Spawn (1997)

User Rating:

4.8/10   

Director:

Mark A.Z. Dippé

Writers (WGA):

Todd McFarlane (comic book)
Alan B. McElroy (screen story) ...

Release Date:

1 August 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | Action | Fantasy | Horror

Tagline:

Born in darkness. Sworn to justice.

Plot:

A mercenary is killed, but comes back from Hell as a reluctant soldier of the Devil.

Plot Keywords:

Devil | Hell | Clown | Deal With The Devil | Revenge

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Michael Jai White	...	Al Simmons / Spawn
John Leguizamo	...	Clown / Violator
Martin Sheen	...	Jason Wynn
Theresa Randle	...	Wanda Blake
Nicol Williamson	...	Cogliostro
D.B. Sweeney	...	Terry Fitzgerald
Melinda Clarke	...	Jessica Priest
Miko Hughes	...	Zack
Sydni Beaudoin	...	Cyan
Michael Papajohn	...	Glen, Zack's Dad
Frank Welker	...	The Devil Malebolgia (voice)
Robia LaMorte	...	XNN Reporter (as Robia La Morte)
John Cothran Jr.	...	African Liaison
Caroline Gibson	...	News Anchor
Tony Haney	...	African Liaison

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements involving the demonic underworld, violence, intense fantasy action and crude humor.

Runtime:

96 min | USA:98 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Germany:18 (director's cut) | Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | South Korea:12 | Ireland:12 | Ireland:18 (director's cut) | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A | Canada:PA (Manitoba) (director's cut) | Canada:18A (director's cut) | Finland:K-16 (video premiere) (director's cut) | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | UK:12 | UK:15 (director's cut) | USA:PG-13 | USA:R (director's cut) | Mexico:B

Filming Locations:

Hollywood Center Studios - 1040 N. Las Palmas Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

Cagliostro appears in this movie as Spawn's mentor. In real life, he was an occultist in the 1700's that traveled all over Europe and Egypt, and would eventually found Occult Freemasonry. He was also a noted charlatan who would eventually be imprisoned in the Bastille and banished from France, then tried in Rome for heresy, magic, conjury, and Freemasonry. He died in solitary confinement in the castle of San Leo in 1795.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: After Clown kills Zack's Dad the paramedics that arrive at the scene put a cloth over his head indicating that he is dead but before they drop the cloth he twitches his eye.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Cogliostro: The battle between Heaven and Hell has waged eternal, their armies fueled by souls harvested on Earth. The devil, Malebolgia, has sent a lieutenant to Earth to recruit men who will turn the world into a place of death in exchange for wealth and power, a place that will provide enough souls to complete his army and allow Armageddon to begin. All the Dark Lord needs now is a great soldier, someone who can lead his hordes to the gates of Heaven and burn them down.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Eddie Izzard: Dress to Kill (1999) (V)

Soundtrack:

Long Hard Road Out of Hell

Spawn of a horrible movie

I loved the comic when it came out. Spawn had a great story, great characters, great foundation and the art work was pure art. Even today, the first 12 Spawn comics are nothing less than classic works of art.

When I found out that Spawn was going to be a movie I was thrilled. The previews were great and this looked like it was going to set the standard for comic book movies. What a let-down. This movie has only two redeeming qualities. The soundtrack and John Leguizamo's performance. Everything else in this movie was a complete letdown. My roommate and I went to this movie with total anticipation. His standards for movies was lower than mine and he's a graphic designer. We both walked out of that movie and wanted our money back it was so bad. I have heard people say that it was good for it's time as far as make-up and special effects, no way. Titanic came out this same year. Different movie, budgets, etc, however look at the standard of movies that year and even before this. Add to this the fact that people like Tim Burton, Richard Harris, Ed Norton, Wesley Snipes were supposed to work on this movie, the end result looks like a half-ass effort that they had to produce. This movie could have been good if the people who made it had the guts to make it as extreme as the comic.

At least the cartoon that came out later had more redeeming qualities. In the end, I would only recommend watching this so you can appreciate other movies that came from comic books.