Embedded with fast-paced action and terrifying thrill, this fantasy adventure follows the fiery episodes in the life of Gabriel Van Helsing, a fearless monster hunter who is in the world to rid all evil, despite his own troubled state of mind.
The Vatican sends him and his ally, Carl, to Transylvania on special assignment to stop the powerful Count Dracula. Whilst there they join forces with Anna Valerious, a Gypsy Princess, who is determined to end an ancient curse on her family by destroying the vampire. Will this dynamic team succeed in finding a way to successfully fulfill their seemingly impossible mission?
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale
Crew: Stephen Sommers (Director), Allen Daviau (Director of Photography), Alan Silvestri (Music Director)
Genres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller
Release Dates: 07 May 2004 (India)
Tagline: The One Name They All Fear
Did you know? This is the first movie, other than the Lord of the Rings films, to use the MASSIVE software program developed for the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Read More
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as Van Helsing
as Anna Valerious
as Cardinal Jinette
as Carl
as Aleera
as Marishka
as Igor
as Count Vladislaus Dracula
Supporting Actor
Supporting Actor
as Frankenstein's Monster
as Verona
Supporting Actor
as Top Hat
as Velkan
Direction
Director
First Assistant Director
Second Assistant Director
Production
Producer
Production Company
Executive Producer
Associate Producer
Distribution
Distributor
Writers
Screenplay Writer
Story Writer
Dialogue Writer
Camera and Electrical
Director of Photography
Still Photographer
Gaffer
Grip
Sound
Sound Designer
Sound Effects Editor
Sound Re-recording Mixer
Boom Operator
Animation
Animator
Art
Production Designer
Art Director
Set Designer
Set Decorator
Prop Master
Set Dresser
Storyboard Artist
Casting
Casting Director
Costume and Wardrobe
Costume Designer
Editorial
Editor
Makeup and Hair
Makeup Artist
Special Effects Makeup Artist
Hair Stylist
Special Effects
Special Effects Coordinator
Special Effects Technician
Film Type:
Feature
Language:
English
Spoken Languages:
Latin
Colour Info:
Color
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital, DTS, Sony Dynamic Digital Sound
Camera:
ARRIFLEX 435, Panaflex Millenium, Panaflex Platinum, Panavision Panaflex
Frame Rate:
24 fps
Aspect Ratio:
1.85:1 (Flat), 2.35:1
Stereoscopy:
No
Taglines:
The One Name They All Fear
Adventure lives forever.
Adventure lives forever.
Movie Connection(s):
Dubbed into: Van Helsing 4 Kallarai Manithan (Tamil)
Filming Locations:
Paris
Rome, Lazio
Prague
Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California
Paramount Ranch - 2813 Cornell Road, Agoura, California
Downey Studios - 12214 Lakewood Boulevard, Downey, California
Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California
Rockwell Defense Plant - Bellflower & Imperial Highway, Downey, California
Falls Lake, Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California
Frazier Park, California
Infinite Horizon Studios, Orlando, Florida
Universal Studios Florida, Universal Orlando Resort - 1000 Universal Studios Plaza, Orlando, Florida
Rome, Lazio
Prague
Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California
Paramount Ranch - 2813 Cornell Road, Agoura, California
Downey Studios - 12214 Lakewood Boulevard, Downey, California
Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California
Rockwell Defense Plant - Bellflower & Imperial Highway, Downey, California
Falls Lake, Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California
Frazier Park, California
Infinite Horizon Studios, Orlando, Florida
Universal Studios Florida, Universal Orlando Resort - 1000 Universal Studios Plaza, Orlando, Florida
Goofs:
Revealing Mistakes
The glass of blood one of the Brides drinks leaves a pulpy residue on the glass - a trait of tomato juice.
Revealing Mistakes
Obvious stunt double when Anna jumps through the window with Van Helsing.
Revealing Mistakes
When the Cardinal and Van Helsing are walking into the lair for the Knights of the Holy order, if you look in the background you can see a reflection of Cardinal's robes, revealing an old film technique of using mirrors to make rooms look bigger.
