a more ravenous fan of Guillermo's "art" films from Cronos to Espinazo del Diablo to Pan's Labyrinth, but I enjoy his "studio" movies much more than their counterparts from other directors and studios. If his "art" films are filet mignon and fine wine, the studio stuff is high-end pizza and my favorite beer, and there's not a goddamn thing wrong with that.
The aspect unique to Hellboy 2 as compared to the first installment and Blade II is that it's still pizza, but it's this brilliant, eclectic mix mix of ingredients that is wholly unlike what he and others have done before. Others have done "anti" superhero films that pose the question of how far is too far in the name of survival and justice and at what cost, but the components surrounding the narrative from design to plotting is more Guillermo del Arte than Guillermo del Estudio and it's a brilliant new strain of his work. I like to think of it again with the pizza analogy. Having Pineapple on a pizza is exotic to some, but de rigeur for most these days, but it's still something of an eye-opener to have goat cheese, artichokes, or sirloin involved in pie.
I paid as little attention as possible to the pre-release images, releases, leaks and so on as possible because I knew I'd go see it, so a lot hit me by surprise, including the Troll Market and the Elemental sequences, and all for the better. If you're a viewer who gave subtitles a chance last year and saw Pan's Labyrinth, but also love action movies in English, Hellboy 2 delivers a brilliant bastard child of the two. Money is tight this time of the year, and especially so in the middle of an unpredictable recession. Investing in the deluxe 3-disc version of this movie is worth it for fans of the franchise, filmmaker, or action movies and special features all round. The gift version with extra goodies is excellent as well.
As for what's in there and why I think it's worth the X dollars you find either version for, this isn't a case of a bunch of extras padding out the back of a box, but there's something new and worth looking at in every nook of the set. For the love of god, don't watch/listen to any of this stuff before watching the movie.
Disc 1
Commentary Tracks: Director & Cast tracks
I listened to the cast track first while doing some cleaning around the house and kept taking 5-10 minute "watching" breaks, getting far less laundry done than I would have otherwise. Selma Blair, Jeffrey Tambor, and Luke Goss keep it funny and informative the whole way through. Guillermo's track begins with him implying that you're about to suffer through listening to his "terrible voice" but don't let the self-effacing artiste or his humble nature put you off. Call me a freak or a sadist, but I like the idea of watching a del Toro movie and having him talking through the whole thing with me. Guillermo's signature talent on his tracks is consciousness of all the other stuff you have to pore over and not duplicating info.
Easter Egg: Gag Reel
On the Special Features menu, if you press Right on your remote , it'll highlight an idol on the screen and pressing Enter then treats you to outtakes. This was the last thing I watched and I recommend you do the same on your journey through the laberinto of features. Bookmark for later for sure, they're more funny in context to what you learn in other corners. A good cap to all the other stuff.
Set Visits
Real-time behind the scenes as they're filming certain pieces of the sequences listed. Those with no patience for the filmmaking process will not care, but for those of you who read film industry blogs and really care about the craft, it's a link to being on-set right along with everyone as the magic happens.
Troll Market Tour
Guillermo spends his lunch break showing you corners and features of the Troll Market you won't see no matter how many times you re-watch that sequence. If you like production design porn, go no further than this featurette. Anyone interested in practical effects will probably re-watch this more than anything else, don't let the 12 or 13 minute runtime deceive you.
Epilogue
An animated setup for the third movie, I should think. I hope this means the clockwork head-only helicopter Kroenen that Guillermo mentioned way back at the first screening of Hellboy in 2004 in Austin is still in the cards. I can only imagine how much more insane the third movie can be once Hobbit gives Guillermo even more "fuck you" cred than he has from Pan's.
Deleted Scenes
6 or so scenes that were trimmed out or shaved down are here, with optional commentary. Nothing crazy here, so you're probably fine listening to the commentary with Guillermo the first way through, but it's only five minutes or so of footage, so it's not a gigantic investment to watch them both ways.
Miscellaneous (trailers, language tracks)
I laughed almost as hard at the trailer for Slap Shot 3 as I did the Can't Live Without You sequence in the actual movie.
I love watching movies with the Spanish and French dub tracks. Abe Sapien, telenovela actor, is highly recommended for hispanohablantes and english speakers who've seen the movie alike.
Disc 2
Hellboy: In Service of the Demon feature making-of
All the above stuff is great on the standard one-disc edition, but this doc on its own is worth moving up to the 3-disc. It's two and a half hours long, which is longer than the movie itself, and every minute is worth it. Interspersed are plenty more on-set Behind the Scenes moments that really ring home how much patience and care is taken in building a film of this scope. The other thing that comes to mind is that they did all this for 85 mill, and it makes you really question what these other comic book movies are doing with all that filthy money.
The Production Workshop: Professor Broom's Puppet Theatre
A multi-angle view of the opening stop-motion sequence with optional del Toro chat track. Since the regular audio is no different than it is in the movie and there's no new "scenes" so to speak, just alternate views of the storyboards, solistening to it with Guillermo loses you absolutely nothing.
Pre-Production Vault: Director's Notebook & Photo Gallery/Marketing Campaign
They scanned in Guillermo's Hellboynomicon and also included design sketches, photos, and posters. The Notebook del Toro is the real highlight along with the Mignola sketches. There's a little for everyone in the stills here.
The DVD-ROM Script is included too, for script-o-philes.
Disc 3
Digital Copy of the Movie
I'd never encountered one of these "Digital Copy" discs myself, and David Lynch has gone on record eviscerating the very idea of watching a movie on an iPhone/iPod/whatever, but I dig the idea. I've already bought the movie, and this makes it easier to take it on the go whether on a computer or a handheld device. I'm also a nut for gadgets that fit in the palm of your hand, so this is a nice "throw in" that they're putting on about every damn movie special edition these days. Some movies it makes no sense whatsoever to watch on a three inch screen, but I can at least see dialing up the Elemental sequence when waiting in line at the Drafthouse.
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I'm sure the Blu-ray release looks as gorgeous as Blu-ray always does, but I can't claim to have seen it since I'm still a standard-def guy for the foreseeable future. If you have a Blu-ray player, the choice is clear: DVD isn't as good an investment if you're buying this bad boy.
Of recent releases that aren't multidisc box sets or Criterion discs, this and WALL-E (which I'm working on getting reviewed soon) are the clear standouts when it comes to where to strategically buy your deluxe DVDs this time of year for yourself and the ones you love (hopefully you fall into both categories, if not, get a therapist). You will actually get your money's worth in terms of extras in addition to an excellent movie. Even if I didn't see myself watching the movie multiple times a year, I'd pay full price for the extras alone on Hellboy 2.