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Metropolis

Metropolis

List Price: $24.95
Your Price: $22.46
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "I Can't Stop Loving You"
Review: Between 1947 and 1949, Osamu Tezuka - who was to become the world's best-known anime producer - issued a small series of manga about a world of the future where industrialization, robots and humanity are all at odds. Sharp class differences also contribute to the tensions of a world largely in the hands of the power hungry. Now, 50 years later, Rintaro, another famous name in anime has decided to create an film from the original manga, sparing no effort or expense.

We find Metropolis in the throes of a celebration. Duke Red has completed the Ziggurat, an immensely tall building whose central tower conceals a solar weapon that will make the city the capital of the world, and Duke Red its ruler. The intricate politics of Metropolis are based on three tiers - the upper class, a vast and impoverished lower class, and beneath all else, the robots. There is great conflict over the role of the robots. Many fear them, and an anti-robot faction called the Marduks watch the streets, ready to destroy and automaton that acts out of line. Duke Red is the power behind the Marduks, but secretly he has hired Dr. Laughton, a criminal scientist, to build a super robot in the image of his daughter. This is Tima, whose destiny is to command the weapon hidden in the top of the Ziggurat.

Into this come Shinsaku Ban and his nephew Kenichi. Shinsaku is a detective, come from Japan to track down Dr. Laughton. As he is doing this, Duke Red's adopted son Rock, leader of the Marduks, is plotting to destroy Laughton's lab and Tima with it. The resulting conflagration catapults Kenichi and Tima into a wild race for life with Rock right behind them. On the way, we get to see much of Metropolis's underground, bringing home the social message.

The real thrust of the plot, as is often the case with anime involving robots and cyborgs is the question of what is human and what is not. Or whether that should even make a difference. Tima, who does not know she is not human, finds she is capable of wonder, love, and fear. Is she a soul in the making or a flawed machine? If she had never met Kenichi this would have been a far bitterer film, and the white doves would never get to fly.

Not only is the artwork remarkable, but this is an exquisite piece of animation, smoothly combining CGI and two-dimensional animation. Sometimes the entire screen seems to be in motion. An agile eye will pick up new details on each watching. Toshiyuki Honda's music is equally satisfying. It is interesting that Tezuka refused to have this story made into a film during his life. Apparently, he thought of 'Metropolis' as an early and not especially successful effort. However, Rintaro and writer Katsuhiro Otomo (of 'Akira' fame) have much modified and expanded the story. This is a commonplace when a manga is converted to the screen, since many Japanese anime producers avoid slavish imitation if they have an opportunity to break new ground. I like to think that Tezuka would have been impressed with Rintaro's efforts even if 'Metropolis' was no longer just his story.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Old Story, New Way to Tell It.
Review: I read a lot of reviews of this movie and it's true, the story's tried and true. But, as a longtime anime fan, I didn't care about that. The way that Otomo and Rintaro told it (especially with the music and visuals) kept me interested the whole way through. The DVD is a great investment, because not only do you see the film, you see (in the pocket DVD that goes with it) just how DIFFICULT it was to put digital graphics, and pen and ink together. You get a greater appreciation for the film when you see how it's made. I know I did. So, it's a story that's been told before, but this is a new way to share it. I personally think it's worth the price alone.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Awesome movie...
Review: Although I'm not fond of animated films usually, I make an exception with anime, and this is likely one of the best I've ever seen.

The first thought I had when I saw the full view of the city was instantly : "Final Fantasy 7". A good portion of the beginning of FF7 and later on in it-- is dedicated to a city much like Metropolis, and it provides a very attractive appeal to the game, and likewise the movie, the idea of a huge sprawling city on different levels.

The animation was decent at best. The computer graphics and background artwork was very nice, and the character art was fairly nice(nothing incredible, but nice). As well, the jazz in the movie was very good(and the music in general, I suppose).

All in all, a great movie, although I think that $25 is a bit much even though it probably is worth it.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Beautiful Imagery, Poor Story
Review: Beautiful animation, this film is in a catagory all its own. The scenery and characters look great. There are some throw backs to Akira and Metropolis, but it is an amazing visual experience to watch this film. ...notice I said an amazing VISUAL experience. The plot is laughable at best. There are so many holes in the story you really have to ignore it and just enjoy the great animation.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A landmark in animated film...
Review: I rented this movie mainly because it was high on my Amazon.com recommendations...and that's not really saying much...but, this time, Amazon.com really recommended me something that is truely remarkable. A great anime with a plot that you can follow...

Some anime films out there get by just on remarkable animation...this movie has got some great animation...not as much the actual pictures, but just the atmosphere that is generated by it...it did that whole corny "Put me in a place I've never been before" deal. The animation in the film isn't the best I've seen from a technical standpoint, but it was superbly done...

