Fun Fact: 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 way Blade when he's powered up has the usual feralness you get with powered up vampires/werewolves, but is still clearly entirely in control of himself is impressive character portrayal
Ali is great, but I do think he's gonna have to do something magical to really sell his take on Blade. Too many people today don't give credit to what true, larger-than-life star power and charisma is with genre films. It's not so much about machismo masculinity as it is projecting a sense of the mythological. Actors like Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Willis, Snipes, have that X factor. Snipes has STAR POWER. He sells everything 100%. His stance, his demeanor, his grace and control of movement, etc. His Blade is a wonderfully subtle performance in many ways. It's a very measured performance that feels 100% natural all the same. Like this video points out, Snipes delivers one liners so well we just believe it despite some of them being cheesy as fuck. Some one liners we love for being cheesy. And some one liners SHOULDN'T work but do because they have to right actor delivering them. Like "hasta la vista, baby" in Terminator 2 should not work at all. But it DOES because Arnie is Arnie. Naysayers would poo-poo his turn as Blade as something not difficult to do. And they would be so, so wrong. Being an true to the bone action hero takes a little something extra. The Rock used to have that, but his choices lately have let him down. This X factor is largely missing in today's western action cinema, because western action cinema (barring notable exceptions like John Wick) are just superhero movies. Superhero movies are basically today's action cinema. And comedy. And sci-fi. Back when they made Blade it wasn't in some attempt of massive brand and franchise synergy. No, it was merely a high concept action film that just so happened to also be a comic book film. I think Ali can very well pull it off, but I'm worried it may be a Brie Larson situation with Captain Marvel (no, not in that way. chill). Larson is a good actor. Great even. I've liked her in every dramatic role I've seen her in. But the cool badass comic book hero persona is not something that suits her. And thus she feels miscast. Not every actor needs to be great at everything to be a good actor. Having weak areas is OK! I think Ali may have that same kind of weakness. He's great in more grounded, nuanced, true-to-life roles. But can he pull off something as mythological as Blade? I honestly would have cast Yahya Abdul-Mateen II over Ali. Ali may to some be a subjectively better actor than Yahya, but Yahya has that big screen swagger and charisma.
There have been handful of times that I've been in a movie audience that actually cheered at a scene in a movie. Blade getting his glasses back was one of those scenes.
For me, there have been a few, but most of them were old school Marvel movies. The first Avengers movie, when The Hulk 'Smashed' Loki and told him, "Puny God!" Thor Ragnarok, when he Lightning MegaPunches the Hulk in the arena right before the Collector zaps him. Then later, in the same movie, when he rides a lightning bolt into Hela's undead minions to the opening of Immigrant Song. End Game, when Captain America first shows up holding Mjolnir, and then again when the Falcon says, "On your left." But yeah, Blade getting his glasses back was a good one!
@@SouthernGuy5423 All Modern movies with a way, way.. WAAAAAAAAAY bigger budget and wow factor than blade. Blade was a really hard sell back in the day, but oh man did it hit the boxes even for people not a fan of Marvel. It started an entire theme with the intro nightclub scene, and a lot of parlour and flair for duster coats, not to mention both his haircut, and the style of sunglasses he wore, just like Maverick from top gun, brought on the Clear glassed Aviators.
I think you forgot to add a win for the very realistic fact that the male and female leads DON'T end up in a romantic relationship after knowing each other for just 2 days.
I don't know. For me it always seemed like they were romantically interested, but their jobs mattered more to them. Choosing career over family in the 90s, stilll works!
@@SheyD78 Bro, it was like less then a week, what time would there have been for rommance? That's the problem with jamming romance into super hero or action films sometimes, it doesn't make sense for them to grow such strong feelings in such a short amount of time. On top of that, they already have a main goal that should be keeping their minds occupied
@@hassanmouradmohammedabo-el4647 The 'Ice-skating uphill' quote can be roughly translated as 'Some motherfuckers are always trying to make things far harder than they need to', at least that's how it sounds to me.
@@hassanmouradmohammedabo-el4647 trying to ice skate uphill would be basically impossible, so it's like Blade is saying that Frost attempted the impossible (defeating Blade)
Correction; Silver is a panacea against most evil creatures in old folklore. Demons, vampires, undead, werewolves. Your cross was suppose to be made of silver because it represented a pure and holy metal in old folklore. Most of the vulnerabilities vampires have today are derivatives that old folklore had against keeping the dead from coming back. For instance the whole idea of tombstones is a big heavy object to keep corpses from rising out of the ground that evolved into marking the graves of loved ones. Hell this idea sprung up because of the misunderstanding of corpses and thinking that their hair and nails continued growing after death (they do not) or that the bloating of the body meant they were feeding). Other ruminations like sunlight, garlic, running water, etc. are a result of many of those superstitions slowly evolving because originally there was no way to kill a vampire just confuse or slow them down.
I was about to say something similar. Silver works against a lot of dark creatures because it's seen as pure. I think that's also the reason salt works against demons and other impure things in supernatural.
A lot of the original Blade was inspired by the art from the 90's tabletop rpg "Vampire The Masquerade". This movie just took those gothic punk themes and cranked them up to 11 and it'll forever be burned into my brain as the *definitve* modern vampire mythos.
Yeah, Lee talking about vampires in the skyrises being a Blade invention hurt me a little, just because it was such an obvious VtM thing that this movie used as inspiration. I'm super glad it did, don't get me wrong, but c'mon. Give Vampire its flowers.
Yep... and the game artist Tim Bradstreet was called in to help with Blade II concept design and comic adaptation Tim is awesome...love his Hellblazer and Punisher Max covers
I had to force my friends into the theater to watch this one (I had read plenty of the comics and was super-pumped, nobody else had any idea who Blade was) but it became one of our favorite 'bad-ass quotes' movies for a long, long time. Really paved the way for mainstream audiences to figure out that comic book movies could actually be cool and fun.
