Underworld (film)

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Movie
German title Underworld
Original title Underworld
Country of production USA , UK , Hungary , Germany
original language English
Publishing year 2003
length Theatrical Version: 116 minutes
Extended Cut : 128 minutes
Age rating FSK 16 (Theatrical Version)
FSK 18 (Extended Cut)
Rod
Director Len Wiseman
script Danny McBride ,
(based on the story by
Kevin Grevioux , Len Wiseman and Danny McBride)
production Gary Lucchesi ,
Tom Rosenberg ,
Richard S. Wright
music Paul Haslinger
camera Tony Pierce-Roberts
cut Martin Hunter
occupation
synchronization
chronology

←  Predecessor
Underworld - Rise of the Lycans

Successor  →
Underworld: Evolution

Underworld is a fantasy / horror - action film from 2003, directed by Len Wiseman with Kate Beckinsale and Scott Speedman in the main roles. The film opened in German cinemas on January 29, 2004. In 2006 a sequel was released under the title Underworld: Evolution and in 2009 the third part Underworld - Uprising of the Lycans , which is a prequel to the first two films. The fourth part of the series Underworld: Awakening was released in 2012 and takes place around 12 years after the events of Underworld: Evolution . Underworld: Blood Wars followed in 2016 .

action

Selene is a vampire, a "death dealer" who has been hunting and destroying werewolves ( Lycans ) for centuries . By chance she discovered the Lycans' interest in a single person, the assistant doctor Michael Corvin. Although Kraven, the current leader of the vampires, attaches no importance to this fact and focuses entirely on the imminent awakening of one of the old vampire lords, Selene saves Michael from the werewolves. However, she cannot prevent him from being bitten by Lucian, the leader of the Lycans believed to be dead.

For Selene, the story develops into a serious threat of her kind, but one that is not seen by Kraven. All traces lead to the past, when Kraven allegedly killed Lucian and so rose to the ranks of the vampire people. The only evidence at the time was a piece of skin with Lucian's branding that he supposedly cut off the werewolf's arm. In reality, the two had made a pact: Lucian went underground and gave Kraven the prestige he needed to protect him.

Out of desperation, Selene awakens her foster father, the powerful vampire prince Viktor, who once made her a bloodsucker, in order to give her the opportunity to avenge her family apparently murdered by Lycans. However, since it was not Victor's turn, but Marcus, another prince of the undead, to rule over his people, there was great unrest, and Selene was placed under house arrest to be punished later.

Meanwhile, the Lycans, led by Lucian, are preparing for the final battle against the vampires. For this, as Selene learns from one of her scientists, in addition to the blood of one of the vampire elders, they need a direct descendant of Alexander Corvinus, the first immortal, whose sons once went very different ways: One, Marcus, was bitten by a bat and became a vampire; the second, William, became the first werewolf after being bitten by a wolf. The third son lived and died human, and his line continued into the present to Michael Corvin. If Michael's pure blood is injected into a vampire or werewolf, the latter can be infected with the other, third blood group without dying, as would otherwise be the case: a hybrid of vampire and werewolf is created, which is superior to both races. The Lycans get their vampire blood from an attack on the elder Amelia, who is abandoned by Kraven and his men.

The final battle finally takes place in the catacombs where the Lycans keep Michael prisoner. Vampire prince Viktor, who once had his own daughter Sonja killed because she was expecting a child from the Lycan Lucian, now wants to kill Michael at all costs. Selene learns from Kraven that it was not the Lycans who killed her family, but Viktor. She wants to stop him, but has to watch as Michael is shot by Kraven. Lucian, who was betrayed by Kraven and shot from behind, gives her, lying dying, the tip to bite Michael. Selene, who has long since fallen in love with him and doesn't want him to die, transfers her vampire poison to Michael. The young man, who is now infected with werewolf and vampire poison, begins to transform: the supreme being is born, the werevampire, of whom Viktor feared more than anything else.

Viktor and Michael begin a brutal duel in which Michael seems to be defeated. But before the vampire lord can kill him, Selene intervenes and kills her former foster father with his own sword. Selene and Michael are left alone, knowing that from now on they will be hunted. In the last scene you can see that the sleeping vampire prince Marcus opens his eyes.

