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I recently got the region 1 version of Metropolis, watched it the other day and have to highly recommend it to everyone.
It’s been a few years since I’ve seen a good new feature length anime film, but Metropolis truly lived up to my expectations.
In the late 1940s, long before "Astro Boy" and "Kimba the White Lion" established Osamu Tezuka as one of the most influential animators of all time, the much-celebrated illustrator created the classic manga "Metropolis." More than fifty years since it was first imagined, Tezuka's visions of the future have arrived on dvd.
The retro-futurism of the story - as well as its precautionary tale - is stunningly rendered in its visual style, combining the best in Japanese cel animation with the latest in digital technology.
Loosely based on Fritz Lang’ 1927 sci-fi vision of the same name, set in the future, Metropolis is a grand city-state populated by humans and robots, the cohabitants of a strictly segmented society. Amidst the chaos created by anti-robot factions, detective Shunsaku Ban and his sidekick Kenichi are searching for rebel scientist Dr. Laughton, a ‘mad’ scientist whose wanted to performing all kinds of illegal research and experiments. But when they locate him, his secret laboratory is destroyed by fire under sinister circumstances, and instead Kenichi finds Tima, a young girl bereft of memory and speech, seemingly helpless at the site. Little does he know that Tima is a new top-of the-line android created to take over Metropolis, and that behind her creation lie the ambitions of a powerful man and his fierce desire to reclaim a tragic figure from his past.
The city of Metropolis is the main character of the story; it’s a massive sprawling piece of architectural splendour filled with colour and design. There are many different levels within the city; the upper levels, where the human society exists, are bright and flashy, with neon signs, stunning buildings and the like, whilst the lower levels are where most of the working poor and undesirables live, and where the majority of the robots are confined to.
The “baddies” are the usual manipulative politician types. You’ve got President Boone who is trying to control things to keep himself in power and get rid of certain threats against him, he’s aided by his Secretary of State, who has particular ambitions of his own. Probably the most powerful of the group is Duke Red, a very influential citizen with huge riches. It’s his plotting and planning that things end up centring around.
Using Dr. Laughton’s skills, Duke Red has him create a truly advanced humanoid robot that is unaware of its potential importance. But the trouble starts when Duke Red’s adopted son, Rock, an extreme robot hater, goes after Dr. Laughton and causes the unaware robot to escape with Kenichi.
As well as progressing as a chase film in the lower levels of the city as Rock pursues the young pair, we also see all the political manoeuvrings and power struggle going on topside. There are many layers throughout this, all interweaving with each other, and the end result is an enthralling mix of action and intrigue.
Metropolis is a thought provoking visual masterpiece that works on many different levels, depending on how you think about it and approach it as it contains many moral messages and meanings about humanity and our reliance on technology etc.
This sort of film would definitely enjoy a fine run in the cinema, if only people would give anime more of a chance as it far surpasses anything that Disney have ever offered us. But alas, many people won’t see it, as there is a certain stigma attached to anime in the UK, and that’s a real shame.
It’s also being released in the UK on dvd in the summer, so look out for it.
It’s been a few years since I’ve seen a good new feature length anime film, but Metropolis truly lived up to my expectations.
In the late 1940s, long before "Astro Boy" and "Kimba the White Lion" established Osamu Tezuka as one of the most influential animators of all time, the much-celebrated illustrator created the classic manga "Metropolis." More than fifty years since it was first imagined, Tezuka's visions of the future have arrived on dvd.
The retro-futurism of the story - as well as its precautionary tale - is stunningly rendered in its visual style, combining the best in Japanese cel animation with the latest in digital technology.
Loosely based on Fritz Lang’ 1927 sci-fi vision of the same name, set in the future, Metropolis is a grand city-state populated by humans and robots, the cohabitants of a strictly segmented society. Amidst the chaos created by anti-robot factions, detective Shunsaku Ban and his sidekick Kenichi are searching for rebel scientist Dr. Laughton, a ‘mad’ scientist whose wanted to performing all kinds of illegal research and experiments. But when they locate him, his secret laboratory is destroyed by fire under sinister circumstances, and instead Kenichi finds Tima, a young girl bereft of memory and speech, seemingly helpless at the site. Little does he know that Tima is a new top-of the-line android created to take over Metropolis, and that behind her creation lie the ambitions of a powerful man and his fierce desire to reclaim a tragic figure from his past.
