METROPOLIS: Any reviews yet? (1 Viewer)

[Rodd Sato]

It came out today. I haven't seen it yet, but wondering if anyone else has.

 

[teapot2001]

DVDFile has a review.

Did anyone buy it from Deep Discount DVD and received the free mousepad? How am I supposed to use it when it keeps sliding?

~T

 

[Enrique B Chamorro]

Also see;
http://www.dvdjournal.com/reviews/m/metropolis02.shtml
http://www.currentfilm.com/dvdreview...opolisdvd.html
http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/sho...w.php3?ID=3395
General view is;
Picture and sound very good to great
Story average to very good

 

[Aaron Schmitt]

I picked this up and just got done watching it. I thought the movie was pretty interesting. I chose the dts Japanese track, and it sounded great, very good use of 5.1. It was very bright outside here today, so I need to watch this again when it's darker out so I can get a better look at the darker scenes, but overall this looked great. The colors really stand out (watched on a Panasonic 32" tv, unfortunately not 16x9). I can't wait to watch this on my friend's front projection system. I'm a bit disappointed they left the ending image off the movie, but I found it online (of course, I only found out they left an image off by reading about it over at animeondvd.com. You can find out more here: http://www.animeondvd.com/dcforum/DCForumID1/5251.html ), and that the Cowboy Bebop trailer the put on the disk is just a short teaser (a very minor nit to pick). I'm glad I bought it, and I hope Columbia Tristar keeps putting out more quality Anime product.
Aaron

 

[JohnS]

Just bought this DVD too.

I saw it in a theatre over the weekend.

The DVD is really nice.

I also watched it in DTS 5.1 Original Japanese track.

A must buy for anime lovers

 

[TonyD]

i almost picked this up. ebert loved it also.
circuit city has it for 16.99 this week.
her's ebert review..
http://www.suntimes.com/ebert/ebert_...01/012504.html

 

[Jason Whyte]

Oustanding disc, but I haven't had the time to go through the "pocket 3" DVD" just yet. Looking forward to those Taro Rin interviews.
A minor irritant is the security tab inside the packaging, mind you. Columbia has to stop doing this.
This is easily the year's best film to date, and I'm not even that big of a fan of anime. It is just a terrific film and story on its own merits. It's beautiful, sad and yet visionary. And I want to watch it again, right now!
Jason

 

[Kyle Milligan]

Here's my take on it:
For director Rintaro’s stunning anime vision of Osamu Tezuka’s “Metropolis,” the DVD gets a little special something to go along with the unique film. A “Pocket” DVD. The three inch CD singles never quite took off the way their vinyl predecessors did, but nevertheless, most CD and DVD loading trays have the standard grooves to accommodate the small-sized digital discs. This is the first ever DVD of this size, and it works well. A full size one would fit in the package just as easily, but this it’s a welcome novelty that fits in nicely with the custom and attractive packaging.
For those unfamiliar with the history of “Metropolis,” the DVD will offer plenty of background into the fifty year old work of legendary ‘Godfather” of anime, the late Osamu Tezuka. Both the director and screenwriter admit that Tezuka probably would not like this film, as he outright refused to let it be made while he was alive. Rintaro has developed many of Tezuka’s later works and approached him about doing “Metropolis” many years ago. Without Tezuka to argue the issue any more, the pre-Astro-Boy tale went into its five year production in 1997, and now it’s available for North Americans to see at home, not long after a short theatrical run.
In the filmmaker’s interviews and Animax Special, we learn about story choices and the characters added in that did not exist in the original comic. This is great background stuff for anyone unfamiliar with the original story, which might be the vast majority of people in North America. All the supplemental materials are presented in their original Japanese language track, with optional English subtitles.
The Animax special differs in many ways from the featurettes we’re used to seeing. Even in its narrative flow, the piece is a bit odd, but it’s still informative and covers most areas of the production. In one segment, the animators share with us an unusual moment with their director. When trying to convey what he wanted to see, Rintaro drew with magic marker all over their computer screens. Not just once, but repeatedly, much to their amazement and chagrin. But hey, if the director wants to write all over your computer, you have to let him.
Much focus is attributed to the differing styles between Eastern and Western animation techniques. A film like “Metropolis” would never be made in North America, and that may be mainly because of the painstaking labour intensive work required for the desired effects. It’s so stunning at times that one might take for granted the hard work that went into it, as so much of it is made to look easy, and consistently throughout the whole film.
Two brief animation comparisons employ use of the multi-angle feature so that we can see how from five to eight stages of animation are required for clips that are barely six seconds long. The painstaking efforts are never more evident than in this demonstration.
For the anime enthusiast, this is required viewing. For the beginner, it might not be the best place to start. Everything else might pale in comparison. While the story might be a bit tricky to follow, it’s a spectacle of animation from one scene to the next. Highly recommended viewing.
For full details and specs, click here.

