Blade
Movie poster for Blade
Directed by	Stephen Norrington
Written by	Comic Book: Marv Wolfman Gene Colan Screenplay: David S. Goyer
Starring	Wesley Snipes Stephen Dorff Kris Kristofferson N'Bushe Wright Donal Logue Sanaa Lathan Arly Jover
Music by	Mark Isham
Distributed by	New Line Cinema
Release date(s)	August 21, 1998
Running time	120 min.
Language	English
Budget	$45,000,000 (estimated)
Gross revenue	$131,183,530
Followed by	Blade II
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Blade is a 1998 film starring Wesley Snipes and Stephen Dorff, loosely based on the published stories of the Marvel Comics character Blade. It was directed by Stephen Norrington and written by David S. Goyer. Snipes plays the character of Blade, a half-man, half-vampire superhero vampire hunter who becomes the protector of humans against the vampires. Blade grossed $70 million at the U.S. box office, and $130 million worldwide. Two sequels were made (Blade II & Blade: Trinity) but the first film is widely considered the best of the series.^{[attribution needed]} Download high resolution version (561x755, 59 KB)Blade movie poster File links The following pages link to this file: Blade (movie) ... First Movie: Death Machine, SF-Thriller GB 1994 later produced The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Blade ... Cover to Crisis on Infinite Earths #1, which was written by Wolfman. ... Gene Colan (born September 1, 1926, the Bronx, New York City, New York) is an American comic book artist who sometimes worked under the name Adam Austin. ... David S. Goyer is a comic book writer, screenwriter, and film director. ... Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962) is an American actor, martial artist and film producer. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Kristoffer Kris Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is an influential American country music songwriter, singer and actor. ... NBushe Wright as Dr. Karen Jenson in New Line Cinemas Blade - 1998 // Biography NBushe Wright (born September 20, 1970 in New York City, New York, USA) is an African-American film and television actress. ... Donal Francis Logue (born February 27, 1965[1] or 1966[2]) is a Canadian actor. ... Sanaa McCoy Lathan (born September 19, 1971) is a Tony Award-nominated American actress. ... Araceli Arly Jover (born May ??, 1977~1980, exact date unknown) is a Spanish actress and dancer. ... Mark Isham (b. ... New Line Cinema, founded in 1967, is one of the major American film studios. ... is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... USD redirects here. ... Blade II is a 2002 vampire action movie starring Wesley Snipes and Kris Kristofferson. ... The year 1998 in film involved some significant events. ... This article is about motion pictures. ... Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962) is an American actor, martial artist and film producer. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This article is about the comic book company. ... Blade (Eric Brooks) is a fictional vampire-hunter in the Marvel Comics universe. ... First Movie: Death Machine, SF-Thriller GB 1994 later produced The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Blade ... David S. Goyer is a comic book writer, screenwriter, and film director. ... The leaders of the vampire House of Erebus. ... For other uses, see Superhero (disambiguation). ... A vampire hunter or vampire slayer is someone who specializes in finding and destroying vampires and sometimes other creatures of dark fantasy as well. ... USD redirects here. ... Blade II is a 2002 vampire action movie starring Wesley Snipes and Kris Kristofferson. ... Blade: Trinity is a 2004 movie, directed by David S. Goyer, which is a motion_picture directorial debut for him. ...

Taglines:

• The power of an immortal. The soul of a human. The heart of a hero.
• Against an army of immortals, one warrior must draw first blood.
• Part Man. Part Vampire. All Hero.

Plot

Blade, the Daywalker.

The movie begins with a flashback of a pregnant woman being hospitalized after being bitten by, as one of the doctors said, some kind of wild animal. In the process of trying to revive her, she gives birth to her baby boy and dies. The next scene proceeds to the present and continues with a seductive woman bringing an unsuspecting man to a strange nightclub. As the scene progresses, the man realizes something is amiss in the club yet cannot quite discern why. However, his fears are soon confirmed when blood begins to pour down from the sprinkler system, revealing that most all of the club's patrons are vampires. Unable to escape from the hideous creatures which have now surrounded him, the young man seems doomed until one of the vampires notices an individual who has just entered, whom he calls "the daywalker". Image File history File links Ws_blade. ... Image File history File links Ws_blade. ... A pregnant woman Pregnancy is the process by which a mammalian female carries a live offspring from conception until it develops to the point where the offspring is capable of living outside the womb. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ...