Revealing Mistakes
When Van Helsing bends the metal bars blocking the way to the monster the bars are clearly made of some softer material. This is obvious since they start bending before the effort starts to show on Van Helsing's face.
Miscellaneous
When Velkan and Anna are trying to capture the werewolf, Velkan's gun is the only one that has silver bullets and thus the only weapon capable of killing it. Why didn't all the people involved have weapons with silver bullets in case something went wrong?
Miscellaneous
When Anna and Velkan are fighting the werewolf at the beginning of the movie, there are about a dozen people helping them. Who exactly are these people, and where do they disappear to for the rest of the movie, when Anna could have used more of their help?
Miscellaneous
At one point in the opening, Dr. Frankenstein is packing a trunk. When the scene cuts to the villagers and then back to Dracula and the Doctor, the trunk seems to disappear. It can in fact be briefly seen off to Dr. Frankenstein's left when he and Dracula are looking over the monster. Since it is implied that Dracula and the Doctor had a conversation between shots, they would have had time to move away from the trunk.
Errors in Geography
The map shows the path of the coach heading south of the Carpathian mountains toward Budapest while the city actually lies straight to the west.
Crew/Equipment Visible
You can see two crew members kneeling down behind the bull, holding it steady.
Miscellaneous
At the time the movie takes place Transylvania did not belong to Romania, but to Hungary. It only became part of Romania in 1919-1920.
Miscellaneous
Van Helsing throws Igor on top of a rock and interrogates him. When he lifts Igor off the rock, you can briefly see several sheets of white paper, stapled or paper-clipped together, on the rock. It's probably a script left there by the actors.
Audio/Video Mismatch
When Van Helsing and Anna are fighting the vampires in the village, when the sun has just come out, and they hear a noise from the well Anna bends over to pick up her weapon from the ground. As she picks it up it makes a metallic scraping sound even though there shouldn't be anything metal in the ground for it to scrap against.
Audio/Video Mismatch
At the ball, when Anna says, "You make my skin crawl," her mouth doesn't move.
Character Error
Carl, at least twice in the movie, indicates that he's not a Monk but "just a Friar," the implication seeming to be that Friar is one step to becoming a Monk, which is untrue, they are two separate vocations in the Catholic Church. Monks live in self-sufficient, cloistered communities. Friars live, work, and minister among the people. Further, the implication of being "just a Friar" is misused as justification for Carl's cursing toward the beginning of the film, and suggesting a sexual liaison later on. Friars are either ordained priests (think Robin Hood's Friar Tuck), ordained deacons, or they are vowed Brothers. None of these are "allowed" to curse (any more than any Christian), and all of these (except some Deacons) are celibate.
Character Error
In the prologue, the grave digger has an English accent. Later in the film, he speaks with a "Transylvanian" accent.
Continuity
In the opening scene in Paris, when Van Helsing picks up the wanted poster,the Eiffel tower is seen in the background only half built, however, when on the roof of the Cathedral, while Hyde is holding Van Helsing up, the tower can be seen fully built behind them.
Continuity
When Anna is running away from the Wolf Man she is wearing felt shoes but when Velkan pushes her out of the way she is back wearing her high heeled boots.
Continuity
After Dracula bites Dr. Frankenstein's neck, he pulls away with blood on his lips and trailing down his mouth. He wipes it away with his hand, but when he lowers the hand, there is clearly no blood on it.
Continuity
When Van Helsing and Anna flee Frankenstein's castle, it's full moon. Their trip to Budapest then takes them better part of a month, since by the time they get there, it's only two days to the next full moon. And yet it only takes them a day to get back to Anna's home castle.
Continuity
When Van Helsing fights Mr. Hyde in the second scene of the movie, Mr. Hyde steals his hat. Later, Van Helsing takes his hat back. Then, when he is thrown off of the roof, he loses his hat again. When Mr. Hyde falls and the police find him, they look up to the roof to see Van Helsing standing there, putting his hat back on. How did he get it back?