Onto the film now...like many anime, it touches on many subject at once while going through one major storyline...the main story in a nutshell-Little robot girl gets lost with little human boy, everyone tries to find them, boy and girl form friendship, robot girl unbekwnowst to her, is actually a tool for destruction. Now, that is an AMAZINGLY undetailed telling of the plot, but that's the plot in short-term. But during all of this, many other storys are told, and ideas explored...self-discovery, racism, acceptance...when you watch the film, or even as you read this review, you might think these are all part of the same character, but they are actually all represented by different characters in the film, and there are many other things touched on during the film...and even with all of that, they never deviate from the main story too much. You may not realize it until after the movie and you think about it, but you come out with a lot after seeing it...and most importantly, the story isn't too hard to follow, unlike some other anime, such as Ghost in the Shell, which I saw twice in it's entirity and still don't undrstand at all...

This movie is really, in my opinion, a perfect blend of story-driven film and animation that is rarely seen in anime films, which usually go more towards one or the other...I would highly recommend you watch it if you're even remotly interested...

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: This movie has nothing to offer besides visuals
Review: McDonalds is the worlds most popular food chain - it does not mean they have the best food, and the same goes for this anime. It is widely regarded as one of the best anime's ever made but I fail to see why. Firstly, if you watch anime specifically for the visuals you will love this movie - it is truly spectacular, however storywise it's rather boring. It relies heavily on the name and reputation of the man who made it. While watching this I had to take a break for a few hours because I just couldn't stand it. The dialogue is extremely poor; characters seem to say things simply for the sake of saying something and there is nothing to hold your attention. The writers have attempted to incorporate some sort of religous significance into the movie as if relying on this to keep the story entertaining but it fails in this area. I couldn't understand the plot at all, the only action seems to be Kenichi running, something blowing up, more running, more things blowing up, even more running, and have I mentioned something blowing up? I have little to say about this movie besides that it was amusing for about 3minutes, that it's soundtrack hurt my ears and it was an utter waste of time. Personally I prefer anime such as Akira, Neon Genesis, Ghost In the Shell...etc so perhaps you as the reader could attribute my disgust towards this movie to my particular taste but I would caution you to think twice before picking this up.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Greatest movie of all time!
Review: OK,lets get things strait here.No.1:Metropolis is the greatest movie of all time! Lets start with the story line. A detective and his nephew (Ke-inchi) look for a mad scientist named Dr.Laughton,(did I spell that right?)and they came just in time for a display of explosions!Weeeeee!But somthing's fishy. Machines don't just blow up!And where's Ke-inchi?!?
(He saw someone in side the burned lab, and inside he saw a girl, Tima, and both of them fell throuh the floor.)
And who is the mysterios Rock?(BADguy!)
No.2 The main characters(Favorate to least favorate)
Rock--Cool,smooth talkin' (and lookin'),young(and attractive)
sharp shootin'...evil,and I mean EVIL...kid.
Ke-inchi--Young,funny,smart,boy who plays the hero,and is the nephew of...
The detective--a funny guy who never pays for his lunch.(and the the street fender owner always is a big hunkey strong guy.)
Atlas--Street punk, who gathers a gang for a revalution.Later is killed by Rock.
Tima--A robot "girl".Very innocent...and the reason why over 100,000,000 people are killed.Created by...
Dr.Laughton--Mad scientist who,ordered by Duke Red,createdTima. Killed by Rock.
Duke Red--This guy has a BIG nose! He adopted Rock
No.3 The art is spactacular!

What I'm trying to say,here is:THIS MOVIE "ROCKS"

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Akira?
Review: I gotta say, the funniest aprt of the movie *is* in fact the collapse of the Ziggurat. Watching it in Japanese then suddenly hearing english was a surprise. The film is slow, and the last part with all the cables and such reminded me alot of Akira. Which only makes sense..

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: No offense but it really SUCKED
Review: Sorry to say it but the movie sucked. The storyline sucks the type of animation they used sucked.It could just be my taste since i like stuff like evangleion and princess mononoke. The end was very sad and depressing. The girl is way to much devoted to Kenichi. The inspector bot got blown up really bad. I was hoping for him to fight all of them and like some freaky chain guns and misle launchers would come out and bow everything up.Well thats my review.I ruined the part with the inspector but really there isnt really anything to ruin since it already sucks.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Balance and Contrast
Review: There seems to be an equal number of people who like this film to those who dont. Allow me to throw in my two cents... A lot of those who didnt like it expressed their distaste for the animation style and how it doesnt fit in with the digital backdrop. I actually liked the animation and found that the two styles complimented each other nicely. Similarly, I thought that the music also complimented the film well. The Ray Charles track at the films end was not odd to me at all, and in fact, was a very nice and very different approach--a total contrast to the nature of the scene. I do not know why people have problems with the plot though, as it didnt bother me at all. I felt the film provided a good message of identity and to a lesser extent, social classes.


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