Blade (Wesley Snipes) coolly enters the main dance floor, wreaking havoc amongst the vampire crowd. He immediately begins a no-holds-barred slaughter of the vampires, using a combination of martial arts and firearms to pick them off. Eventually, after fighting his way through numerous guards, Blade singles out one vampire in particular named Quinn (played by Donal Logue), nailing him to the wall with stakes. Upon hearing police sirens, Blade turns to Quinn and tells him "Give my regards to Frost" and setting him alight leaving a burnt Quinn along with the confused human as the only surviving inhabitants of his attack. The police take Quinn's crisp remains and send them for identification. Blade (Eric Brooks) is a fictional vampire-hunter in the Marvel Comics universe. ... Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962) is an American actor, martial artist and film producer. ... Donal Francis Logue (born February 27, 1965[1] or 1966[2]) is a Canadian actor. ...

Dr. Karen Jenson plays a pivotal role in the film.

Doctor Karen Jenson (N'Bushe Wright) is the unlucky individual who performs the examination on Quinn's "corpse". During the examination, Quinn shockingly returns to life and feeds on both Jenson and her co-worker. However, Blade enters the morgue, having pre-supposed that Quinn would come back. He attacks the rejuvenated vampire, but is yet again forced to flee when the police arrive. As he makes to leave, Blade sees a bleeding Doctor Jensen lying on the floor, beckoning for him to help her. Due to the doctor's similarity to Blade's mother, he rescues Jensen and they head back to his base of operations. Quinn also escapes from the attack. Image File history File links Nw_karen. ... Image File history File links Nw_karen. ... NBushe Wright as Dr. Karen Jenson in New Line Cinemas Blade - 1998 // Biography NBushe Wright (born September 20, 1970 in New York City, New York, USA) is an African-American film and television actress. ...

To suppress his thirst for blood, Blade is injected with a special serum on a daily basis.

The scene changes to the meeting room of The House of Erebus, a vampire Shadow Council. The Elder Dragonetti (played by Udo Kier) discusses Blade's recent intensified attacks, and berates a young Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorff) for his recklessness in running these clubs. During this scene, there is a short explanation of vampire politics - most vampires believe that they should more or less co-exist with the humans (maintaining a secret, Mafia-like power cabal), whilst renegades such as Frost believe they should rule them outright. It is also established that there is some stigma from "pure-blood" vampires (i.e. those who are born vampires) towards those born human and later turned into vampires. Image File history File links Blade_serum. ... Image File history File links Blade_serum. ... The leaders of the House of Erebus sit and discuss current issues. ... Udo Kier (born October 14, 1944) is a German actor. ... Deacon Frost is a fictional character appearing in the Marvel Universe. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

The storyline switches back to Blade's lair, where Jenson meets Abraham Whistler (Kris Kristofferson), Blade's mentor and weapons technician in their fight against vampire-kind. Whistler delivers a small speech outlining their current mission and the nature of vampires, along with the power they hold in the outside world. Jenson decides to head home, although Blade reminds her it is is a possibility that, due to Quinn's bite, she too may become a vampire. It is also established in this scene that Blade is a half-vampire, and requires a serum to prevent his need to drink blood. Kris Kristofferson as Whistler Abraham Whistler is a fictional character from the Marvel Comics universe. ... Kristoffer Kris Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is an influential American country music songwriter, singer and actor. ...

Blade learns the shocking truth of his now-vampire mother.

Upon arriving in her apartment, Jenson is assaulted by a policeman who is revealed to be a familiar - a human being who serves vampires (a collaborator, essentially, that after years of service might get rewarded by being turned into a vampire). Blade rescues Jenson, and later follows the familiar back to another club of Frost's, there discovering that Frost has plans involving a vampire blood-god named La Magra. The officer is killed by Frost at a party thrown by Deacon. Blade and Karen proceed to interrogate a morbidly obese vampire named Pearl. Blade and Karen attack Pearl with a UV-Lamp, searing the vampire's flesh, and making him spill the details of Frost's plans. Blade and Karen enter the vampire library but are ambushed by Quinn and Frost's henchmen, along with Mercury (Played by Arly Jover ), a love interest for Deacon. Although Blade and Jenson are assaulted by Frost's private army, they escape due to the timely arrival of Whistler. Image File history File links Vanessa_blade. ... Image File history File links Vanessa_blade. ... Araceli Arly Jover (born May ??, 1977~1980, exact date unknown) is a Spanish actress and dancer. ...

