Tagline: The Blood War Is On.
Set in the late 21st century, a subculture of humans have emerged who have been modified genetically by a vampire-like disease (Hemophagia), giving them enhanced speed, incredible stamina and acute intelligence, and as they are set apart from “normal” and “healthy” humans, the world is pushed to the brink of worldwide civil war (a war between humans and hemophages) aimed at the destruction of the “diseased” population. In the middle of this crossed-fire is – an infected woman – Ultraviolet (Milla Jovovich), who finds herself protecting a nine-year-old boy who has been marked for death by the human government as he is believed to be a threat to humans.
It doesn’t sound possible, but writer/director Kurt Wimmer’s idea for Ultraviolet came from an unexpected source: the filmmaker was inspired to retell John Cassavetes’ 1980 cult classic Gloria as a comic book action-adventure. Drawing on his experience in both science fiction and action and banking on the watchability of an uber-powerful woman amidst high-flying action and ultracool special effects, Wimmer created a hi-octane, with a surprising emotional core. Violet was born.
Ultraviolet is a 2006 American dystopian science fiction action thriller film written and directed by Kurt Wimmer and produced by Screen Gems. It stars Milla Jovovich as Violet Song, Cameron Bright as Six, and Nick Chinlund as Ferdinand Daxus. It was released in North America on March 3, 2006. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on June 27, 2006.
Production began in early February 2004 and was shot in various cities across China, most notably Hong Kong and Shanghai. Production was finished in late June 2004. The film was shot digitally on high-definition video using a Sony HDW-F900.
In 2005, the film’s trailer was leaked on the internet. Director Kurt Wimmer then visited several message boards and demanded all clips be removed in order to keep the film’s plot a secret. The online fan community responded well to this, and all the clips were removed from distribution until the theatrical trailer was publicly released in January 2006. It uses “Clubbed to Death (Kurayamino Edition)” by Rob Dougan as the soundtrack as well as “24” by Jem.
According to Rotten Tomatoes, Jovovich was not pleased with the PG-13 rated release print. She stated that she and Wimmer had been locked out of discussions of the film in the editing stages, and had not been allowed to see her own performance, which she felt might have been improved if she had had some input.
The film follows Violet Song Jat Shariff (Milla Jovovich), a woman infected with hemoglophagia, a fictional vampire-like disease, in a future dystopia where anyone infected with the contagious disease is immediately sentenced to death. With her advanced martial arts, a group of rebel hemophages, and a boy named Six (Cameron Bright), whose blood may contain a cure for the disease, Violet goes on a mission to overthrow the futuristic government and defeat Ferdinand Daxus (Chinlund).
A novelization of the film was written by Yvonne Navarro, with more back-story and character development. The book differs from the film in a number of ways, including a more ambiguous ending and the removal of some of the more improbable plot twists. An anime series titled Ultraviolet: Code 044 was released by the Japanese anime satellite television network Animax, and created by Madhouse.
The film grossed $9,064,880 in its opening weekend. Ultraviolet grossed $18,535,812 domestically and $12,534,399 overseas, making for a worldwide gross of $31,070,211. The budget for Ultraviolet was estimated at $30 million.
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Ultraviolet (2006)
Directed by: Kurt Wimmer
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Cameron Bright, Nick Chinlund, William Fichtner, Sebastien Andrieu, Ida Martin, Ricardo Mamood, Steven Calcote, Ricardo Mamood-Vega, Jennifer Caputo
Screenplay by: Kurt Wimmer
Production Design by: Sung Pong Choo
Film Editing by: William Yeh
Cinematography by: Arthur Wong
Costume Design by: Joseph A. Porro
Set Decoration by: Kim-Wai Chung
Art Direction by: Kwok-Wing Chong, Bernardo Trujillo
Music by: Klaus Badelt
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of violent action throughout, partial nudity, language.
Distributed by: Sony ScreenGems
Release Date: March 3 2006
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