The city of Metropolis is the main character of the story; it’s a massive sprawling piece of architectural splendour filled with colour and design. There are many different levels within the city; the upper levels, where the human society exists, are bright and flashy, with neon signs, stunning buildings and the like, whilst the lower levels are where most of the working poor and undesirables live, and where the majority of the robots are confined to.
The “baddies” are the usual manipulative politician types. You’ve got President Boone who is trying to control things to keep himself in power and get rid of certain threats against him, he’s aided by his Secretary of State, who has particular ambitions of his own. Probably the most powerful of the group is Duke Red, a very influential citizen with huge riches. It’s his plotting and planning that things end up centring around.
Using Dr. Laughton’s skills, Duke Red has him create a truly advanced humanoid robot that is unaware of its potential importance. But the trouble starts when Duke Red’s adopted son, Rock, an extreme robot hater, goes after Dr. Laughton and causes the unaware robot to escape with Kenichi.
As well as progressing as a chase film in the lower levels of the city as Rock pursues the young pair, we also see all the political manoeuvrings and power struggle going on topside. There are many layers throughout this, all interweaving with each other, and the end result is an enthralling mix of action and intrigue.
Metropolis is a thought provoking visual masterpiece that works on many different levels, depending on how you think about it and approach it as it contains many moral messages and meanings about humanity and our reliance on technology etc.
This sort of film would definitely enjoy a fine run in the cinema, if only people would give anime more of a chance as it far surpasses anything that Disney have ever offered us. But alas, many people won’t see it, as there is a certain stigma attached to anime in the UK, and that’s a real shame.
It’s also being released in the UK on dvd in the summer, so look out for it.
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I recently got the region 1 version of Metropolis, watched it the other day and have to highly recommend it to everyone.
It’s been a few years since I’ve seen a good new feature length anime film, but Metropolis truly lived up to my expectations.
In the late 1940s, long before "Astro Boy" and "Kimba the White Lion" established Osamu Tezuka as one of the most influential animators of all time, the much-celebrated illustrator created the classic manga "Metropolis." More than fifty years since it was first imagined, Tezuka's visions of the future have arrived on dvd.
The retro-futurism of the story - as well as its precautionary tale - is stunningly rendered in its visual style, combining the best in Japanese cel animation with the latest in digital technology.
Loosely based on Fritz Lang’ 1927 sci-fi vision of the same name, set in the future, Metropolis is a grand city-state populated by humans and robots, the cohabitants of a strictly segmented society. Amidst the chaos created by anti-robot factions, detective Shunsaku Ban and his sidekick Kenichi are searching for rebel scientist Dr. Laughton, a ‘mad’ scientist whose wanted to performing all kinds of illegal research and experiments. But when they locate him, his secret laboratory is destroyed by fire under sinister circumstances, and instead Kenichi finds Tima, a young girl bereft of memory and speech, seemingly helpless at the site. Little does he know that Tima is a new top-of the-line android created to take over Metropolis, and that behind her creation lie the ambitions of a powerful man and his fierce desire to reclaim a tragic figure from his past.
The city of Metropolis is the main character of the story; it’s a massive sprawling piece of architectural splendour filled with colour and design. There are many different levels within the city; the upper levels, where the human society exists, are bright and flashy, with neon signs, stunning buildings and the like, whilst the lower levels are where most of the working poor and undesirables live, and where the majority of the robots are confined to.
The “baddies” are the usual manipulative politician types. You’ve got President Boone who is trying to control things to keep himself in power and get rid of certain threats against him, he’s aided by his Secretary of State, who has particular ambitions of his own. Probably the most powerful of the group is Duke Red, a very influential citizen with huge riches. It’s his plotting and planning that things end up centring around.