Back at Blade's lair, Whistler tells Karen how Blade became a hybrid and how their partnership evolved. Jenson begins to work on a permanent cure for the vampire condition, using Whistler's research as her starting ground. During this time, Frost kills Elder Dragonetti by subjecting him to a sunrise, and forcibly gathers the other members of the Shadow Council as "volunteers". Shortly after this, Frost makes a second strike. Whilst Blade heads out to fetch the ingredients for his serum, Frost abducts Dr. Jenson from the lair and badly beats Whistler, leaving Quinn and the rest of his crew to finish him off. Upon Blade's return, he finds a taunting video left from Frost. In a poignant scene, Blade aids a bleeding Whistler in suicide (Blade hears a gunshot from outside, but doesn't see it happen). Stricken with grief, Blade vows to find and kill Frost.

Blade arms himself for a raid on Frost's base, taking along with him specially-designed pneumatic syringes loaded with EDTA (normally used as a blood thinner to clear blood clots in the heart, which has a highly volatile reaction to vampire blood). During his attack on the base, Blade fights his way through a horde of vampires, yet discovers a horrible truth once he reaches the top floor of the building. He learns that his mother (the pregnant woman from the flashback scene) did not in fact die, and is now Frost's vampire mistress, as it was Frost himself who had bitten his mother during her pregnancy. Overcome with shock, Blade is easily subdued by the guards, who knock him out and take him to the Temple of Eternal Night, where Frost reveals the final stages of his plan. EDTA is a widely-used acronym for the chemical compound ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (and many other names, see table). ...

Frost successfully becomes La Magra, the vampire Blood God.

Using his resources and vast wealth, Frost has managed to rebuild the temple and intends to use it for La Magra's resurrection, a key ingredient of which is Blade's sunlight-resistant vampiric blood, along with the sacrifice of the other twelve council members (Ashe, Cianteto, Dragonetti, Faustinas who held two seats, Ligaroo, Lemure, Kobejitsu, Lobishomen, Von Esper, Upier, and Pallintine.) Through the ritual, Frost becomes an eminently more powerful vampire, far surpassing any other vampire's strength or speed, and gains the powers and attributes of each sacrificed member, including immunity to silver, instant regeneration of lost limbs, superior strength and speed, red bulging eyes (from the Kobejitsu tribe), and the ability to walk during the day (from Blade's blood.) Image File history File links Sd_lamagra. ... Image File history File links Sd_lamagra. ...

With Dr. Jenson's intervention Blade breaks free from his sacrificial housing, killing his mother and nearly draining Dr. Jenson to renew his strength. After Blade disposes of Frost's minions, including the death of Quinn and Mercury, the two meet for one final climactic battle at the base of the temple. Upon discovering that Frost cannot be killed by any conventional means, Blade empties every single EDTA syringe he has on Frost (who is now constituted entirely of vampire blood), causing his body to swell and explode.

Climbing out from the underground temple, Karen offers Blade her cure. Blade refuses, because "curing" him of his need for blood would also remove his Daywalker powers and he would be unable to hunt vampires, and requests for her to make him a better serum, reminding her that "there's still a war going on". The final scene shows Blade in Moscow, hunting down and killing a Russian vampire who persuaded a human to follow him to a vampire club. This sets the stage for the second film. Blade II is a 2002 vampire action movie starring Wesley Snipes and Kris Kristofferson. ...

Cast

Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962) is an American actor, martial artist and film producer. ... Blade (Eric Brooks) is a fictional vampire-hunter in the Marvel Comics universe. ... Kristoffer Kris Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is an influential American country music songwriter, singer and actor. ... Kris Kristofferson as Whistler Abraham Whistler is a fictional character from the Marvel Comics universe. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Deacon Frost is a fictional character appearing in the Marvel Universe. ... NBushe Wright as Dr. Karen Jenson in New Line Cinemas Blade - 1998 // Biography NBushe Wright (born September 20, 1970 in New York City, New York, USA) is an African-American film and television actress. ... Donal Francis Logue (born February 27, 1965[1] or 1966[2]) is a Canadian actor. ... Udo Kier (born October 14, 1944) is a German actor. ... Traci Lords (born Nora Louise Kuzma on May 7, 1968), also known as Traci Elizabeth Lords and Tracy Lords, is an American film actress, producer, director, writer and singer. ... Sanaa McCoy Lathan (born September 19, 1971) is a Tony Award-nominated American actress. ... Araceli Arly Jover (born May ??, 1977~1980, exact date unknown) is a Spanish actress and dancer. ...

