Metoroporisu

And since we're on a Metropolis trip, here's a post I did some time ago for Surreal Moviez.

2001 Metoroporisu
aka Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis

Director: Rintaro
Runtime: 113'
Language: Japanese (w/ soft English subtitles)
IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0293416/
Links here.

Description:
"Metropolis is both a collaboration and an homage to four disparate auteurs. The movie harks back to Fritz Lang’s classic expressionist film Metropolis (1927) but is also directly inspired by the Metropolis manga created by the 'god of manga', Tezuka Osamu in 1949. The movie itself is an interface between the director Rintaro, known for such previous manga adaptations as Galaxy 1999 and screenwriter/ director Otomo Katsuhiro of Akira fame.
The result is a visually stunning and sometimes haunting work, set in a near future urbanized world in which robots and humans interact - always warily and sometimes tragically. The beautiful robot Tima echoes the 'two Marias' of Lang’s film, invoking the specter / hope of the oppressed rising against elite exploitation, but Tima is ultimately a far more complex figure than any of Lang’s creations. The gorgeous quasi-apocalyptic ending also sends us to a darker place than Lang’s vision of hand and heart combining, but that place resonates painfully well with millennium society, whether Japanese or Western."
(from http://austinfilm.org/node/194)


Top aesthetics, top story, top anime. Neither just a simple adaptation of Lang's classic nor a typical techno-fetischistic epic. In its way unique. Just get it.

Tekkonkinkreet

You know I don't usually post recent stuff. Yet I felt these two went largely unnoticed, for reasons I cannot understand, (except that they were issued in Japanese multi-corp label Aniplex Inc).

Legendary Plaid have taken a (reasonable) turn to producing soundtracks; for films and shorts by Michael Arias for now. Though the more recent 'Heaven's Door' OST is also beautiful, this one's got me from the start. I'm all for the film anyway, a lyrical/disturbing, surreal/streetwise poetic story you should definitely see, anime fan or not. The soundtrack follows the same pathways. Almost always understated melodies blend with urban atmos; esoteric jazzy interludes blend with traditional instruments' sounds and spooky synths. It might be a dark trip for some, yet Plaid always try to keep the balance between the experimental, the cinematic and the emotional aspects of their work.

There's also a remix CD, handled by people like Uwe Schmidt, Derrick May, Matthew Jonson, Prefuse 73, Para One, etc.
.

Plaid - 2006 Tekkonkinkreet OST
Info here.


Plaid - 2007 Tekkonkinkreet Remix Tekkinkonreet
Info here.

Of course, Tekkonkinkreet is the name of the film for distribution in english speaking countries. I'd really like to know what 'Tekkon Kinkurîto' means... Any friends from Japan?

Ghost In The Shell

As I said before, I decided to post here some more visually focused stuff, so here is one of my top five anime films of all time.

Ghost In The Shell (1995)

688x348, XviD, 1.4GB, 83'
Language: Japanese, incl. english subtitles (.srt)
IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113568/
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Description: Based on the manga by Masamune Shirow.
Usually mentioned either in comparison with William Gibson's work or for its influence on the Matrix trilogy. It was also the first anime to target the European and US market at the same time as the Japanese, of course. Obviously focusing a lot on technology, cyber fetishism and the concept of the 'ghost', the plot is rather typical; just there to get things rolling, because the true protagonists of this epic are its heroes' and villains' existential quests, reminiscent in a way of Blade Runner (which imo has been the greatest influence on GITS, and not only in its aesthetics).
A classic.

Info and download links here.

I'm thinking you'll need a Premium account for these...