Madman announced today that it has acquired the Berserk: The Golden Age Arc anime feature films for distribution in Australia and New Zealand. Read on for the press release.
An epic action-adventure tale set against a dark, European-inspired medieval fantasy world, Berserk follows the story of Guts, a lone mercenary renowned for his ferocity and unmatched in battle – especially when armed with his imposing sword, a towering blade as tall as he. His destiny is to eventually become ‘The Black Swordsman’ and he will face untold horrors in battle.
In the first film of the ‘Golden Age Arc’ trilogy – The Egg of the King – Guts’ actions in combat capture the attention of Griffith, leader of the mercenary group ‘The Band of the Hawk’. Griffith soon moves to recruit Guts into their ranks, but despite a slew of victories and successes, Guts begins to questions Griffith’s true purpose, whose ambition may lead them both to a horrible fate.
Produced by the highly-respected Studio 4°C (Mind Game, Spriggan) and based on Kentaro Miura’s bestselling manga series, Berserk: The Golden Age Arc takes the much loved Berserk franchise into a bold and exciting new direction – with cutting edge animation, intricately detailed swordplay and a gripping storyline.
The Berserk manga series has consistently topped Japanese sales charts since it first hit shelves in the late 80s and has sold over 30 million copies worldwide. The original 1997 anime series is also still a long-time fan favourite.
All three films from the Berserk: The Golden Age Arc trilogy will be released in late 2012 through 2013.
The works of Osamu Tezuka have the distinguished honour of being considered masterpieces in both the East and West, with his manga works adapted into anime series that became popular all around the globe. If you don’t know the name instantly, you might recognise some of his more famous works: Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion and Black Jack. “The Godfather of Manga” is also known as the “Walt Disney of the East”, which may reduce his works to a simple comparison, but also give an indication of just how significant his works are in their native Japan. Along with Phoenix, the 14 volume Buddha is one of his most significant and spiritual works, taking 10 years of Tezuka’s life. An adaptation to the big screen might be considered madness.
Buddha – The Great Departure (手塚治虫のブッダ赤い砂漠よ！美しく) takes elements from the first three volumes of Tezuka’s work, and begins with the birth of Siddartha Gautama and the death of his mother shortly after. As the country is torn apart by famine, drought and bloody warfare, Siddartha tires of his life as a prince and seeks a higher calling. This is the start of his journey towards enlightenment, as he will eventually become the monk that is revered by millions across the globe today.
Even with a planned three-film saga, the reduction of any literary work into the compressed format of cinema is always a tricky affair, especially when the source material is a whopping great set of shelf-fillers from a revered manga artist. Buddha proves to be something of a contradiction in this sense, rapidly squishing some of the significant elements of the source material into mere seconds of screen time. For example, a number of commentators have picked up on the abbreviated telling of the tale of the rabbit who sacrifices himself for a starving monk at the start of the film. Yet at the same time, director Yasuomi Ishito revels in extending battles out to epic proportions that seem to be contrary to the spirit of the Lord Buddha. As the film drags its bloodied feet into the prolonged second hour, one would be forgiven for crying out “Is he Buddha yet?”
When Prince of Egypt was released by the fledgling DreamWorks back in 1998, it went out of its way to be careful to depict an Old Testament religious figure that was revered by half the world in such a honourable way as to suck all the life out of the story. Buddha suffers the opposite problem, in that it seems to spelling Buddha with a capital B for Blood. The chaotic editing muddies any semblance of a plot that viewers not intimately familiar with the legend of Siddartha, lurching from one moment to the next so as to give that B a tertiary meaning of boring.
The animation, from the giants at Toei Animation (Digimon) has stripped all the Tezuka out of the piece, with a “barely there” animation style that is reminiscent of the “illusion of animation” style of the mid-1990s. This cheap-looking approach lessens the impact of the scattered story even more, and with the exception of a few pretty backgrounds, most of the action on screen is a disengaging mess. If the aim is to either pay respect to the creator of the anime or its subject, very little ground will be gained on either front by the end of this first film.
[stextbox id=”custom”]We can only hope that the other planned parts of this trilogy will do more to engage audiences that this bloody snoozer of a journey through Siddartha’s formative years.[/stextbox]
Buddha – The Great Departure played at the Japanese Film Festival on 26 November (Sydney) and 6 December (Melbourne) 2011 at the 15th Japanese Film Festival in Australia.
Somebody get Takashi Miike a kitten, or perhaps a stamp collecting kit. He seems to be unable to stop making films. Mind you, when the quality is as good as the recent 13 Assassins, why try and end it?
Asian Media Wiki (and Twitch Film) has posted a teaser trailer for his adaptation of the 1970s manga serial Ai to Makoto (愛と誠) by Ikki Kajiwara. The trailer is a very brief and incredibly stylised, some might even say eye-catching.
The manga series was previously adapted as a live-action television series in 1974 and into three live-action films in 1974, 1975 and 1976. It will star Satoshi Tsumabuki (Villain) and Emi Takei (The Cherry Orchard).
Miike’s next film to be released is the adaptation of the Nintendo DS game Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. He will eventually find a balance between the crazy the a sublime, although we aren’t entirely sure that is what the world needs.
Twitch reports that Twilight star Kristen Stewart has been offered the leading female role of Kei in the live action remake of Akira.
