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Golgo 13: The Professional by Osamu Dezaki
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DVD Cover InformationActor: Edie Mirman, Gregory Snegoff, Joyce Kurtz, Michael McConnohie, Mike Reynolds Director: Osamu Dezaki Brand: Urban Vision Cinematographer: Hirokata Takahashi Producer: Carl Macek Producer: Mataichirô Yamamoto Producer: Nobuo Inada Producer: Yutaka Fujioka Writer: Shûkei Nagasaka Writer: Takao Saitô DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Subtitled); English (Original Language); Japanese (Original Language) Format: Animated, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled Picture Format: 1.33:1 Running Time: 95 minutes DVD Release Date: 2005-11-01 Audience Rating: Unrated Studio: Urban Vision
Movie Reviews of Golgo 13: The ProfessionalMovie Review: Old school Streamline anime Summary: 5 Stars
The Professional: Golgo 13 is an oldie but goodie that was originally put out by now defunct Streamline Productions. Back in the 90's, before the DVD format took over, Streamline's anime catalogue laid the foundation for today's anime. Akira, Neo Tokyo, Vampire Hunter D, Fist of the North Star, Lupin--all of these titles were born out of Streamline. As anime studios adapted the DVD format, Streamline couldn't keep up with the changes and went out of business; their orphaned titles languished in moratorium status. Slowly, anime studios such as Manga and Urban Vision reproduced all of Streamline's old-school anime.
In 2001, Pioneer and Todd McFarlane processed Akira onto DVD. Four more years passed. Then, in 2005, Urban Vision processed The Professional: Golgo 13 onto DVD. Up till then, I'd been wearing out my old VHS tapes--I still have all of them btw--and praying that those tapes--and my old VCR--would hold up to all the wear and tear. Now, with the exception of the original Fist of the North Star, the DVD format has redeemed most of Streamline's anime catalogue.
The Professional: Golgo 13 opens on the crowded deck of a luxurious cruise ship. Here, oil tycoon Leonard Dawson surrenders all of his corporate stake and power to his best friend, his right hand man, and his only son, Robert Dawson. There's a throng of applause; the tearful father embraces his son. Then there's a noise--the loud pop of a firecracker, and Robert Dawson--Leonard Dawson's only son--reels backward with blood pulsing out of his forehead. He falls overboard with his frantic father diving into the bright sea after him. Several miles away, a gunman casually packs away his high-powered rifle. With the same violence with which he built his oil empire, Leonard Dawson employs equal measure in seeking his son's assassin: Golgo 13.
Technically, Golgo 13 is a neanderthal compared with today's animation. Golgo 13's smudgy and hand-drawn like an old comic book. The frame-rate is low and jerky. Often, the pale colors bleed into each other. An Atari-style CGI helicopter shaped like a trapezoid was the film's sole attempt at any type of sophistication. All this said, Golgo 13 compensates for its weaknesses by using explosive elements such as bright flashes, rushing backgrounds, ultra-violence, great music, noir atmosphere, and dollops of cheesy cool.
Golgo 13, hot wings, a bag of chips, and an ice cold beer--pure heaven.
Summary of Golgo 13: The ProfessionalOn his 62nd birthday, oil baron Leonard Dawson witnesses the public assassination of his son and heir, Robert. From this point on, Leonard becomes obsessed with revenge on the hitman?code name: GOLGO 13. Dawson spares nothing to enlist the CIA, FBI, and U.S. military in an unrelenting manhunt for his son's killer. As GOLGO's survival depends on stopping Dawson himself, the hunter and the hunted chase each other in a breathless game of kill or be killed.
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