I went with a buddy to watch Spawn and I didn't love it. A year or so later, we went to watch Blade and I REALLY loved it and he didn't dislike it, but didn't love it. I was absolutely blown away. If I had gone alone, I would have gone right back to watch it again.
Also the sword fight between Wesley and Stephen wasn't sped up it was legit and Stephen cut his hand due to it , they added it into the movie plot later that he cut his hand to give his blood
Same. I remember sitting in front of the TV in my grandma's house watching Blade I, she comes in and starts screaming that I was 6, it was inappropriate, it was going to give me nightmares, and calling my aunt and my mom to turn off the TV, and I laughed and told her it was my 3rd time watching. That it was my favourite movie. 😂 I still remember her shocked face and her repeatedly checking on me that night to make sure I told the truth. 20+ years later, still my favourite movie.
always loved how the more evil a vampire is, the more brutal their death is: the guy burning at dawn, Damaskinos' head collapsing in on itself until it cracks
I am truly surprised that we didn't see so much more of Stephen Dorff after this (he did work of course, but i'd argue nothing near Blade level success). There hasn't been a great vampire baddie (that I've seen) since Frost. They always try to come off as mysterious and damaged where Frost was Machiavellian, brutal, and a Dick (with a capital D).
I remember the Community episode where Britta's irresistible ex is named Blade, and Abed spends most of the episode just watching the movie, not wanting to get caught up in any shenanigans.
@@master-of-mind5881 I didn't realize it until reading the above comment either. Go to 12:55 on the video. Frost says to Quinn "Yeah, he's got the sword and shit yeah, you throw it in the air, catch it underneath, yeah, SHUT THE FUCK UP." Blade kills Frost by throwing his sword into the air so that it can dislodge the vials Karen created, which fall for Blade to catch and throw at Frost. Frost even gestures while saying the "catch it underneath" part so that his hand is bent backwards, which is how Blade catches the vials. Tiny detail, and I've watched the movie plenty of times, but I gotta give Mattpollock4625 credit because I'd never noticed that before.
Two more mini-Greats I didn't hear mentioned: 1. Blade's iconic outfit was designed by Prada 2. Donal Logue appears as himself in a later episode of the What We Do In The Shadows tv series, with a backstory I'm not going to spoil
Ive been to a bloodbath rave before. Obviously it was fake blood, and it didnt come from the sprinkler system, the promoters set up sprayer lines all over the walls. It was a huge mess. Amd some people werent actually expecting tp get covered, and wore nice clothes and of course were pissed when they got ruined, but it was an absolutely awesome party. That venue never let us come back after that one.
That's one of the benefits of holding the Bloodbath in a slaughterhouse. Cleanup was simple. Just get some pressure washers, and it all goes down the drains. :) Probably wasn't the case for your venue.
I saw the clip of the blood sprinklers when I was a kid, but never knew what movie it was from. Until last year when I watched it for the first time. It is now EASILY one of my favorite superhero movies! It's dark, it's campy, it takes itself only just serious enough. It is one of the most fun action movies I've ever seen! And honestly, apart from some of the graphics, it holds up!
Yeah, really, its just how bad the CGI is in comparison to modern stuff. I genuinely believe that if they modernized the CGI and didn't change a single other thing about the movie, they could re-release it and it would make bank. Its just such an iconic action movie!
This movie is ahead of its time in every way: * It didn't have a love story * It had a more subtle diversity * It's a superhero movie that took everything seriously, being R-Rated even before Deadpool proved to be effective * It had action scenes that became popular with THE MATRIX (even before The Matrix was made) * Even the cinematography made it look like it was released recently, despite being over 20 years old
And the first movie isn't a dedicated origin story, even though Blade isn't exactly a popular character; all the origin you need is told in flashbacks. Compare Batman and Spider-Man.
6:08 - Silver is the go to for most forms of mythological beings. In fact, that's where the whole "Vampires can't see their reflection" comes from, it's due to the old time mirrors were lined with silver which made them not appear in it's reflection.
So I know this will get buried in the comic section but Blade was one of my first real heroes and what stuck out to me in this first taking here was how Black the movie felt. Blade is and was designed as Black hero and a lot of his speech,mannerisms and set design are more highlighted in this movie. It will later change in the next two movies to make it open to viewers, but THIS is the one that stuck out to me the most. I'm so glad to see this movie that meant so much to me covered here.
Blade also did "bullet time" before The Matrix. It just wasn't the big hit that the Matrix was. I love this movie and I actually love the third one too, which I might be one of the only ones who does.
At 15:46 when Blade gets powered up, He runs off grabbing his vest, next cut he has it on, and the next when he lands it's all zipped up. Badass good guy gets dressed in the most badass good guy fashion.
I watched this film for the first time sitting on the floor of my friend's room at uni with my flatmates, drinking a couple of beers. I genuinely don't think there is a better way to watch this film
the song at 8:50 is DJ Krush - Dig This Vibe aka one of the greatest songs ever recorded. great vid! love this movie and have seen an uncountable amount of times
My dad showed my blade when i was insanely young, I grew up with films like this and we watch it all the time he comes over, even now at 21 years of age I still adore blade. I even have a Factory X sword of the daywalker which is the closest thing to an exact replica of his sword from this trilogy. I wish I could’ve saw the films in cinema.
14:12 I always felt particularly bad for Curt in this movie. He's not a bad person, just a cruddy ex-boyfriend, but he gets turned into a semi-sentient ghoul driven by hunger and lust. For all the character traits he might have had offscreen, the only one that survives the transformation is his most repugnant one.
This is showing me I did watch the first Blade movie and it was probably my first R rated film. I was just channel surfing and came across the movie during the blood bath rave. Being a fan of vampires it did well to catch my attention and I was entertained.
Seeing this made me rewatch the movie again. We don't need an MCU Blade, we already have two perfect Blade movies. Always love your enthusiasm for films.
I remember when I had this movie on DVD. There was a “making of” in the special features. In it one of the creators stated that they originally considered LL Cool J for the role of Blade. Which I find interesting because I can’t see anyone else playing Blade other than Wesley Snipes.
