FILM · 2006
Ultraviolet
39 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (39)
- #001
Milla Jovovich disowned Ultraviolet, frustrated by how Sony handled the film after studio executives forced Kurt Wimmer to cut more than 30 minutes from the original cut. Wimmer also rejected the film's final cut because it did not reflect his original vision.
- #002
While on set, Kurt Wimmer asked Milla Jovovich to punch him so he could understand the intensity she brought to action scenes. Wimmer then directed the film with a black eye for the next few days.
- #003
The film's extensive visual effects are visibly unfinished in the final cut, and were never completed as intended because of the executives' intervention. Sony locked Kurt Wimmer and Milla Jovovich out of the editing room and hastily assembled an 88-minute PG-13 film from Wimmer's R-rated work. Several scenes, including the notorious motorcycle chase, use unfinished temporary renders that were never meant to be seen outside the editing room. The unfinished effects were the result of Sony rushing to release the film on its planned date.
- #004
Against director Kurt Wimmer's wishes, the film was completely re-edited by the studio after executives saw the original version they disliked; they found it 'too emotional' for the action film they expected and re-cut it to emphasize action and lower it from an R rating to PG-13. The pressure cut the film from its original 120-minute length to 88 minutes. The director was furious about this pressure, and many fans agreed it significantly reduced the film's quality. An extended version was later released, running 6 minutes longer for a total runtime of 94 minutes.
- #005
Although the film largely underperformed in the United States, it performed well in Japan, where it became popular enough that an anime series based on it, Ultraviolet: Code 044 (2008), was released there.
- #006
The film's critical and financial failure ended Kurt Wimmer's directing career. He would not direct another film for several years.
- #007
According to Rotten Tomatoes, Jovovich was unhappy with the PG-13 release cut. She said she was excluded from discussions about the film during the editing stages and was not allowed to see her own performance, and felt it could have been better if she had been able to contribute a little.
- #008
Kurt Wimmer, a comic book fan, had always wanted to make a comic book film, so he decided to make the opening title sequence a montage of 'Ultraviolet' comics. Ultraviolet itself is not a comic book property.
- #009
The film's novelization was written by Yvonne Navarro with more backstory and character development. The book differs from the film in several ways, including a more ambiguous ending and the removal of some of the plot's more implausible twists. The novel preserves plot that was removed from the film's original cut.
- #010
Kurt Wimmer wrote the script with lead actress Milla Jovovich in mind.
- #011
The film's 94-minute extended cut was not released on Blu-ray in 2006 because Sony refused to allow unrated or NC-17 content on the format. This item was later removed. The extended cut has not yet been released on Blu-ray in North America, but it is available on the Region Free Blu-ray release in Japan.
- #012
Elizabeth P. Watkins, the courier in the film whom Violet impersonates to infiltrate the Ministry laboratory, is played by Jennifer Caputo, one of Milla Jovovich's stunt doubles.
- #013
Six refers to Violet as 'Vi.' VI is the number six in Roman numerals.
- #014
The film was written by Kurt Wimmer as a spiritual successor to his earlier dystopian science fiction film Equilibrium (2002).
- #015
Kurt Wimmer stated that the film was directed in a way that allows for an alternative theory about the story. According to this theory, the character of Six is actually Violet, who comes from the future and returns after the hemoglophagia treatment has been developed. This explains why Six has the treatment and no one else does. It also explains why Violet is so determined to protect one human, even though her purpose in life is to kill them all (Six can sense this even though she does not know she is Violet from the future). The theory also explains why Six frequently disobeys Violet and leads the way to where they are going. Six, being Violet from the future, remembers how events unfolded in the original timeline and can prevent them from happening this time.
- #016
In the early scenes, Violet changes her hair color from blue to black, to purple and back to black. Violet also frequently wears clothes whose color she can change at will and that shift according to her mood. While Violet undergoes the hemoglophagia test, the colors of the vest she wears constantly change from green to purple and from yellow to red. In the fight at the Ministry headquarters, Violet changes her dress from white to red by adding blood from her gloves to its palms (spreading over the dress). It is unknown whether this comes from the clothes' own abilities or whether Violet manipulates the clothes to change color.
- #017
Although it was a critical and financial failure at the time of its release (it grossed only 31 million dollars against a 30 million dollar budget), the film was very successful on home video, grossing over 35 million dollars in DVD and Blu-ray sales and becoming one of the best-selling films of the week it was released.
- #018
The film is set in the year 2076.
- #019
A fictional Asian race in the film speaks a fictional language known as Thaihindi (actually Vietnamese), and Violet speaks this language fluently and can therefore communicate with them. Coincidentally, Milla Jovovich had to learn a fake language in another science fiction film, The Fifth Element (1997).
- #020
Milla Jovovich's character uses a more original version of "Gun Kata," a unique blend of gunplay and martial arts that director Kurt Wimmer developed for his previous film Equilibrium (2002).