The glass of blood one of the Brides drinks leaves a pulpy residue on the glass - a trait of tomato juice.
Revealing Mistakes
Obvious stunt double when Anna jumps through the window with Van Helsing.
Revealing Mistakes
When the Cardinal and Van Helsing are walking into the lair for the Knights of the Holy order, if you look in the background you can see a reflection of Cardinal's robes, revealing an old film technique of using mirrors to make rooms look bigger.
Revealing Mistakes
When Van Helsing bends the metal bars blocking the way to the monster the bars are clearly made of some softer material. This is obvious since they start bending before the effort starts to show on Van Helsing's face.
Miscellaneous
When Velkan and Anna are trying to capture the werewolf, Velkan's gun is the only one that has silver bullets and thus the only weapon capable of killing it. Why didn't all the people involved have weapons with silver bullets in case something went wrong?
Miscellaneous
When Anna and Velkan are fighting the werewolf at the beginning of the movie, there are about a dozen people helping them. Who exactly are these people, and where do they disappear to for the rest of the movie, when Anna could have used more of their help?
Miscellaneous
At one point in the opening, Dr. Frankenstein is packing a trunk. When the scene cuts to the villagers and then back to Dracula and the Doctor, the trunk seems to disappear. It can in fact be briefly seen off to Dr. Frankenstein's left when he and Dracula are looking over the monster. Since it is implied that Dracula and the Doctor had a conversation between shots, they would have had time to move away from the trunk.
Errors in Geography
The map shows the path of the coach heading south of the Carpathian mountains toward Budapest while the city actually lies straight to the west.
Crew/Equipment Visible
You can see two crew members kneeling down behind the bull, holding it steady.
Miscellaneous
At the time the movie takes place Transylvania did not belong to Romania, but to Hungary. It only became part of Romania in 1919-1920.
Miscellaneous
Van Helsing throws Igor on top of a rock and interrogates him. When he lifts Igor off the rock, you can briefly see several sheets of white paper, stapled or paper-clipped together, on the rock. It's probably a script left there by the actors.
Audio/Video Mismatch
When Van Helsing and Anna are fighting the vampires in the village, when the sun has just come out, and they hear a noise from the well Anna bends over to pick up her weapon from the ground. As she picks it up it makes a metallic scraping sound even though there shouldn't be anything metal in the ground for it to scrap against.
Audio/Video Mismatch
At the ball, when Anna says, "You make my skin crawl," her mouth doesn't move.
Character Error
Carl, at least twice in the movie, indicates that he's not a Monk but "just a Friar," the implication seeming to be that Friar is one step to becoming a Monk, which is untrue, they are two separate vocations in the Catholic Church. Monks live in self-sufficient, cloistered communities. Friars live, work, and minister among the people. Further, the implication of being "just a Friar" is misused as justification for Carl's cursing toward the beginning of the film, and suggesting a sexual liaison later on. Friars are either ordained priests (think Robin Hood's Friar Tuck), ordained deacons, or they are vowed Brothers. None of these are "allowed" to curse (any more than any Christian), and all of these (except some Deacons) are celibate.
Character Error
In the prologue, the grave digger has an English accent. Later in the film, he speaks with a "Transylvanian" accent.
Continuity
In the opening scene in Paris, when Van Helsing picks up the wanted poster,the Eiffel tower is seen in the background only half built, however, when on the roof of the Cathedral, while Hyde is holding Van Helsing up, the tower can be seen fully built behind them.
Continuity
When Anna is running away from the Wolf Man she is wearing felt shoes but when Velkan pushes her out of the way she is back wearing her high heeled boots.
Continuity
After Dracula bites Dr. Frankenstein's neck, he pulls away with blood on his lips and trailing down his mouth. He wipes it away with his hand, but when he lowers the hand, there is clearly no blood on it.
Continuity
When Van Helsing and Anna flee Frankenstein's castle, it's full moon. Their trip to Budapest then takes them better part of a month, since by the time they get there, it's only two days to the next full moon. And yet it only takes them a day to get back to Anna's home castle.