Blade will always have one of the best songs as an intro: BLOOD RAVE. Great badass song that I’ve replayed so many times since discovering it, plus it helps set the tone for Blade’s intro.
I was waiting so long for this dissertation. Blade is the OG of live action marvel films. Without this film, the MCU wouldn’t be what it is today. All hail Snipes. This is one of the best portrayals of a comicbook character and the movie is a textbook example of how to adapt a comic flawlessly from page to screen.
'Catch you dudes at a bad time?' (Whistler). That Line is repeated again in Russian in the final scene of the movie. 'Des danye vovremia, dovereche?' (Blade).
11:01 you forgot to mention the attention of detail that the vampire starts steaming before the sun is even up proper because the rays bend along the curvature of the earth
A cool little detail about the entrance to the rave club is that when mr Heatseeking Dennis asks "What the fck is that?" (1:23) the prop inside the plastic bag is a human body.
Your positive joyful content so often mirrors my nearly 40 year old feelings. Thanks for the years of excitement and love Lee. This is one of those movies I cannot turn off if I see it or flip past it in any way. Blade has always been a weird kind of comfort movie for me.
Mr. Goyer really messed up that 2nd movie. Dude CANNOT direct! Stylistically, he took what the other previous directors had done and pasted it into the movie. Making the vampires inbred mutts was another mistake: I-Pod Girl and Deadpool (tryout), and the whole Nightstalkers was a waste of time. This was the failed pitch for a spinoff which killed both the movie and the potential spin-off. I can only appreciate Blade as a duology, 'cause that 3rd movie was trash
Thank you for reintroducing me to this movie! I went searching for it after watching this, found it streaming, and got to watch the iconic bloodbath again. The opening has to be Top 10 of all time. Thanks again!
The blood letting ritual terrified the hell outta me as a kid but damn I love this movie it’s right up there with Spider-man 1 and 2 as my all time favorite superhero movies
I've met Quin (Donal Logue) several times. His sister was my elementary school teacher. Just one of the nicest guys. His younger sister (Katrina Logue), is really nice to. The entire family is lovely. Just very down to Earth people.
The silver thing is vampires too. That’s also why they can’t see themselves in mirrors. Old timey mirrors were backed with silver to get their reflectivity.
I once looped "confusion" for 4 hrs straight while pounding out a last minute Spanish paper. Didn't kill the song for me but I can hear it without thinking "ayudame por favor"
Not only one of the best super hero films ever made but one of the best vampire films ever made. Directed by a guy will very little experience who absolutely knocked it put the park, such a shame he was so scarred by the experience of directing League if Extraordinary Gentleman he hasn’t directed anything since.
Blade saying "some motherfuckers are always trying to ice-skate uphill" before roundhouse kicking a syringe into the vampire god might be where cinema peaked.
One of my favorite movies ever! I am both excited and nervous for whatever Marvel pulls out with the new ones, if they ever happen at this point. And if they put as much love into it that clearly went into this. And if they leave it R. There are some characters that just need the R rating and anything *vampire* absolutely needs that R rating for the blood alone!
The MCU's Blade will, pardon the pun, suck. It won't be nearly as unique or transgressive or edgy (and I used "edgy" unironically. Ppl use the term derisively now but it wasn't always like that) as the original. It'll toss some blood around to pretend it's got edge and that's it.
I went down the comments a little way to see if this was commented on, but the way he runs down the hall with his vest in his hand, then cut to him diving off the platform with his vest on and open, and to end with him landing with it zipped up...deserves a big win.
I don’t think it’s easy to describe how much of a bada** Wesley Snipes was in this era. He had Drop Zone and Passenger 57 at this point, but then Blade came out and it was a moment of realization that he was the baddest dude in movies. Love love love this movie, and you nailed this CinemaWins. Just a hearty cheers from me.
We need to bring back action like this. Why are movie maker now so aahed of a truly badass fight scene? Let your heroew be over the top, that's why we love them.
Blade 1 is an amazing film, made more notable being that 1990s Batman Forever and Batman & Robin were silly comedies in the style of the Adam West Batman film. Blade was the first good marvel superhero film, and it was way before Iron Man came out. It's a shame that Wesley Snipes as Blade may never crossover with the rest of the marvel film universe. Its incredibly well choreographed. The music is great. The story is solid. It's also a surprisingly good unintentional adaptation of Vampire the Masquerade to boot. You mentioned Blade 2. That one is very different, leaning heavily into the horror, seemingly being a Vampire/Zombie apocalypse. I hope to see that video soon. A note is that Deacon Frost's plan was doomed to failure. A later movie, Daybreakers answered the question of what happens when everyone becomes a vampire. They all starve or feed on each other.
Love the Blade movies I rewatch them yearly, hopefully the reboot lives up to these movies. Also are there any plans to do a Everything Great About series for the Underworld movies?
I'd be sooo excited if he did the Underworld movies! I love them so much! Especially the first one. They were a favorite of my dad, too, so they always bring back fond memories when I watch them. 😊
5:48 first hint that Blade might be a little more than human? really? I think they covered that when he punched a vamp into the ceiling pretty much right at the start of the scene - which is why this is one of, if not the best, entrance scene for a titular character that has been done thus far.
About Vampires eating/drinking from other vampiers: In the Vampires: The masquerade TTRPG by White Wolf, or at least the games based on it, when a Vampire drinks all of another Vampires blood they absorb their Soul/Power. It's called Diablerie/the Amaranth and I always thought it was a cool concept even though you couldnt really do it within VTMB. Here's to hoping you can do that in VTMB 2
Have you tried the "Clan Quest Mod" for VtM: Bloodlines ? As well as unique quests for each clan, in a later version of the mod, they added a section where you can join the Sabbat, along with East LA as a 5th city hub zone for them (or if you don't want to really join them, you can pretend to later to get most of the East LA content). Anyway, joining the Sabbat adds the option to diablerize quite a few characters to gain their Disciplines, and if you don't consume their souls "correctly" they keep haunting you and provoking frenzies.