Characters

  • Selene (name of the Greek moon goddess ): Within the vampire society, Selene has the rank of a death dealer, an elite warrior. She spends all of her time hunting down the supposed enemies of her order, the Lycans. To defeat the werewolves, she uses two fully automatic berettas with silver or silver nitrate balls . Selene firmly believes that it was once these creatures that destroyed their human family. Of all people, she considers the real murderer of her relatives to be her savior: Prince Viktor. Selene does not seem to have a private life. On the one hand she misses her foster father Viktor, on the other hand she has to fight off the stalking of his deputy Kraven. When the human Michael enters her life, she has to cope with both her vampiric classism and her cold feelings. After Viktor's awakening, her role as an outsider within the vampires becomes more apparent than ever. The latter gives them the choice of either bringing down Michael or losing his support. She finally decides to love Michael and is involuntarily confirmed by Kraven in her decision when he reveals to her that it was once Viktor who assassinated her family. In the final battle between the prince and Michael, she stands by her lover's side and kills Viktor.
  • Michael ( Hebrew Who is like God?, Name of one of the archangels , similarity of full name to Matthias Corvinus , the legendary Hungarian king): The widowed Michael Corvin lost his wife in a traffic accident. The feeling that at that time he had done nothing for the dying woman moved him to study medicine. To draw a line under his past, he has now taken up a position as an assistant doctor in a foreign city. Like all humans, he knows nothing of the war that is raging in the underworld between vampires and Lycans. His descent from the first immortal, Alexander Corvinus, draws him into this conflict against his will. Michael recognizes a kindred soul in Selene, since she too has lost her loved ones. He has nothing in common with the rest of the underworld that neither changes through his transformation into a werewolf nor his evolution into a hybrid . However, he can no longer return to the human world, since it rejects him (symbolized by a doctor who was previously friends and who betrays him). All that remains for him is love for Selene.
  • Viktor ( lat. The winner , nickname of Jupiter ): He is one of the three elders of the vampires, but actually heads the other two. He fears that the vampires will merge with the Lycans, ostensibly to keep the bloodline clean. In fact, however, he fears the enormous power that a hybrid would have and that could possibly call his position of power into question. That's why he was ready in the past to have his own daughter Sonja executed. For Selene, Viktor portrays a father figure until she learns that it was he of all people who killed her family. The viewer experiences the change in Viktor's role, who initially appears as a seemingly fair judge of Kraven's machinations. In the end, however, it becomes apparent that he himself is the real evil when he tries to kill the innocent Michael. Viktor is Selene's antagonist and is eventually hunted down by her.
  • Lucian (lat. The radiant or those born at daybreak ): The undisputed leader of the Lycans appears ambivalent. For the viewer, he initially appears as a ruthless warlord who wants to destroy the vampires and does not shrink from the death of innocent people. This perception is put into perspective when it becomes apparent that he has made an agreement with the temporary leader of the vampires, Kraven, of all people. The original picture is completely turned upside down when Lucian's past is revealed: through no fault of his own, his happiness was once destroyed when his vampire bride Sonja was executed by her own father, Prince Viktor. But instead of plotting crude revenge, Lucian tries to bring about a merger of the two races. In Selene and Michael's love he recognizes his own fate and finally fights for it to the last breath, not without causing the downfall of his enemies.
  • Kraven (Eng. Craven = complete coward , but also eng. To crave sth. = To desire something ): Prince Viktor has appointed Kraven as the temporary leader of his order during his deep sleep. Kraven's position of power is built on a lie. He was able to make the other vampires believe that he had killed the mighty werewolf Lucian. In fact, he made a pact with them. He hopes the werewolves will get rid of the three elders of the vampires for him. It is characteristic of him that he does not seek the fight with them himself, but leaves the dangerous tasks to others. On the other hand, he has no qualms about shooting at the unarmed Michael or at his ally Lucian, who has his back on him. Kraven has an insatiable desire for Selene, which he loathes and repeatedly rejects. Ultimately, Kraven maneuvers himself into an untenable position, as he both wants to gain control over the vampires and win Selene's love in the process, and has to keep the werewolves in check.

Cast and dubbing

The German-language dubbing was created by Interopa Film based on a dialogue book by Oliver Rohrbeck , who also directed the dialogue .

role actor German speaker
Selene Kate Beckinsale Ranja Bonalana
Michael Corvin Scott Speedman Dennis Schmidt-Foss
Viktor Bill Nighy Peter Fitz
Lucian Michael Sheen Benjamin Völz
Kraven Shane Brolly David Nathan
Erika Sophia Myles Melanie Hinze
Sing Erwin leather Erwin leather
Dr. Adam Lockwood Wentworth Miller Timmo Niesner
Boat Robbie Gee Dietmar miracle
Raze Kevin Grevioux Tilo Schmitz
Soren Scott McElroy NN
Amelia Zita Görög NN

background

Trivia

  • Lucian's brand is Viktor's mark.
  • In Underworld , typical clichés from numerous other films in which vampires and werewolves appear were not adopted: Vampires have a reflection and can invade houses and apartments without being asked, and werewolves with a certain life experience can transform themselves regardless of the full moon.
  • Although this is never mentioned in the film, clues in the film indicate that the action takes place in Budapest : this can be seen from Michael's address displayed on Selene's monitor, from roadside signs, and license plates on cars. The subway in the fight scene at the beginning of the film is a Soviet-type train that is still used by the Budapest Metró today . The steam locomotive in front of the train with which the vampire princes arrive is the Hungarian museum locomotive 424 287 .
  • White Wolf and writer Nancy A. Collins sued the film because they saw it as an unauthorized use of the short story The Love of Monsters (published 1994). The application for this was filed in September 2003.
  • Leading actress Kate Beckinsale and director Len Wiseman became a couple during filming and were married in 2004. In late 2015, the couple separated.