 

[Chris Beveridge]

We reviewed this back on 04/13, but I know most people here don't hit my site since it's strictly anime.
For those who are worrying about that last image not being on the disc, we've learned that it wasn't in the theatrical print at all. We've found that it is on the Japanese DVD editions, but haven't gotten a confirmation on it being in the Japanese theatrical prints yet.
I've heard of people refusing to pick the disc up because of this one still image not being there. I don't think it really impacts the film that much though.

 

[Tom Oh]

I bought the region 2 release a while back. It was in Japanese only. This was fine by me but my wife couldn't enjoy. This is the first R2 anime disc that I purchased that was inferior (options and extras) to region 1. I also saw it in the theater and enjoyed it quite a bit.

Region 1 folks shouldn't complain about the 1 final still. You got English subtitles, mini discs and more.

 

[Peter Rohlfs]

Thi,

It is a "Pencil Board" not a mouse pad. I got mine and it is a great looking piece.

--------------

I have to say this movie is incredible.

Great visuals and good story.

It did strike me as a little weird that none of the supplements mention the influence of the same title Fritz Lang classic. There definitely is an influence.

I also noticed that my JVC 65 didn't pick this disc up as being progressive.

Peter

 

[SteveGon]

I rented this yesterday and quite enjoyed it. The film did contain some amazing visuals - I was tempted to turn on the English dub so I could pay more attention to what was on the screen!
I especially liked the reference to Island of Lost Souls - one of my favorite sci-fi/horror flicks.

 

[teapot2001]

It is a "Pencil Board" not a mouse pad. I got mine and it is a great looking piece.

Oh okay, DDD stated that it was a mousepad. It is indeed great looking, especially against a white surface or window. It's worth the extra $4 I paid when I could've gotten the DVD for $16.99 at Circuit City.
Let me be the first to say: The little DVD is so cute!
~T

 

[Kong Chang]

Tom Oh,

You must have picked up the movie-only edition of the R2 DVD, because the limited edition had a ton of extra, including a storyboard book, illustration booklet, the dvd of the movie, and a supplemental dvd as well. This limited edition is 9000 Yen more expensive than the movie-only edition.

---

As for the R1, took a look at it...the movie is saturated a bit compared to the R2, especially in the really red areas and shadows and red scenes.

I've also compared both the subtitles for the theatrical print and the so-called "literal translation". And I have to say I find the "theatrical" translation better than the so called "literal" translation. I have the Japanese script for the movie, and I've done my own translations and the "theatrical version subtitles" is closer in nature than the "Japanese Literal" for some unknown reason. Whoever translated the "Japanese Literal" was taking too much figurative translation at hand.

Movie is also interlaced, just like the R2. *sigh* Oh well...thought Sony might have turned it into progressive, which would give it a leg up.

I will take a deeper close comparison look into these two movies to see more differences. I do know that Sony's version video bitrate is lower than the R2 dvd and that may cause certain background to blur a bit on the R1.

 

[Ed St. Clair]

Thought the entire picture looked 'soft'.

And have heard no mention of this being a direct from the digital files transfer. Too bad!

 

[Edwin-S]

I thought this movie looked pretty good. I've watched it twice already. The second time around you notice quite a few more details. The story is pretty good. I thought some of the characters could have used a bit more development but it entertains and does leave some room for thought. Is it possible that the film is deliberately made to look "soft"? This movie has to have some of the densest background art I have seen in a Japanese animated show. It is quite a piece of work, just for the visuals alone.

 

[Enrique B Chamorro]

After watching this, all I can say is I wish

I had this in CAV laserdisc. A frame by frame

would be great for this movie.

 

[Tom Oh]

Kong 9000 Yen more translates to about $70 more. I felt that it was too much to pay for a DVD. I had already paid about $45 to buy the import in HK.