Dude saw this come out on Nebula and it was an instant watch - I've always loved this movie but hearing another fan gush I think it's time I give it another watch (especially with Halloween coming).
@8:53 fun fact, Bradly didnt sing that "summertime" hook. he died before the original band said they would allow the sample as long as they didnt sing "Doin Time" like Bradly did when he was alive. way to much explaining, i apologize
Saw this movie in the theaters six times. Granted, they were all the $3 Wednesday specials but still. And then, if that weren’t enough, I bought the novelization (my first purchase ever on Amazon when it was still known for just books 😂) and it was also my very first ever DVD (actually bought the movie BEFORE I had a DVD player).
Something I just realized about Blade. When Blade enters the blood race and starts fight the vampires, the track “Smack My Bitch Up” by The Prodigy is playing in the background. A great touch , the quintessential rave song playing during the opening fight scene.
weakness to silver is just as much a vampire thing as it is a werewolf thing. silver was considered a symbol of divine purity. it's actually where the "lack of a reflection in mirrors" part of vampire lore comes from. older mirrors were made of silver and (through the metals own divinity) would not show a vampire's reflection
That opening at the clandestine disco... Oh my! 2 years ago, my wife and I opened our wedding dance with a a sweet disney ballad, just to be interrupted by a medley including this, Techno Syndrome by The Inmortals (aka The Mortal Kombat theme) and so many other bangers while the lights went as close to an epilepsy attack as we could legally manage. Ah... the memories
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
Fun Fact: 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.
How could they cut it off!
@@lexramstudios1386This was pre-X-Men! They had no clue people wanted Stan Lee!
Fun fact don't care
@@BenoitRAG3 if you don’t care then don’t comment
@@BenoitRAG3 You must have a lot of friends.
The way Blade when he's powered up has the usual feralness you get with powered up vampires/werewolves, but is still clearly entirely in control of himself is impressive character portrayal
Mahershala Ali is really gonna have to bring it. To me the fact that Mr. Snipes is a true martial artist is 80% of what made this movies so great.
Ali isn't a real deal.
Only sheep like Ali.
Ali is great, but I do think he's gonna have to do something magical to really sell his take on Blade. Too many people today don't give credit to what true, larger-than-life star power and charisma is with genre films. It's not so much about machismo masculinity as it is projecting a sense of the mythological. Actors like Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Willis, Snipes, have that X factor.
Snipes has STAR POWER. He sells everything 100%. His stance, his demeanor, his grace and control of movement, etc. His Blade is a wonderfully subtle performance in many ways. It's a very measured performance that feels 100% natural all the same. Like this video points out, Snipes delivers one liners so well we just believe it despite some of them being cheesy as fuck. Some one liners we love for being cheesy. And some one liners SHOULDN'T work but do because they have to right actor delivering them. Like "hasta la vista, baby" in Terminator 2 should not work at all. But it DOES because Arnie is Arnie.
Naysayers would poo-poo his turn as Blade as something not difficult to do. And they would be so, so wrong. Being an true to the bone action hero takes a little something extra. The Rock used to have that, but his choices lately have let him down.
This X factor is largely missing in today's western action cinema, because western action cinema (barring notable exceptions like John Wick) are just superhero movies. Superhero movies are basically today's action cinema. And comedy. And sci-fi. Back when they made Blade it wasn't in some attempt of massive brand and franchise synergy. No, it was merely a high concept action film that just so happened to also be a comic book film.
I think Ali can very well pull it off, but I'm worried it may be a Brie Larson situation with Captain Marvel (no, not in that way. chill). Larson is a good actor. Great even. I've liked her in every dramatic role I've seen her in. But the cool badass comic book hero persona is not something that suits her. And thus she feels miscast. Not every actor needs to be great at everything to be a good actor. Having weak areas is OK! I think Ali may have that same kind of weakness. He's great in more grounded, nuanced, true-to-life roles. But can he pull off something as mythological as Blade?
I honestly would have cast Yahya Abdul-Mateen II over Ali. Ali may to some be a subjectively better actor than Yahya, but Yahya has that big screen swagger and charisma.
@@nope5657 This, everything about this.
Yeah , should have been Marrese Crump
There have been handful of times that I've been in a movie audience that actually cheered at a scene in a movie. Blade getting his glasses back was one of those scenes.
For me, there have been a few, but most of them were old school Marvel movies.
The first Avengers movie, when The Hulk 'Smashed' Loki and told him, "Puny God!"
Thor Ragnarok, when he Lightning MegaPunches the Hulk in the arena right before the Collector zaps him. Then later, in the same movie, when he rides a lightning bolt into Hela's undead minions to the opening of Immigrant Song.
End Game, when Captain America first shows up holding Mjolnir, and then again when the Falcon says, "On your left."
But yeah, Blade getting his glasses back was a good one!
@@SouthernGuy5423 All Modern movies with a way, way.. WAAAAAAAAAY bigger budget and wow factor than blade. Blade was a really hard sell back in the day, but oh man did it hit the boxes even for people not a fan of Marvel. It started an entire theme with the intro nightclub scene, and a lot of parlour and flair for duster coats, not to mention both his haircut, and the style of sunglasses he wore, just like Maverick from top gun, brought on the Clear glassed Aviators.
On the younger side of things, all of us kiddies cheered back in the 90s during Pokemon the first movie when Ash got un-stoned
"And we know how he treats female vampires. Same way he treats all vampires."
Me: That's Blade. The symbol of equality.
"This hands are rated E for Everyone" - Blade, probably)
As another force of the night would say: The Hammer of justice is unisex.
Well to be fair, the blade is the same on all sides regardless if you flip it
@@irionuchiha3823I mean. that’s not true with a lot of blades so r/thisisdeep didn’t work this time.
@@dirtybirds423 lmao fair, any blades you can name that are not the same on either side though? Curious how that looks
When they all started to raise their hands is bone chilling. It's such a fantastic opening scene. Wesley Snipes knocked it out of the park.