Origins

The character Blade was created in 1973 for Marvel Comics by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Gene Colan and was a supporting character in the 1970s comic Tomb of Dracula. In the comic, Blade's mother was bitten by a vampire while she was in labor with Blade. Thus, Blade was born with a natural immunity to the effects of vampirism, though he was otherwise human. Blade (Eric Brooks) is a fictional vampire-hunter in the Marvel Comics universe. ... This article is about the comic book company. ... Cover to Crisis on Infinite Earths #1, which was written by Wolfman. ... Gene Colan (born September 1, 1926, the Bronx, New York City, New York) is an American comic book artist who sometimes worked under the name Adam Austin. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ... Tomb of Dracula is a horror comic book published by Marvel Comics from April 1972 to August 1979. ...

Connections to the comic

This version of Blade is very much unlike his comic counterpart. The Blade in the comics was notorious for using wooden stakes and talking and acting like John Shaft since he was originally created in the 1970s. The comic character has since been modified to be similar to his film counterpart. The comic book version was only able to sense the undead as a result of Deacon Frost biting his mother during his birth. See Blade. Now after a bite from an artificial vampire named Morbius, Blade now is the same as the film version. John Shaft is a fictional character created by screenwriter/novelist Ernest Tidyman as a sort of African-American answer to Ian Flemings James Bond. ... Blade (Eric Brooks) is a fictional vampire-hunter in the Marvel Comics universe. ... Adventure into Fear #20 (February, 1974). ...

Lawsuit

Comic writing icon and Blade creator Marv Wolfman unsuccessfully tried to sue Marvel and New Line for $50 million dollars after the release of the film. In the film he receives no credits but a "based on characters created by" credit in the sequels. Cover to Crisis on Infinite Earths #1, which was written by Wolfman. ...

Soundtrack

These songs^[1] listed are heard within the film only. For the official retail soundtrack listing, see below.

1. "Bad Moon Rising" by Creedence Clearwater Revival
2. "UT1-Dot" by Polygon Window
3. "Ah, Singapore" by Shonen Knife
4. "Yeah" by DJ Krush
5. "Eclipse" by Solitaire
6. "Soeil" by Solitaire
7. "Call & Response" by Source Direct
8. "Ether" by Siren
9. "Fearless" by Solitaire
10. "Rattle The Fear" by Spirit Fire Child
11. "Rainbow Voice" by David Hykes from Hearing Solar Winds
12. "Ni Ten Ichi Ryu (Two Swords Technique)" by Photek
13. "Go Get On It" by Southside Reverb
14. "Blade Theme (Techno Remix)" by Rammstein
15. "Chin Chin" (Bang Wa Cherry)" the elusive song by the two japanese school girls in the club scene.

These are the songs that appear on the official retail soundtrack. The majority of them are rap songs that were not heard in the film: Creedence Clearwater Revival (commonly referred to by its initials CCR or simply as Creedence) was an American rock band, which consisted of John Fogerty (vocals, guitar, harmonica, piano), Tom Fogerty (guitar, vocals, piano), Stu Cook (bass guitar, vocals), and Doug Clifford (drums, percussion, vocals). ... Richard D. James, aka Aphex Twin Aphex Twin (born Richard David James, August 18, 1971, Ireland) is a UK-based electronic music artist, credited with pushing forward the genres of techno, ambient, IDM, acid, drum and bass (specifically drill n bass). ... The all-female musical band Shonen Knife (少年ナイフ, Shōnen Naifu; lit. ... DJ Krush was born in 1962 in Tokyo. ... Source Direct is a Drum and bass band from St. ... David Hykes (1953 - ) is a musician, composer, author, experimental filmmaker and meditation teacher, and a principal pioneer in the modern harmonic, healing sounds and contemplative chant movements. ... Photek is Rupert Parkes (born 1972, St Albans, England), a Los Angeles based record producer and dj. ... For other uses, see Ramstein. ... Hip hop music is a style of popular music. ...

1. "The Edge of the Blade" by Mystikal
2. "1/2 & 1/2" by Gang Starr
3. "Blade" by KRS-One
4. "Fightin' a War" by Down 2 Earth
5. "Reservations" by P.A.
6. "Gangsta Bounce" by Wolfpak
7. "Things Ain't the Same" by Kasino
8. "Deadly Zone" by Bounty Killer
9. "Blade 4 Glory" by Mr. Majesty Feat. Bizzy Bone
10. "Strictly Business (Mantronik MBA Radio Edit)" by Mantronik vs. EPMD
11. "Wrek Tha Discotek" by Roger Sanchez
12. "Confusion (Pump Panel Reconstruction Mix)" by New Order
13. "Playing With Lightning" by Expansion Union
14. "Dig This Vibe" by DJ Krush
15. "Dealing With the Roster" by Junkie XL

