''Witchblade'' is a made-for-television live-action

superhero film A superhero film (or superhero movie) is a film that focuses on the actions of superheroes. Superheroes are individuals who possess superhuman abilities and are dedicated to protecting the public. These films typically feature Action film, ac ...

adapted from the cult comic book by

Marc Silvestri Marc Silvestri (born March 29, 1958) is an American comic book artist, creator and publisher. He serves as CEO of both Top Cow Productions and Image Comics. Early life Marc Silvestri was born on March 29, 1958 in Palm Beach, Florida.Rosenberg, ...

and

Top Cow Productions Top Cow Productions is an American comics publisher, an imprint of Image Comics founded by Marc Silvestri in 1992. History During the early years of Image Comics, which was founded in 1992, co-founder Marc Silvestri shared a studio with Jim Le ...

. Set in contemporary

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, the occult police drama centers on

Sara Pezzini Sara may refer to: Arts, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Sara'' (1992 film), 1992 Iranian film by Dariush Merhjui * ''Sara'' (1997 film), 1997 Polish film starring Bogusław Linda * ''Sara'' (2010 film), 2010 Sri Lankan Sinhal ...

(

Yancy Butler Yancy Victoria Butler (born July 2, 1970) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Natasha Binder in the 1993 film ''Hard Target'', Jess Crossman in ''Drop Zone'', and Detective Sara Pezzini on the TNT supernatural drama series ''Wit ...

), a brooding and willful homicide detective who is the reluctant inheritor of an ancient, symbiotic weapon that grants her superhuman powers. ''Witchblade'' was directed by

Ralph Hemecker Ralph W. Hemecker is an American director, writer, and producer. He directed episodes of the drama series ''Once Upon a Time'' and ''The Flash''. Career In 2000, Hemecker founded Mythic Films, a full service feature film, TV and commercial produc ...

, written by J. D. Zeik, and produced by Top Cow Productions and Halsted Pictures in association with

Warner Bros. Television Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...

. The

Turner Network Television TNT (originally an abbreviation for Turner Network Television) is an American basic cable television channel A television channel is a terrestrial frequency or virtual number over which a television station or television network is dist ...

(TNT) film made its debut August 27, 2000. The strong ratings performance of the two-hour action-thriller led to the TNT original series ''

Witchblade ''Witchblade'' is a comic book series published by Top Cow Productions, an imprint of Image Comics, which ran from November 1995 to October 2015. The series was created by Top Cow founder and owner Marc Silvestri, editor David Wohl, writers B ...

'' (2001–2002).

Plot

When one of her best friends is murdered,

NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

homicide detective

(

) is bitter at being unable to bring her killer to justice. Sara is certain the killer is Tommy Gallo (

Conrad Dunn Conrad Dunn is an American actor. He began his screen career with the role of Francis "Psycho" Soyer in ''Stripes'' (1981). Working for some ten years under the name George Jenesky, he achieved soap-opera stardom in ''Days of Our Lives'' as Nick Co ...

), a legendary hit man who seems untouchable. After one of Gallo's henchmen assaults her partner, Danny Woo (

Will Yun Lee William Yun Lee (born March 22, 1971) is an American actor and martial artist. He is best known for his roles as Danny Woo in the supernatural drama ''Witchblade'' and Jae Kim in the sci-fi series '' Bionic Woman''. He has also appeared in th ...

), Sara pursues him into a museum where the artifacts of

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...

are among those displayed. While searching for Gallo's man, Sara is momentarily transfixed by a metal gauntlet in a display caseand is startled by a mysterious figure (

Eric Etebari Eric Etebari (born December 5, 1969) is an Iranian-American actor, model and musician. He appeared in ''Witchblade (U.S. TV series), Witchblade'', ''2 Fast 2 Furious'' and ''The Lincoln Lawyer (film), Lincoln Lawyer''. He is also known for his po ...

) who vanishes as quickly as he appears. During a savage gunfight in the museum, the display case is shattered and the gauntlet careens through space and finds Sara's arm, miraculously protecting her. In time it appears that all of these events have converged through the machinations of a billionaire named

Kenneth Irons Kenneth Irons is a fictional supervillain. He is depicted as the person behind nearly every evil deed in the Top Cow series ''Witchblade''. Fictional character biography Irons is the head of Irons International, businessman of the year of Fortun ...

(

Anthony Cistaro Anthony Cistaro (born June 8, 1963) is an American actor. At an early age he moved to San Francisco, California, where his father was a career counselor and instructor at City College of San Francisco. His mother was a homemaker. Cistaro attended ...