Imagine trying to explain to your child in a few years that this movie single handedly lead to Captain America wielding Mjolnir
Use the "guy setting up dominoes" meme, easy.
This lead to a bunch of sequels that almost killed Marvel. THEN Kevin showed us Ironman. One of you cheerleaders are going to give Tony his props.
I have lol
If it wasn't for this movie, the MCU would not exist
Blade : the MCU :: OZ : prestige television
The first successful Rated R superhero film
And also the first successful Black lead superhero movie (sorry T'Challa)
@@erichfiedler1481And Storm from the first X-Men movie would’ve been the first successful black female superhero.
@@Dark_MishraI want a Storm movie
And first successful Marvel movie
Watched this so many times
I think you forgot to add a win for the very realistic fact that the male and female leads DON'T end up in a romantic relationship after knowing each other for just 2 days.
Facts.
Thank goodness wouldnt make much sense from Blade's pov
I don't know. For me it always seemed like they were romantically interested, but their jobs mattered more to them. Choosing career over family in the 90s, stilll works!
But they do treat the bite/drinking as a sex scene… so they’ve still tried to make them something.
@@SheyD78 Bro, it was like less then a week, what time would there have been for rommance? That's the problem with jamming romance into super hero or action films sometimes, it doesn't make sense for them to grow such strong feelings in such a short amount of time. On top of that, they already have a main goal that should be keeping their minds occupied
"some motherf*ckers are always trying to ice skate uphill".....😂
Just brilliant screen writing right there.
i have ALWAYS loved him saying that, even tho i had no clue what the hell he meant XD
i kinda still dont have a single clue XDXDXD
@@hassanmouradmohammedabo-el4647 The 'Ice-skating uphill' quote can be roughly translated as 'Some motherfuckers are always trying to make things far harder than they need to', at least that's how it sounds to me.
he improvised that line
@@hassanmouradmohammedabo-el4647 trying to ice skate uphill would be basically impossible, so it's like Blade is saying that Frost attempted the impossible (defeating Blade)
Correction; Silver is a panacea against most evil creatures in old folklore. Demons, vampires, undead, werewolves. Your cross was suppose to be made of silver because it represented a pure and holy metal in old folklore. Most of the vulnerabilities vampires have today are derivatives that old folklore had against keeping the dead from coming back. For instance the whole idea of tombstones is a big heavy object to keep corpses from rising out of the ground that evolved into marking the graves of loved ones. Hell this idea sprung up because of the misunderstanding of corpses and thinking that their hair and nails continued growing after death (they do not) or that the bloating of the body meant they were feeding). Other ruminations like sunlight, garlic, running water, etc. are a result of many of those superstitions slowly evolving because originally there was no way to kill a vampire just confuse or slow them down.
It’s the same reason vampires can’t see themselves in mirrors. Early mirrors were made with silver .
I was about to say something similar. Silver works against a lot of dark creatures because it's seen as pure. I think that's also the reason salt works against demons and other impure things in supernatural.
Why are you acting like vampires exist?
@@master-of-mind5881 Nothing in what I wrote is pretending vampires exists.
It's also why Witchers have silver swords ⚔
A lot of the original Blade was inspired by the art from the 90's tabletop rpg "Vampire The Masquerade". This movie just took those gothic punk themes and cranked them up to 11 and it'll forever be burned into my brain as the *definitve* modern vampire mythos.
Yeah, Lee talking about vampires in the skyrises being a Blade invention hurt me a little, just because it was such an obvious VtM thing that this movie used as inspiration. I'm super glad it did, don't get me wrong, but c'mon. Give Vampire its flowers.
Yep... and the game artist Tim Bradstreet was called in to help with Blade II concept design and comic adaptation
Tim is awesome...love his Hellblazer and Punisher Max covers
@@jhinpotion9230have you seen the trailer for Bloodlines 2...it dropped a few days okay. Supposed to be out next fall 2024
Ventrue for life. lol.
Oh dang, no wonder I thought that the VTM game took a lot of inspiration from this ilm.
I had to force my friends into the theater to watch this one (I had read plenty of the comics and was super-pumped, nobody else had any idea who Blade was) but it became one of our favorite 'bad-ass quotes' movies for a long, long time. Really paved the way for mainstream audiences to figure out that comic book movies could actually be cool and fun.
I went with a buddy to watch Spawn and I didn't love it. A year or so later, we went to watch Blade and I REALLY loved it and he didn't dislike it, but didn't love it. I was absolutely blown away. If I had gone alone, I would have gone right back to watch it again.
We owe EVERYTHING in the MCU to this movie.
Facts 👏👏
Also the sword fight between Wesley and Stephen wasn't sped up it was legit and Stephen cut his hand due to it , they added it into the movie plot later that he cut his hand to give his blood
Blade and Interview With The Vampire are the movies that got me in to vampire movies to begin with and it STILL holds up almost 30 years later
Facts.
Now I want EGA about Interview With The Vampire
@@ColdLookingGlass That would be AWESOME
Same. I remember sitting in front of the TV in my grandma's house watching Blade I, she comes in and starts screaming that I was 6, it was inappropriate, it was going to give me nightmares, and calling my aunt and my mom to turn off the TV, and I laughed and told her it was my 3rd time watching. That it was my favourite movie. 😂 I still remember her shocked face and her repeatedly checking on me that night to make sure I told the truth. 20+ years later, still my favourite movie.
always loved how the more evil a vampire is, the more brutal their death is: the guy burning at dawn, Damaskinos' head collapsing in on itself until it cracks
Ancient vampires turn to stone.
One thing that was missed was this was the first film with a superhero landing. Some people say iron man but this was in it much earlier
I am truly surprised that we didn't see so much more of Stephen Dorff after this (he did work of course, but i'd argue nothing near Blade level success). There hasn't been a great vampire baddie (that I've seen) since Frost. They always try to come off as mysterious and damaged where Frost was Machiavellian, brutal, and a Dick (with a capital D).