^[2] This article contains a trivia section. ... Gang Starr is an influential hip hop group that consists of Guru and DJ Premier from Brooklyn, New York. ... KRS-One (born Lawrence Krisna Parker on August 20, 1965 in Brooklyn, New York. ... Look up Pa in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Pa, PA or pa may stand for: pa, a word for dad or father (pa or paw) pa, Chinese political title meaning hegemon Pa, Maori word meaning a fortified village or redoubt, described at length in Maori Wars Per annum, p. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Bounty Killer (born Rodney Basil Price June 12, 1972 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay, known for his hard work in combating poverty and helping new artists. ... Bryon Anthony McCane II, (born on September 12, 1976, in Columbus, Ohio) better known by his stage name Bizzy Bone, is an American rapper and former member of the Cleveland rap group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. ... Kurtis el Khaleel (Arabic: ) (born September 4, 1965), known by the stage name Kurtis Mantronik, is an American hip-hop, electro funk, and dance music artist, DJ, remixer, and producer. ... EPMD is an American rap group from Brentwood, New York, active from 1987 to 1999; one of the prominent acts in East coast hip hop. ... Roger Sanchez is one of the most popular commercial house DJs in the last years, who scored many hits in the European and World Charts. ... This article is about the alternative rock/electronic band New Order. ... DJ Krush was born in 1962 in Tokyo. ... Junkie XL (also JXL) is musician Tom Holkenborg, born in Lichtenvoorde, The Netherlands on 8 December 1967. ...

Production notes and cameos

• Stan Lee originally had a cameo that was ultimately cut from the film. He played one of the cops that come in to the blood club during the aftermath and discover Quinn's body on fire. Although Blade is a Marvel Comics character, he was created by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan. So far, Stan Lee only has had cameos in movies based on characters that he helped create.
• David Goyer explains in the DVD commentary that when Karen Jenson wakes up at Blade's hideout after her initial attack and rescue by Blade, the script had her discover a jar with a vampire baby in it. The baby would be alive and used by Blade and Whistler as a guinea pig for testing out weapons to fight the vampires. The studio found this concept to be far too disturbing and refused to allow it.
• The original ending included an eight-story monstrous version of La Magra. This was scrapped and re-done to the current known ending after many fans were disappointed when Stephen Dorff (Frost) was taken off-camera during the film's first screening. The original ending can be found in the special features section in the DVD version of the film.
• The movie features Traci Lords, the former pornographic actress, as Racquel, a vampire who is shown covered in blood in one notable scene during the opening half of the film.
• Bruce Lee's daughter Shannon Lee appears very briefly as a resident in the opening scene when Blade's mother is taken into hospital and about to give birth to him.
• In the bonus features section of the Blade DVD, you can watch an alternate ending where a glimpse of Michael Morbius can be seen.

For the fictional character of this name, see Stan Lee (Judge Dredd character). ... Traci Lords (born Nora Louise Kuzma on May 7, 1968), also known as Traci Elizabeth Lords and Tracy Lords, is an American film actress, producer, director, writer and singer. ... Porn redirects here. ... Bruce Lee (traditional Chinese: ; simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: Lǐ Xiǎolóng; Cantonese Yale: Léih Síulùhng; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Chinese-American martial artist, philosopher, instructor, and martial arts actor widely regarded as the most influential martial artist of the 20th century and a... Shannon Lee at the premiere of The Story of Us in 1999 Shannon Emery Lee (36 years old) (born April 19, 1969) is an American actress. ... Residency is a stage of postgraduate medical training certification in a primary care or referral specialty. ... Morbius the Living Vampire, full name Michael Morbius, is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe, intended as a tragic anti-hero with vampire-like powers that actually had a biochemical origin. ...

See also

• Blade II The first sequel to this movie.
• Blade: Trinity The second sequel to this movie.
• The Blade Trilogy
• Weaponry of Blade

Blade II is a 2002 vampire action movie starring Wesley Snipes and Kris Kristofferson. ... Blade: Trinity is a 2004 movie, directed by David S. Goyer, which is a motion_picture directorial debut for him. ... The Blade Trilogy DVD box set The Blade Trilogy is a movie trilogy starring Wesley Snipes. ... In all of his incarnations, Blade uses a vast array of weaponry specifically designed to eliminate vampires. ...

References

1. ^ http://www.cine-score.com/detailquery_film.php?film_id=20&filmname=Blade
2. ^ http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000009QJN

External links

• Blade at the Internet Movie Database
• Blade at Marvel.com