Columbia TriStar has announced the July 27 release of a 2-disc Hellboy: Special Edition DVD.  With a suggested retail price of $28.95, the discs include a widescreen anamorphic transfer with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound.  The panoply of extras includes deleted scenes; two audio commentaries (with director Guillermo del Toro and various cast members); a special 'DVD Comics' feature with eight comics by Mike Mignola; plus a documentary, Hellboy: The Seeds of Creation, demonstrating how Hellboy was transferred from the page to the screen; and a picture-in picture feature that allows viewers to see the storyboards for the entire film in the context of the actual movie.

In spite of the banquet of extras featured on the two-disc Hellboy: Special Edition, retailers should be aware that, according to del Toro, a 3-disc Director's Cut of the film (with even more extras) should be out in time for the holidays.  As with the use of 'variant covers' to entice the hardcore fan base into purchasing several versions, so the timed release of ever more elaborate versions of cult films on DVD runs the risk of alienating and confusing consumers and retailers.  At least in this case del Toro has warned Hellboy fans that they may want to delay their gratification until near the end of the year, when the ultimate Hellboy DVD will appear.