Film music

In addition to the original film music by Paul Haslinger , there is also a soundtrack for the film. It features recordings such as an early title from the Puscifer project and a song by "The Damning Well", a US rock supergroup around Wes Borland , Richard Patrick and Josh Freese . The track "Bring Me The Disco King" by David Bowie was newly recorded for the soundtrack with his own participation and with the support of Maynard James Keenan and John Frusciante . Furthermore, remixes of already published tracks were added to the soundtrack , including two changed titles from A Perfect Circle . The work was mainly carried out by Danny Lohner , who himself is represented with several short interludes under the pseudonym "Renholdër" . Also Milla Jovovich is known as "Milla" on the CD titled Rocket Collecting represented.

In the trailers for Underworld and the sequel Underworld: Evolution , the title Red Tape by the band Agent Provocateur can be heard. However, it is not part of the original Underworld soundtrack , but appeared on the Underworld score CD . Originally, this title was found in the soundtrack of The Jackal .

Extended cut

Underworld was released on DVD and UMD both in the theatrical version and as a twelve-minute longer Extended Cut , which contains some extended and additional scenes. The Extended Cut was also released as a high-resolution version on WMV-HD-DVD and Blu-Ray .

Novels about film

The film was followed by a novel by Greg Cox , who later wrote Underworld: Blutfeind , a prequel novel that deals with the love story between Lucian and Sonja. They are published by Panini Verlag .

criticism

The lexicon of international films wrote: “The highly artificial finger exercise unfolds its story in the context of urban subcultures, whereby it does not deny its manifold predecessors, but with them reflects the genre in its core themes. The intelligent fantasy film uses trash and underground elements to deal with the night side of life. "

On Cinema it was said: “Instead of enjoying the delightful idea of ​​sending gangs of vampires and werewolf gangs into the slaughter, the effect of the mythical creatures is equalized by imposing an absurd arsenal of firearms on them. And so a lot of hard-to-identify long-haired people shoot each other from morning to night - until the sudden hearing loss has completely replaced the horror. [...] Conclusion: Fantasy thriller in the "Blade" style: A charming horror tale almost drowns in the lead rain. "

Sequels

The sequel Underworld: Evolution came to German cinemas in early March 2006. The storyline of the predecessor was continued: Selene and Michael now had to deal with the surviving vampire elder Marcus. Using flashbacks, the sequel also shed light on the origins of the vampires and Lycans.

In February 2009, the third part came under the name Underworld - Uprising of the Lycans in German cinemas. It goes back several centuries in the plot and deals with the origins of the feud between vampires and Lycans and the relationship between Lucian and Victor's daughter.

The fourth film, Underworld: Awakening, has also been in cinemas since February 2012 . Kate Beckinsale had taken up her role as Selene again. Directed by the Swedes Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein . Len Wiseman produced the film .

In May 2015, Kate Beckinsale was officially signed for a fifth Underworld film. Even Theo James from Underworld: Awakening will star again. Anna Foerster takes over the direction . Filming began in Prague in October 2015 . The fifth film in the series is entitled Underworld: Blood Wars and was released in German cinemas on December 1, 2016.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Release certificate for Underworld . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , January 2004 (PDF; theatrical version).
  2. ↑ Release certificate for Underworld . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry, May 2004 (PDF; Extended Cut).
  3. ↑ Underworld. In: synchronkartei.de. German synchronous index , accessed on April 21, 2012 .
  4. ↑ CIVIL DOCKET FOR CASE #: 03-CV-2653
  5. ↑ Underworld. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  6. ↑ Cinema.de: film review
  7. ↑ Josh Tyler: Kate Beckinsale Will Return As Selene In Underworld 4. In: Cinema Blend LLC. September 23, 2010, accessed September 24, 2010 .
  8. ↑ Boris Sunjic: "Underworld 4": Title and story revealed. In: kino.de. July 14, 2011, accessed July 20, 2011 .
  9. ↑ Arthur A .: Underworld 5: Kate Beckinsale confirmed, shooting will start in the fall! . In: Filmfutter.com . May 15, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2015.

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