), a man obsessed with an artifact called the Witchblade. The Witchblade is a magical weapon that chooses who will wear itand it has chosen but a few warriors, all of them women, throughout the centuries. To understand the Witchblade and why she was chosen to wield it, Sara embarks on a difficult search for self-discovery and justice.

Production

In April 1998,

announced plans for the two-hour live-action feature film, ''Witchblade'', to premiere in early 1999 as part of the cable network's significant increase in original programming. The film was to be the pilot for an hour-long TNT series that would be filmmaker

Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Stone won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as writer of '' Midnight Express'' (1978), and wrote the gangster film remake '' Sc ...

's first drama series for television. Executive producer Stone had taken Top Cow's project to Warner Bros. Television, which agreed to finance development and took ''Witchblade'' to TNT, a sister company in the Time-Warner family. In October 1999, the pilot film was still in development with Stone's company, Illusion Entertainment, but when filming began in February 2000, Stone was no longer attached to the ''Witchblade'' project. Instead, ''Witchblade'' was executive produced by Dan Halsted, Stone's former partner, and Top Cow Productions'

. Executive producer Marc Silvestri explained Stone's departure during the production: "As with all things Hollywood it was several train wrecks that somehow made it to the station. Honestly, it amazes me how anything gets produced at all". Silvestri attributed Stone's departure to a creative dispute with TNT. The teleplay by J. D. Zeik is a loose adaptation of the Top Cow comic book. Director

said: "We use the comic book to get the essential DNA of the story. We've maintained a lot of the elements of the original eight issues of the comic book ... making it more of a character-driven piece". ''Witchblade'' was filmed in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

in February and March 2000. As well as original music by

Joel Goldsmith Joel King Goldsmith (November 19, 1957 – April 29, 2012) was an American composer of film, television, and video game music. Biography Joel Goldsmith was born on November 19, 1957, in Los Angeles, California, the third of four children o ...

, the soundtrack includes songs by U2 ( "Mysterious Ways"),

Beth Orton Elizabeth Caroline Orton (born 14 December 1970) is an English musician, known for her "folktronica" sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit, Andrew Weatherall, ...

She Cries Your Name "She Cries Your Name" is a song by Beth Orton. It was released as her third single and found on her 1996 debut album '' Superpinkymandy'' and again, as a slightly different version, on her 1996 release ''Trailer Park''. It was also re-released i ...

"),

Rob Zombie Rob Zombie (born Robert Bartleh Cummings; January 12, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and voice actor. His music and lyrics are notable for their horror and sci-fi themes, and his live shows have be ...

(" Living Dead Girl") and

The Guess Who The Guess Who are a Canadian rock band formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1965. The band originated in 1962 and achieved an international hit single with a cover of "Shakin' All Over" in 1965 under the name Chad Allan and the Expressions. After c ...

( "American Woman"). The telefilm premiered on TNT Sunday, August 27, 2000. "Emergence", the episode that begins the second season of the ''Witchblade'' television series, uses scenes from the pilot film in presenting an alternative scenario after Sara uses the powerful weapon to reverse time.

Cast

, homicide detective and reluctant bladewielder *

, billionaire obsessed with controlling the bearer of the Witchblade *

as Tommy Gallo, most powerful man in the underworld *

David Chokachi David Chokachi (born David Al-Chokhachy; January 16, 1968) is an American film and television actor. He is known for his roles in the TV series ''Witchblade'', ''Baywatch'', and '' Beyond The Break''. Early life David Chokachi was born in Plymo ...

as Jake McCartey, rookie NYPD police detective and former champion surfer *

Kenneth Welsh Kenneth Welsh, (March 30, 1942 – May 5, 2022) was a Canadian film and television actor. He was best known as the multi-faceted villain Windom Earle in ''Twin Peaks'', for his roles in the films ''The Day After Tomorrow'', '' Adoration'', ''Su ...

as Joe Siri, Sara's supervisor, also her late father's partner and best friend *

as Danny Woo, Sara's partner and guardian angel *

Ian Nottingham ''Witchblade'' is a comic book series published by Top Cow Productions, an imprint of Image Comics, which ran from November 1995 to October 2015. The series was created by Top Cow founder and owner Marc Silvestri, editor David Wohl, writers ...