- #021
The word vampire appears only five times in the film. According to Violet, it is an insult used for Hemophages because they have several vampire traits (such as long canine teeth).
- #022
The muzzle flash on Violet's Uzi-like light machine gun resembles a biohazard symbol, similar to the one in Wimmer's previous film Equilibrium (2002), where John Preston's guns had muzzle flashes resembling the Tetragrammaton symbol.
- #023
In the film, Violet buys a printed telephone. The paper device has the ability to produce holographic images when attached to an extra peripheral. When combined with the extra peripheral, the printed telephone can also track the connection of the person on the other end. However, it is not certain whether this ability comes from the printed telephone itself or from the peripheral. Another ability of this technology is that, when connected to a car's steering wheel, it can automatically pilot the car to a predetermined location. This technology has a basis in reality. In the early 21st century, inkjet printer companies such as Epson demonstrated the ability to create functional circuit boards using printer technology.
- #024
Although Ultraviolet is not a comic book property, the film was designed to look stylistically like a comic book, with brightly colored clothes and hair and a cool look in close-ups of the actors' faces.
- #025
During the "coffee shot" scene, the "speak-no-evil" thug (one of three) is shot by Daxus. Wimmer also played "died" as a cameo in his previous film Equilibrium (2002).
- #026
The film contains several fairly obvious references to Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, such as a scene in which a hemophage family dressed like Hasidic Jews, complete with biohazard patches, is harassed by skinheads wearing black hats and clothes and taken to camps.
- #027
In the trailer, when Daxus punches Violet's hologram, the gun in his hand is digitally removed from the scene (this is also the case in the film).
- #028
In an early scene, Daxus is seen breaking a seal and then drinking hot coffee from a self-heating cup. Self-heating products, both food and drinks, have been available in the real world for several years; most of them use an exothermic chemical reaction to heat their contents.
- #029
Direct quote from Milla Jovovich: "Listen. The only thing I can tell you is that I was completely excluded from the editing room, which was an unfortunate situation, because I was promised that would not happen. On both Resident Evils, I had a lot of input into the film before it was finished. On the first one, much more than the second. But on Ultraviolet I got very depressed because he [Wimmer] was a real jerk, kind of went back on his word and didn't let me see my performances."
- #030
Long before the film's premiere, a promotional trailer shown to a small group and a rough cut of one of the action scenes leaked onto the internet. Kurt Wimmer demanded that all clips be taken offline so that the film would remain mostly secret until he decided to take it out of the bag. Apparently all the clips were removed.
- #031
Violet wears a red outfit toward the end of the film.
- #032
Early in the film, when Violet is escorted to the building, the corridor is painted with yellow and black stripes that appear to form roughly six alternating yellow and black equilateral triangles: the "fallout shelter" symbol. As noted before, this is not the logo of the Umbrella Corporation from Resident Evil (2002). The Umbrella logo consists of eight red and white isosceles triangles forming an octagon.
- #033
The fictional gravity stabilizers are combination-lock-sized devices that redirect gravity (rather than negating or reducing it), allowing a person to stand and maneuver on walls and even ceilings. Violet uses her personal gravity stabilizer to ambush a squad of guards and fire at them from a ceiling vent. Her motorcycle is also equipped with one of these devices, enabling her to ride up the side of a high-rise building and engage a helicopter gunship. Exactly how this technology works is unknown. However, the film's visual CGI scenes appear to show that the device's internal systems produce an extremely high-density material that generates its own gravitational pull greater than Earth's, thereby redirecting the effective "down" direction of the object it is installed in. It is unknown how this device works without seriously disrupting the balance of Earth's orbit.
- #034
It was sent to theaters under the title "Female Warrior."
- #035
This film was to be French model Sebastian Andrieu's first American film production and his last feature film as an actor.
- #036
The 'real' handguns (as opposed to modified props and CGI versions) are Beretta 92-Fs, also known as the M-92 by the US military. The rifles used are mostly modified Colt AR-15s (known militarily as the M-16).
- #037
Kurt Wimmer's Equilibrium (2002) and Ultraviolet (2006) both center on a lone warrior skilled in gun kata and swordsmanship who dresses predominantly in black until the final confrontation with the enemy, then appears entirely in white (emphasizing the ruthless and bloody dispatch). Wimmer stated that Ultraviolet is a spiritual sequel to Equilibrium, noting that both films take place in the same universe.
- #038
In the 175th episode of the comedy podcast How Did This Get Made, it featured special guests Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger from the Doughboys podcast.
- #039
Some of the soldiers Violet fights bear a strong resemblance to the H. U. N. K. from the Resident Evil series: black tactical gear, a helmet similar to that of Second World War Germany (or Darth Vader's helmet), and a gas mask with red lenses.
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