I remember the Community episode where Britta's irresistible ex is named Blade, and Abed spends most of the episode just watching the movie, not wanting to get caught up in any shenanigans.
LOL I love Abed.
Troy turn and whispers to Abed "wanna watch Blade tonight ?" and they do their handshake :)
When Deacon tells Quinn to shut up, he’s actually explaining how he dies with the sword throw, blew my absolute mind when I realised.
What I don’t understand?? Could you elaborate??
@@master-of-mind5881 I didn't realize it until reading the above comment either. Go to 12:55 on the video. Frost says to Quinn "Yeah, he's got the sword and shit yeah, you throw it in the air, catch it underneath, yeah, SHUT THE FUCK UP."
Blade kills Frost by throwing his sword into the air so that it can dislodge the vials Karen created, which fall for Blade to catch and throw at Frost. Frost even gestures while saying the "catch it underneath" part so that his hand is bent backwards, which is how Blade catches the vials.
Tiny detail, and I've watched the movie plenty of times, but I gotta give Mattpollock4625 credit because I'd never noticed that before.
Great catch, never noticed that before.
Two more mini-Greats I didn't hear mentioned:
1. Blade's iconic outfit was designed by Prada
2. Donal Logue appears as himself in a later episode of the What We Do In The Shadows tv series, with a backstory I'm not going to spoil
Ive been to a bloodbath rave before. Obviously it was fake blood, and it didnt come from the sprinkler system, the promoters set up sprayer lines all over the walls. It was a huge mess. Amd some people werent actually expecting tp get covered, and wore nice clothes and of course were pissed when they got ruined, but it was an absolutely awesome party. That venue never let us come back after that one.
That's one of the benefits of holding the Bloodbath in a slaughterhouse. Cleanup was simple. Just get some pressure washers, and it all goes down the drains. :) Probably wasn't the case for your venue.
Another example of an arguably perfect comic book movie in terms of how timeless it feels, and how enjoyable it is to rewatch.
I saw the clip of the blood sprinklers when I was a kid, but never knew what movie it was from. Until last year when I watched it for the first time. It is now EASILY one of my favorite superhero movies! It's dark, it's campy, it takes itself only just serious enough. It is one of the most fun action movies I've ever seen! And honestly, apart from some of the graphics, it holds up!
Yeah, really, its just how bad the CGI is in comparison to modern stuff. I genuinely believe that if they modernized the CGI and didn't change a single other thing about the movie, they could re-release it and it would make bank. Its just such an iconic action movie!
@@SouthernGuy5423 I agree.... enhance the CGI and re- release...I won't be surprised if it makes a profit all over again
This movie is ahead of its time in every way:
* It didn't have a love story
* It had a more subtle diversity
* It's a superhero movie that took everything seriously, being R-Rated even before Deadpool proved to be effective
* It had action scenes that became popular with THE MATRIX (even before The Matrix was made)
* Even the cinematography made it look like it was released recently, despite being over 20 years old
And the first movie isn't a dedicated origin story, even though Blade isn't exactly a popular character; all the origin you need is told in flashbacks. Compare Batman and Spider-Man.
The special effects have… not.
Forgivable, though.
How do you mean "subtle diversity"?
@@Vilamus Blade and Karen are black characters but their blackness isn't in your face.
@@serenitymoon825 I am very suspicious of people who don't like anything non-white being "in your face".
6:08 - Silver is the go to for most forms of mythological beings. In fact, that's where the whole "Vampires can't see their reflection" comes from, it's due to the old time mirrors were lined with silver which made them not appear in it's reflection.
So I know this will get buried in the comic section but Blade was one of my first real heroes and what stuck out to me in this first taking here was how Black the movie felt. Blade is and was designed as Black hero and a lot of his speech,mannerisms and set design are more highlighted in this movie. It will later change in the next two movies to make it open to viewers, but THIS is the one that stuck out to me the most. I'm so glad to see this movie that meant so much to me covered here.
This movie has aged amazingly.
Blade also did "bullet time" before The Matrix. It just wasn't the big hit that the Matrix was. I love this movie and I actually love the third one too, which I might be one of the only ones who does.
I stand with ya, amigo
the third one is awesome imo 😂😂 i think rysn reynolds is funny as hell in it
I love all the movies too!!! I don't understand the crap they get 🤷
The blade trilogy was me and my sisters favorite movie back then. To see a black hero and to have him have all the swag was exciting to us.
Honestly we've had so many retro 80's throwback shows and movies, It's about time for some late 90's vampire ultra-goth throwbacks.
What are some of your favorites?
At 15:46 when Blade gets powered up, He runs off grabbing his vest, next cut he has it on, and the next when he lands it's all zipped up. Badass good guy gets dressed in the most badass good guy fashion.
I watched this film for the first time sitting on the floor of my friend's room at uni with my flatmates, drinking a couple of beers. I genuinely don't think there is a better way to watch this film
the song at 8:50 is DJ Krush - Dig This Vibe aka one of the greatest songs ever recorded. great vid! love this movie and have seen an uncountable amount of times
My dad showed my blade when i was insanely young, I grew up with films like this and we watch it all the time he comes over, even now at 21 years of age I still adore blade. I even have a Factory X sword of the daywalker which is the closest thing to an exact replica of his sword from this trilogy. I wish I could’ve saw the films in cinema.
14:12 I always felt particularly bad for Curt in this movie. He's not a bad person, just a cruddy ex-boyfriend, but he gets turned into a semi-sentient ghoul driven by hunger and lust. For all the character traits he might have had offscreen, the only one that survives the transformation is his most repugnant one.
He’s the level of cruddy ex boyfriend that absolutely makes him a bad person.
This is showing me I did watch the first Blade movie and it was probably my first R rated film. I was just channel surfing and came across the movie during the blood bath rave. Being a fan of vampires it did well to catch my attention and I was entertained.
Seeing this made me rewatch the movie again. We don't need an MCU Blade, we already have two perfect Blade movies.