Using Dr. Laughton’s skills, Duke Red has him create a truly advanced humanoid robot that is unaware of its potential importance. But the trouble starts when Duke Red’s adopted son, Rock, an extreme robot hater, goes after Dr. Laughton and causes the unaware robot to escape with Kenichi.
As well as progressing as a chase film in the lower levels of the city as Rock pursues the young pair, we also see all the political manoeuvrings and power struggle going on topside. There are many layers throughout this, all interweaving with each other, and the end result is an enthralling mix of action and intrigue.
Metropolis is a thought provoking visual masterpiece that works on many different levels, depending on how you think about it and approach it as it contains many moral messages and meanings about humanity and our reliance on technology etc.
This sort of film would definitely enjoy a fine run in the cinema, if only people would give anime more of a chance as it far surpasses anything that Disney have ever offered us. But alas, many people won’t see it, as there is a certain stigma attached to anime in the UK, and that’s a real shame.
It’s also being released in the UK on dvd in the summer, so look out for it.
It’s been a few years since I’ve seen a good new feature length anime film, but Metropolis truly lived up to my expectations.
In the late 1940s, long before "Astro Boy" and "Kimba the White Lion" established Osamu Tezuka as one of the most influential animators of all time, the much-celebrated illustrator created the classic manga "Metropolis." More than fifty years since it was first imagined, Tezuka's visions of the future have arrived on dvd.
The retro-futurism of the story - as well as its precautionary tale - is stunningly rendered in its visual style, combining the best in Japanese cel animation with the latest in digital technology.
Loosely based on Fritz Lang’ 1927 sci-fi vision of the same name, set in the future, Metropolis is a grand city-state populated by humans and robots, the cohabitants of a strictly segmented society. Amidst the chaos created by anti-robot factions, detective Shunsaku Ban and his sidekick Kenichi are searching for rebel scientist Dr. Laughton, a ‘mad’ scientist whose wanted to performing all kinds of illegal research and experiments. But when they locate him, his secret laboratory is destroyed by fire under sinister circumstances, and instead Kenichi finds Tima, a young girl bereft of memory and speech, seemingly helpless at the site. Little does he know that Tima is a new top-of the-line android created to take over Metropolis, and that behind her creation lie the ambitions of a powerful man and his fierce desire to reclaim a tragic figure from his past.
The city of Metropolis is the main character of the story; it’s a massive sprawling piece of architectural splendour filled with colour and design. There are many different levels within the city; the upper levels, where the human society exists, are bright and flashy, with neon signs, stunning buildings and the like, whilst the lower levels are where most of the working poor and undesirables live, and where the majority of the robots are confined to.
The “baddies” are the usual manipulative politician types. You’ve got President Boone who is trying to control things to keep himself in power and get rid of certain threats against him, he’s aided by his Secretary of State, who has particular ambitions of his own. Probably the most powerful of the group is Duke Red, a very influential citizen with huge riches. It’s his plotting and planning that things end up centring around.
Using Dr. Laughton’s skills, Duke Red has him create a truly advanced humanoid robot that is unaware of its potential importance. But the trouble starts when Duke Red’s adopted son, Rock, an extreme robot hater, goes after Dr. Laughton and causes the unaware robot to escape with Kenichi.
As well as progressing as a chase film in the lower levels of the city as Rock pursues the young pair, we also see all the political manoeuvrings and power struggle going on topside. There are many layers throughout this, all interweaving with each other, and the end result is an enthralling mix of action and intrigue.
Metropolis is a thought provoking visual masterpiece that works on many different levels, depending on how you think about it and approach it as it contains many moral messages and meanings about humanity and our reliance on technology etc.
This sort of film would definitely enjoy a fine run in the cinema, if only people would give anime more of a chance as it far surpasses anything that Disney have ever offered us. But alas, many people won’t see it, as there is a certain stigma attached to anime in the UK, and that’s a real shame.
It’s also being released in the UK on dvd in the summer, so look out for it.