Continuity
When Van Helsing fights Mr. Hyde in the second scene of the movie, Mr. Hyde steals his hat. Later, Van Helsing takes his hat back. Then, when he is thrown off of the roof, he loses his hat again. When Mr. Hyde falls and the police find him, they look up to the roof to see Van Helsing standing there, putting his hat back on. How did he get it back?
Trivia:
The place where Van Helsing and Anna fight Dracula's three wives is the same place where they filmed Frankenstein (1931), Dracula (1931) and The Wolf Man (1941). The place is call the Court of Miracles and this place is also found at the studio tour at Universal Studios Hollywood.
The second-to-last scene of X-Men 2 (2003) (Cyclops, Wolverine, and Professor X discussing Jean Grey) was filmed while Hugh Jackman had a day off from this movie.
Stephen Sommers deliberately chose to avoid the style of transformations from other werewolf films, where the character would usually grow hair as part of the change. Instead the decision was made to have the character rip his skin off to reveal the werewolf form underneath, going with the idea that the beast "comes from within".
During filming, Hugh Jackman accidentally broke an extra's hand.
According to Elena Anaya, on her first day she was told that somebody would give her a cue to say her lines. That somebody turned out to be none other than Hugh Jackman at 5:30 in the morning.
This is the first movie, other than the Lord of the Rings films, to use the MASSIVE software program developed for the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Stephen Sommers wanted Kate Beckinsale for the role of Anna, but feared it was too similar in tone to the vampire/werewolf film Underworld (2003) which she was shooting at the time, and he didn't ask her. Eventually her agent got Sommers to send the script and Beckinsale immediately signed on.
Dracula's diminutive henchmen, the Dwerger, are actually dwarfs from Germanic folklore.
Though there is no actual title card, the title can be seen on a wanted poster as soon as the film turns to color.
Kate Beckinsale has stated in interviews that she hated the corset she had to wear for the majority of the film and remarked that, when filming wrapped, she wanted "to burn it all".
Despite popular online rumors stating this was originally planned as a direct sequel to Dracula (1992) with Anthony Hopkins reprising his role, this is not the case. Stephen Sommers thought up the concept for the film while vacationing after he had completed The Mummy Returns (2001).
The movie has no opening credits. Something of an opening sequence preceeds the full credits at the end of the film.
The second-to-last scene of X-Men 2 (2003) (Cyclops, Wolverine, and Professor X discussing Jean Grey) was filmed while Hugh Jackman had a day off from this movie.
Stephen Sommers deliberately chose to avoid the style of transformations from other werewolf films, where the character would usually grow hair as part of the change. Instead the decision was made to have the character rip his skin off to reveal the werewolf form underneath, going with the idea that the beast "comes from within".
During filming, Hugh Jackman accidentally broke an extra's hand.
According to Elena Anaya, on her first day she was told that somebody would give her a cue to say her lines. That somebody turned out to be none other than Hugh Jackman at 5:30 in the morning.
This is the first movie, other than the Lord of the Rings films, to use the MASSIVE software program developed for the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Stephen Sommers wanted Kate Beckinsale for the role of Anna, but feared it was too similar in tone to the vampire/werewolf film Underworld (2003) which she was shooting at the time, and he didn't ask her. Eventually her agent got Sommers to send the script and Beckinsale immediately signed on.
Dracula's diminutive henchmen, the Dwerger, are actually dwarfs from Germanic folklore.
Though there is no actual title card, the title can be seen on a wanted poster as soon as the film turns to color.
Kate Beckinsale has stated in interviews that she hated the corset she had to wear for the majority of the film and remarked that, when filming wrapped, she wanted "to burn it all".
Despite popular online rumors stating this was originally planned as a direct sequel to Dracula (1992) with Anthony Hopkins reprising his role, this is not the case. Stephen Sommers thought up the concept for the film while vacationing after he had completed The Mummy Returns (2001).
The movie has no opening credits. Something of an opening sequence preceeds the full credits at the end of the film.