Always love your enthusiasm for films.
[starts counting the Blade DVDs on my shelves]... One, Two, Thr- ah yes, two movies, you are quite correct!
I remember when I had this movie on DVD. There was a “making of” in the special features. In it one of the creators stated that they originally considered LL Cool J for the role of Blade. Which I find interesting because I can’t see anyone else playing Blade other than Wesley Snipes.
1:47 I STILL listen to this song when I work out. It can't be beat. I first heard this song when I was 16, and 27 years later and it's still a banger!
So many iconic scenes in this film but the club scene & soundtrack... unforgettable ♥️
The "Ice skate uphill" line has been one of my favorites in cinema since I originally heard it. Use it at least once a month.
Blade will always have one of the best songs as an intro: BLOOD RAVE.
Great badass song that I’ve replayed so many times since discovering it, plus it helps set the tone for Blade’s intro.
I was waiting so long for this dissertation. Blade is the OG of live action marvel films. Without this film, the MCU wouldn’t be what it is today. All hail Snipes. This is one of the best portrayals of a comicbook character and the movie is a textbook example of how to adapt a comic flawlessly from page to screen.
Oh my, I was not expecting an Old Greg reference at the end but you just made me laugh so hard. Thank you that was hilarious 😂
I like you
This movie was my first introduction to marvel before I even knew what marvel was. Definitely a comfort movie ❤❤❤
'Catch you dudes at a bad time?' (Whistler). That Line is repeated again in Russian in the final scene of the movie. 'Des danye vovremia, dovereche?' (Blade).
4:57 his earned celebration has the feel that he does the gesture as an inside joke with himself
God I watched this movie on repeat when I was 5 and I still love it to this day.
Me too!!! Drove my grandma nuts, lol.
11:01 you forgot to mention the attention of detail that the vampire starts steaming before the sun is even up proper because the rays bend along the curvature of the earth
A cool little detail about the entrance to the rave club is that when mr Heatseeking Dennis asks "What the fck is that?" (1:23) the prop inside the plastic bag is a human body.
15:47-15:52 mark is the coldest super hero landing. Wesley Snipes didn’t even give us a blanket 🥶
Your positive joyful content so often mirrors my nearly 40 year old feelings. Thanks for the years of excitement and love Lee.
This is one of those movies I cannot turn off if I see it or flip past it in any way. Blade has always been a weird kind of comfort movie for me.
40-something here too. Absolutely feel the same way.
easily one of the best trilogies even with the thirds issues. Dont take it serious and enjoy the carnage
Mr. Goyer really messed up that 2nd movie. Dude CANNOT direct! Stylistically, he took what the other previous directors had done and pasted it into the movie. Making the vampires inbred mutts was another mistake: I-Pod Girl and Deadpool (tryout), and the whole Nightstalkers was a waste of time. This was the failed pitch for a spinoff which killed both the movie and the potential spin-off.
I can only appreciate Blade as a duology, 'cause that 3rd movie was trash
Blade was one of my favorite movies from my childhood
Thank you for reintroducing me to this movie! I went searching for it after watching this, found it streaming, and got to watch the iconic bloodbath again. The opening has to be Top 10 of all time. Thanks again!
The blood letting ritual terrified the hell outta me as a kid but damn I love this movie it’s right up there with Spider-man 1 and 2 as my all time favorite superhero movies
I've met Quin (Donal Logue) several times. His sister was my elementary school teacher. Just one of the nicest guys. His younger sister (Katrina Logue), is really nice to. The entire family is lovely.
Just very down to Earth people.
14:25 WASHING MACHINES 😅😂😂😂
The silver thing is vampires too. That’s also why they can’t see themselves in mirrors. Old timey mirrors were backed with silver to get their reflectivity.
I once looped "confusion" for 4 hrs straight while pounding out a last minute Spanish paper. Didn't kill the song for me but I can hear it without thinking "ayudame por favor"
Not only one of the best super hero films ever made but one of the best vampire films ever made. Directed by a guy will very little experience who absolutely knocked it put the park, such a shame he was so scarred by the experience of directing League if Extraordinary Gentleman he hasn’t directed anything since.
What I love about the vampire club is how it's all about every answer to "So, if I was a vampire, what kind of party would I absolutely LOVE???"
Blade saying "some motherfuckers are always trying to ice-skate uphill" before roundhouse kicking a syringe into the vampire god might be where cinema peaked.
One of my favorite movies ever! I am both excited and nervous for whatever Marvel pulls out with the new ones, if they ever happen at this point. And if they put as much love into it that clearly went into this. And if they leave it R. There are some characters that just need the R rating and anything *vampire* absolutely needs that R rating for the blood alone!
The MCU's Blade will, pardon the pun, suck. It won't be nearly as unique or transgressive or edgy (and I used "edgy" unironically. Ppl use the term derisively now but it wasn't always like that) as the original. It'll toss some blood around to pretend it's got edge and that's it.
I went down the comments a little way to see if this was commented on, but the way he runs down the hall with his vest in his hand, then cut to him diving off the platform with his vest on and open, and to end with him landing with it zipped up...deserves a big win.
I don’t think it’s easy to describe how much of a bada** Wesley Snipes was in this era. He had Drop Zone and Passenger 57 at this point, but then Blade came out and it was a moment of realization that he was the baddest dude in movies. Love love love this movie, and you nailed this CinemaWins. Just a hearty cheers from me.
We need to bring back action like this. Why are movie maker now so aahed of a truly badass fight scene?
Let your heroew be over the top, that's why we love them.
Ikr. Why can't movies be this fun again. Over the top, and cheesy, and a kickass time
Watch more movies that aren't just superhero blockbusters. There is still plenty of good action in cinema today. You just have to look for it.
Like... John Wick?