Stewart would join director Jaume Collet-Serra (Unknown), and the cast that is said to include Garrett Hedlund (TRON: Legacy), Gary Oldman as the Colonel and unknown roles for Helena Bonham-Carter and Keira Knightly. It beats Keanu Reeves, right? Right?
Akira is a story set against the dystopian future of Neo-Tokyo, where biker Tetsuo Shima’s emerging psychic powers threaten to release Akira, and he must be stopped by fellow biker Shotaro Kaneda.
The 1988 anime film was adapted from a 2182-page manga story, and was significantly altered and cut-down to make the feature length film we all know and love today. It is uncertain what path any live-action adaptation will take.
If you hear a long mournful sigh after reading this story, and its not you, look in our direction as we re-watch Katsuhiro Otomo’s classic film.
Variety reports that Akira, the live-action adaptation of the legendary Katsuhiro Otomo manga, has been green-lit for a February/March 2012 production start.
The same source also reports that Spanish director Jaume Collet-Serra (Unknown) will direct, and Garrett Hedlund (TRON: Legacy) may be the front-runner for the leading man role. Appian Way’s Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson Killoran are producing with Mad Chance’s Andrew Lazar.
This is one of those “we’ll believe this is happening when the trailer is out” bits of news. Famously adapted as an anime in 1988, and revered around the world, the live-action version of Akira has long been rumoured and has had a troubled pre-production history. Albert Hughes was slated to direct for the longest time, before being dropped earlier this year, and at one stage even former teen sensation Zac Efron was attached to star.
Akira is a story set against the dystopian future of Neo-Tokyo, where biker Tetsuo Shima’s emerging psychic powers threaten to release Akira, and he must be stopped by fellow biker Shotaro Kaneda.
The 1988 anime film was adapted from a 2182-page manga story, and was significantly altered and cut-down to make the feature length film we all know and love today. It is uncertain what path any live-action adaptation will take.
How do you feel about Akira being back on the cards again? Discuss below.
There’s a line in a song from the late Jeff Buckley that goes “Too young to hold on, and too old to just break free and run”. For anybody who feels trapped or obligated by the circumstances of their life, their job or their family, these words resonate deep inside us. They could also be readily applied to Takahiro Miki’s debut film Solanin, where music is represented as a powerful inspirational force for change.
Based on the popular manga series by Inio Asano, first published in Shogakukan’s Weekly Young Sunday in 2005 and 2006, the film adaptation was released earlier this year in Japanese cinemas. Thanks to the 14th Japanese Film Festival in Australia (JFF14), Australian audiences now get a chance to enjoy this theatrically as well.
Meiko (Aoi Miyazaki, The Summit: A Chronicle of the Stones to Serenity) and Taneda (Kengo Kora, Box!) have been together since university. It has been several years since they graduated, and they both find themselves at a loose end. Meiko is stuck in a dead-end office job, and Taneda knows that his true passion is playing music with his friends (although they are reluctant to actually plan in front of an audience). When Meiko quits her job in the hopes of “finding herself”, Taneda worries about what will happen to them financially and his dreams of making a living from his music. The pair fall headlong into the future, not knowing what it will bring.
Not since Toy Story 3 earlier this year have I found myself openly weeping so frequently during a film. Perhaps this is because that all people of a certain post-university age will have an instant connection with Solanin. Completely capturing the vibe of a generation lost in a sea of choice, but simultaneously having no particular goal to strive for, Solanin taps into the angst and uncertain future that all young adults around the world share. The theme resonates in particular with this particular generation of Japanese youth, who are largely free of the same expectations that their parent’s generation endured (and is explored from two different perspectives in JFF14 stable-mate Hanamizuki). Following the Japanese economic downturn of the 1990s, it wouldn’t make sense for many to so carelessly give up ‘sensible’ working careers in favour of pursuing ‘frivolous’ dreams. Yet this is something that is common to many around the world now, who find themselves in a post-global financial crisis state wondering if the pursuit of money is worth the hassle.
Don’t mistake this for a cookie-cutter coming-of-age drama, however, as there is genuine weight and emotion to be found here. While not driven by a overly dramatic narrative or indie rock attitude as some of the marketing might suggest, much of the exertion of the film (and of the characters) is used in managing their day-to-day existence. Solanin is content to observe these characters as they are. Wonderful characters they are too, with the lead performance by Aoi Miyazaki one of the standouts of the year. At veteran in the industry at the tender age of 24, she earned a Best Actress Award at the Cinemanila International Film Festival for her lead performance in Harmful Insect.
Her performance here is filled with a quiet strength: we first meet her at the depth of depression and (without spoilers) we leave her at a much more accepting place, with the young actress showing incredible range and nuance. Kengo Kora, who we are soon to see in the Haruki Murakami adaptation Norwegian Wood, also convinces and endears as the often slack but always loevable Taneda. During the moments he is not on screen, his absence is keenly felt, particularly through the powerful supporting roles of band-mates Kenta Kiritani (Beck) and real-life bassist Yoichi Kondo.
Solanin is easily one of the must-see entries at this year’s Japanese Film Festival. Emotionally buoyed by a strong soundtrack and a cast of real characters who just get by on getting by, it will be a cynical person indeed who leaves the cinema without at least taking a second look at their life and wondering where it is all going next.
Solanin is playing at the 14th Japanese Film Festival nationally. If there is any justice, this will be picked up for distribution as well.
Madman announced today that it has acquired the Berserk: The Golden Age Arc anime feature films for distribution in Australia and New Zealand. Read on for the press release.
