The Corner Penthouse

Today, I'll take a look at the Blade 4K/Blu-ray Combo Pack. Read on to find out more about it...


Blade (1998) features Wesley Snipes as Marvel's iconic half-vampire, half-human vampire hunter, Blade. With all the strengths of a vampire, and none of their weaknesses, the Day Walker uses his incredible gifts to hunt his enemies in his search for the one that killed his mother and turned him into the monster he is. Blade's fight leads him to Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorff), a rising force in the vampire world, set on raising a vampire God bent on destroying mankind.


The character of Blade was created for Marvel by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan. I don't know how the film compares to the comics, but on its own, the film is loads of fun. It's a martial-arts action film that doesn't take itself too serious, which is perfectly in line for the subject matter. If I had any real complaints, it's that the runtime is a bit long, the ending is rather anti-climatic, and the CGI blood looks very dated (though that gives it a bit of a late '90s charm).


I heard that Blade II, directed by Guillermo del Toro, is the better of the three Blade movies; with the first film being the second best and the third being really bad. I did not get a chance to watch the other two films, so I can't say how they compare to each other. I can tell you that Blade looks great in 4K, and is just as good as some of the other recent Warner Brothers 4K releases. While the film can be a bit dark since there are plenty of night scenes, and some scenes are bathed in cool blues and greys, all of the red (fake) blood pops off the screen like never before.


Blade is one of three films based on comic books that laid the modern-day groundwork for the glut of comic book movies we've seen over the past 20 years.  The others being X-Men (2000) and Spider-Man (2002). So, if you love the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, you can thank Blade for helping to prove that comic book movies can be serious and successful.


Blade is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio with a runtime of 2:00:15. Audio languages include English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Czech, and Polish. The film includes English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Czech, and Polish subtitles.


Here's a list of all of the bonus features that can be found on the 4K UHD disc. The Isolated Score track was resurrected from the original 1998 "Platinum Series" DVD release, having been left off of the 2012 Blu-ray release (also included). I'm very happy that Warner Bros. saw fit to bring this track back to life, so that it's not forgotten to the ravages of time.

• Audio Commentary with actor/producer Wesley Snipes, actor Steven Dorff, screenwriter David S. Goyer, producer Peter Frankfurt, production designer Kirk M. Petruccelli and cinematographer Theo van de Sande.
• Isolated Score & Audio Commentary with composer Mark Isham.

Also included in the 4K UHD + Blu-ray Combo Pack is a second standard Blu-ray disc (originally released back in 2012), which contains the movie and all of the bonus features listed below. Audio languages include English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Czech, Japanese, German, and Italian. The film includes English SDH, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Czech, Dutch, Russian subtitles.

• Audio Commentary with actor/producer Wesley Snipes, actor Steven Dorff, screenwriter David S. Goyer, producer Peter Frankfurt, production designer Kirk M. Petruccelli and cinematographer Theo van de Sande.
• La Magra (14:08) - As overview of the film's development, including an alternate ending that features a literal blood god and a cameo from Marvel's vampire Morbius.
• Designing Blade (22:31) - A look at concept art and production materials while Kirk M. Petruccelli and others discuss the look and atmosphere of the film.
• Origins of Blade: A Look at Dark Comics (12:10) - David S. Goyer, Stan Lee, and others discuss the shift from brightly-colored superheroes comics to the darker tomes of the '80s and '90s.
• The Blood Tide (20:02) - A look at the role of blood in everything from theology to history, medicine, vampire lore, and literature.
• Theatrical Trailer (2:09)

A digital copy code voucher is also included in the standard two-disc black UHD Blu-ray case. The first print run includes a shiny slipsleeve.


Blade is available on 4K UHD/Blu-ray Combo Pack and is a recommended upgrade for fans of the film. The second and third films are not yet on 4K, so if you want them both in one package, you'll have to get the Blade Trilogy Blu-ray set, even though the disc for the first film is the same as in this new 4K set. Otherwise, buy them separately: Blade II, Blade Trinity (Unrated), Blade Trinity (Theatrical, Canadian Import). There was also a short-lived TV series called Blade: The Series that aired on Spike for a few weeks in 2006, which is available in a Complete Series DVD set.


All images were taken from the IMDB gallery of the film. The item was provided by Warner Brothers for review on this site.