@@zanite8650 yes, but all action films..one franchise isn't enough, and John wick is finished now
Shang-Chi did! Then it turned into another skybeam
"no washing machines to get stuck in" had me rolling
Blade 1 is an amazing film, made more notable being that 1990s Batman Forever and Batman & Robin were silly comedies in the style of the Adam West Batman film. Blade was the first good marvel superhero film, and it was way before Iron Man came out. It's a shame that Wesley Snipes as Blade may never crossover with the rest of the marvel film universe.
Its incredibly well choreographed. The music is great. The story is solid. It's also a surprisingly good unintentional adaptation of Vampire the Masquerade to boot.
You mentioned Blade 2. That one is very different, leaning heavily into the horror, seemingly being a Vampire/Zombie apocalypse. I hope to see that video soon.
A note is that Deacon Frost's plan was doomed to failure. A later movie, Daybreakers answered the question of what happens when everyone becomes a vampire. They all starve or feed on each other.
Well done! Blade is awesome. You should look into covering KIll BIll vol 1 and 2 -OR- The Mummy movies!
Bro, you cant be throwing washing machine jokes in there randomly like that....I actually fucking choked lmao 🤣
I love that you see the human-bloodbag in in beginning of this one, but its not actually a significant until later in the franchise.
There's a deleted scene in the DVD after Frost's monologue he shows a low level version of Blade Trinitys human blood bag
Blade has been my favorite super hero since I seen blade 1 & 2. I’m so glad you’re doing these movies so thank you for that! 😎
Love the Blade movies I rewatch them yearly, hopefully the reboot lives up to these movies.
Also are there any plans to do a Everything Great About series for the Underworld movies?
I'd be sooo excited if he did the Underworld movies! I love them so much! Especially the first one. They were a favorite of my dad, too, so they always bring back fond memories when I watch them. 😊
I dunno, there's only so many wins he can give for "Kate Beckinsale looking hot in this scene" before it'd get old
5:48 first hint that Blade might be a little more than human? really? I think they covered that when he punched a vamp into the ceiling pretty much right at the start of the scene - which is why this is one of, if not the best, entrance scene for a titular character that has been done thus far.
About Vampires eating/drinking from other vampiers:
In the Vampires: The masquerade TTRPG by White Wolf, or at least the games based on it, when a Vampire drinks all of another Vampires blood they absorb their Soul/Power.
It's called Diablerie/the Amaranth and I always thought it was a cool concept even though you couldnt really do it within VTMB.
Here's to hoping you can do that in VTMB 2
Nice to see another fan of that world
Have you tried the "Clan Quest Mod" for VtM: Bloodlines ? As well as unique quests for each clan, in a later version of the mod, they added a section where you can join the Sabbat, along with East LA as a 5th city hub zone for them (or if you don't want to really join them, you can pretend to later to get most of the East LA content). Anyway, joining the Sabbat adds the option to diablerize quite a few characters to gain their Disciplines, and if you don't consume their souls "correctly" they keep haunting you and provoking frenzies.
We get a quick glimpse of Blade using a Silver Stake at 4:23. Which is real attention to detail.
Speaking of 90s classics, Everything Great About The Prince of Egypt would be very cool of you
That last heroic entrance by Blade is one of the best ever. I also never noticed she said "Don't stop" instead of "stop".
Oh, I did, way back when.
Blade has stood up as a classic. Blacksploitation filtered through 90s techno-goth slickness.
Blacksploitation how?
@@Nonamam educate yourself
@@nope5657 ?
This was Peak Wesley Snipes
I absolutely loved Blade when it 1st came out I'm like they got a hit with this 1!
Say what you want, but for me, Blade have the best main hero intro of all time, hands down
"No washing machines to get stuck in"?!?!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 too funny
Dude saw this come out on Nebula and it was an instant watch - I've always loved this movie but hearing another fan gush I think it's time I give it another watch (especially with Halloween coming).
@8:53 fun fact, Bradly didnt sing that "summertime" hook. he died before the original band said they would allow the sample as long as they didnt sing "Doin Time" like Bradly did when he was alive. way to much explaining, i apologize
I love a superhero movie that doesn't look like a superhero movie
The pre-skybeam days
At 12:55, you could have given a win for Deacon accidently predicting how Blade will beat him.
Saw this movie in the theaters six times. Granted, they were all the $3 Wednesday specials but still. And then, if that weren’t enough, I bought the novelization (my first purchase ever on Amazon when it was still known for just books 😂) and it was also my very first ever DVD (actually bought the movie BEFORE I had a DVD player).
Wait... there's a novelization? DUDE! WTF! I never knew or had any idea! *scrambles to the Kindle store*
Something I just realized about Blade. When Blade enters the blood race and starts fight the vampires, the track “Smack My Bitch Up” by The Prodigy is playing in the background. A great touch , the quintessential rave song playing during the opening fight scene.
weakness to silver is just as much a vampire thing as it is a werewolf thing. silver was considered a symbol of divine purity. it's actually where the "lack of a reflection in mirrors" part of vampire lore comes from. older mirrors were made of silver and (through the metals own divinity) would not show a vampire's reflection
The lack of reflection was also explained by their lack of a soul. It was also said they didn't cast a shadow for the same reason.
The Song at the beginning is Amazing, never forgot it this Beat from the young years I watched the Movie the first time lol
Wesley Sniped just IS Blade the same way RDJ is Iron man. Perfect casting
7:08 the cinema sins reference. I love it.
One of my greatest marvel crushes
Thanks!
There's only gonna be one Blade
That opening at the clandestine disco... Oh my!
2 years ago, my wife and I opened our wedding dance with a a sweet disney ballad, just to be interrupted by a medley including this, Techno Syndrome by The Inmortals (aka The Mortal Kombat theme) and so many other bangers while the lights went as close to an epilepsy attack as we could legally manage.
Ah... the memories
That sounds like a GREAT fuckin' time! Hope y'all are well, doing well, and going strong.
Make Blade Trinity next, please. 😀
This is my favorite movie and I watched all 4 different endings a hundred of times.
This film is how I was introduced to Stephen Dorff!
Have always been pumped to see him in other rolls after this!