Daft Punk - Interstella 5555
by Kazuhisa Takenôchi
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Romanthony, Thomas BangalterDirector: Kazuhisa Takenôchi
Brand: Ventura Distribution
Producer: Thomas Bangalter
Writer: Thomas Bangalter
Cinematographer: Fumio Hirokawa
Cinematographer: Haruhiko Ishikawa
Editor: Olivier Gajan
Editor: Shigeru Nishiyama
Producer: Cédric Hervet
Writer: Cédric Hervet
Producer: Emmanuel de Buretel
Producer: Guy-Manuel De Homem-Christo
Writer: Guy-Manuel De Homem-Christo
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Animated, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 68 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-12-02
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Virgin Records Us
Movie Reviews of Daft Punk - Interstella 5555
Movie Review: Matsumoto & Daft Punk Perfection
Summary: 5 Stars
First, to be honest, other than in the generic references of the pop-culture landscape, was I vaguely aware of House sensation "Daft Punk". Unknowingly exposed to their infectious electronic dance beat rhythms from tracks such as "One More Time" or "Harder Better Faster Stronger" by the commercial concepts of shrewd marketing firms using their material to push more things we don't need into the public conscious. Thus was I uninitiated to the scope of Daft Punk's material and the source album for this musical, the 2001 album "Discovery" (I wonder if the name and release year were an intentional homage to Kubrick's "2001 A Space Odyssey" which included the space craft "Discovery" famously hijacked by the HAL-9000 computer?).
It is that in being quite a fan of Anime and Japanese Animation and culture, and importantly, a fan of the animated works created or influenced by the inestimable imagination of Leji Matsumoto was my access point to this particular work. Matsumoto is very well known for his unique "retro" style character designs, his penchant for Science Fiction, and stories which capture the human condition with a kind of introspective discovery by the characters he creates.
However in this case Daft Punk's House Electronica with an apparently retro style from the source album fuses exceptionally well with Matsumoto's visual design.
What is most impressive is that the movie appears to be a derivative work, that is the album was created first and Daft Punk then approached Matsumoto et.al. to create the movie afterward. The music and movie concepts are fused so well that I would have thought that the music was created for the movie. It was almost as if Matsumoto was able to extract what was in the heads of Daft Punk when they created the album and expressed it visually. Indeed the appropriately corporate sounding pop name for the alien band on earth - the "CrescenDolls" I find hard to believe was actually the name of the track on the album as "Crescendolls" without that particular usage in mind! Or the track "Veridis Quo" and the way they were able to meld the ambiance of the Darkwood character in the movie and the corresponding movie sequence to this uniquely yet appropriately sounding track.
I am also an Audiophile, and I enjoy a wide variety of music, and am able to enjoy electronic music genres such as House. And as mentioned I am an Anime fan so it is easy to enjoy this movie. However unless you just cannot stand Japanese animation or House electronica, then this "Animated Musical" is just about appropriate for anyone, especially Daft Punk or Matsumoto fans.
Also if you are fans of Matsumoto you will easily recognize some of the character designs that recur commonly in Matsumoto's works. Such as Stella, the female alien band member, she is the requisite willowy retro-styled blonde. Shep, the pilot of the "guitar space cruiser" is reminiscent of the Harlock character. I am also quite sure I saw Captain Avatar of the Argo from Star Blazers in a crowd enjoying the Earth Version of the band as the CrescenDolls. And the blue skinned aliens will remind Star Blazers fans of the Gamilons, though these aliens are notably less hostile!
The DVD menu and interactive design is an art form itself, and its extras are not designed with the easiest usage in mind, but that can be forgiven. It is analogous to a "fan shrine" web site, rather than a corporate marketing web site in theme and usage.
The Audio on the DVD is well done. It is mixed for standard 2-ch stereo as well as 5.1 (dolby?) and DTS 5.1. Inserting the DVD prompts you to choose the English or French version, I used English.
I upconverted the DVD to 1080i using my Oppo BDP-83 Blu-Ray player, to my 50" 1080i Plasma, in DTS mode direct 8-ch analog audio output to a Sunfire TGP-5 and a 5.1 speaker system consistent of Klipsch Icon Wood speakers. The sound quality was impressive, and the video, being native 480p had a high average bit rate of around 7.8 - 8.1 kb/s, and looked great even upconverted (with the lack of a Blu-Ray release this must suffice). The vibrant colors and powerful dance beats were a potent and dazzling combination to behold on a large hi-def monitor and on a high-resolution audio rig.
You could put this movie on at a party and satisfy gregarious dance types as well as the more introverted who may choose to chill on the couch, and keep the party moving just the same. Or one could just crank it up and zone out on the stunning visuals and throbbing music.
Overall an awesome product at an awesome price! If you like Anime or you like Daft Punk you should own this already.
Summary of Daft Punk - Interstella 5555
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