, enigmatic protégé of Kenneth Irons *

John Hensley John Carter Hensley is an American actor, best known for his role as Matt McNamara on ''Nip/Tuck ''Nip/Tuck'' is an American medical drama television series created by Ryan Murphy that aired on FX in the United States from July 22, 2003, ...

as Gabriel Bowman * Jody Racicot as Drexler * Hal Eisen as Lorenzo Vespucci *

Jim Codrington Jim Codrington is a Canadian actor known for his roles in ''The Border'', '' ZOS: Zone of Separation'', ''Da Kink in My Hair'', ''Pushing Tin ''Pushing Tin'' is a 1999 American comedy-drama film directed by Mike Newell. It centers on Nick Fa ...

as Officer Smitty * Tony Munch as Guy in Men's room * Katherine Trowell as Receptionist * Whitney Westwood as Maria Bonazzi

Reception

''Witchblade'' was the top-rated movie for the week of August 21–27, 2000, earning a 4.5 Nielsen rating (3,491,000 households) for its premiere broadcast. The TNT Original also was the top movie among the key adult demographics 18–49 (3,157,000) and the most-watched program among adults 25–54 (3,631,000). The thriller was still the number-one original movie among adults 18–49 and 25–54 in October 2000, when TNT announced that it had ordered 11 one-hour episodes of an action-drama

series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

into production.

The WB Television Network The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bro ...

, a sibling of TNT in the

Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

media conglomerate, selected ''Witchblade'' as the debut film for a new Tuesday-night movie series in May 2001. In its broadcast-television debut, the movie drew 5.2 million viewersmatching the numbers the WB earned with ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...

'' and ''

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

'' in the previous season, and topping the WB's season average of 4.2 million viewers. On TNT, ''Witchblade'' was reprised June 5, 2001, introducing the Warner Bros.

TV series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...

of the same name, which began airing a week later.

Awards

* 2001, Nominee,

Saturn Award The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...

Best Single Genre Television Presentation
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films * 2001, Nominee, American Society of Cinematographers Award
Best Cinematography in Movies of the Week, Miniseries, or Pilot Episodes
Anghel Decca,

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

American Society of Cinematographers The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), founded in Hollywood in 1919, is a cultural, educational, and professional organization that is neither a labor union nor a guild. The society was organized to advance the science and art of cinem ...

* 2001, Nominee, Golden Reel Award
Best Sound Editing, Television Movies and SpecialsDialogue &

ADR ADR or adr may refer to: Computing * Asynchronous DRAM refresh, an approach for persistent memory found in some Intel Xeon processors * The adr microformat, part of the hCard microformat * Architectural decision record * Action–domain–respond ...

Michael E. Lawshe, supervising sound editor/supervising ADR editor; Jennifer Mertens, supervising sound editor; Virginia Cook-McGowan, supervising dialogue editor; Jessica A. Dickson, ADR editor; Bruce M. Honda, dialogue editor

Motion Picture Sound Editors Motion Picture Sound Editors (M.P.S.E.) is an American honorary society of motion picture sound editors founded in 1953. The society's goals are to educate others about and increase the recognition of the sound editors, show the artistic merit o ...

* 2001, Nominee, Golden Reel Award
Best Sound Editing, Television Movies and Specials

Effects Effect may refer to: * A result or change of something ** List of effects ** Cause and effect, an idiom describing causality Pharmacy and pharmacology * Drug effect, a change resulting from the administration of a drug ** Therapeutic effect, a ...

& Foley
Michael E. Lawshe, supervising sound editor; Timothy A. Cleveland, Paul J. Diller, Kenneth Young, Eric C. Hosmer, Rick Hromadka and Wayne O'Brien, sound editors; Kerry Malony, Foley editor

Home video releases

In April 2001, Warner Home Video released ''Witchblade'' in Australia in PAL-format VHS. The 91-minute film was rated M (medium level violence, supernatural theme) by the Classification Board of Australia.Spence, John, The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, Australia), April 24, 2001 In July 2008, ''Witchblade'' was released as part of ''WitchbladeThe Complete Series'', a seven-disc set that comprised the feature-length pilot and all 23 episodes of the TV series. Although the widescreen Region 1 DVD set from Warner Home Video features an all-new soundtrack selected by the executive producer, the songs in the series pilot were not replaced.

References

External links

* * {{Ralph Hemecker 2000 films 2000 television films 2000 fantasy films American superhero films American police detective films Television films as pilots TNT Network original films Witchblade Fictional portrayals of the New York City Police Department Films about the New York City Police Department Films scored by Joel Goldsmith Films based on Image Comics Films directed by Ralph Hemecker Films based on Top Cow Productions Films set in New York City Films shot in Toronto Live-action films based on comics Superheroine films 2000s American films