Spriggan
by Hirotsugu Kawasaki
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Andy McAvin, Chris Patton, J.D. Hawkins, Kevin Corn, Ted PfisterDirector: Hirotsugu Kawasaki
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; Japanese (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled)
Format: Anamorphic, Animated, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 90 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-04-23
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: A.D. Vision
Movie Reviews of Spriggan
Movie Review: THE FIGHT FOR HUMANITY BEGINS HERE!
Summary: 5 Stars
Back in 1998, "SPRIGGAN" was an anime hyped for it's beautiful animation, based on a very successful manga series and of course, the people behind it.
"SPRIGGAN" was directed by first-time director Hirotsugu Kawasaki and supervised by Katsuhiro Otomo (the creator of "Akira") and is based on a manga "Striker" by by Chu Takasige and Ryoji Minagawa which appeared on the publication "Shonen Sunday".
Suffice to say, the anime made headlines when there was a major bidding war over the rights to make the movie.
With Otomo and Kawasaki at the helm together with the animators of Studio 4?C, "SPRIGGAN" was a film to utilize traditional cel animation with computer animation which was very significant at the time.
As for the story behind "SPRIGGAN", athe top of the world, the ancient artifact known as Noah's Ark has been uncovered.
It is said that the artifact elevates its keeper to the status of a god or it can be used to eliminate mankind from the Earth in seconds.
The race is on as two secret organizations go to battle in their efforts to recover the lost artifact - one seeks to destroy it, and the other wants enslave the human race!
It is a battle between the half-human cyborgs versus the secret organization known as ARCAM and their elite agents, the Spriggan in an epic duel for the future of humanity.
The original DVD release of "SPRIGGAN" from ADV Films was back in 2001. In 2005, a special edition has been released which features a new DTS soundtrack, the original CD soundtrack and two audio commentaries. One by the ADR director and engineer, the other by two of the English voice actors (Chris Patton and Kelly Manison).
Without spoiling the anime for the curious, I will say that "SPRIGGAN" is definitely action oriented.
The animation is very well done, the voice acting is very well done and the DTS soundtrack for the English version is awesome! The video is 1:1:85 aspect ratio and anamorphic widescreen.
As much as I love "SPRIGGAN", I feel that there are problems with this special edition release.
The inclusion of the CD soundtrack for "SPRIGGAN" is great because the music for the film is awesome. But there is a problem.
Although the back of the CD soundtrack lists 20 tracks, there are actually 27 tracks and unfortunately the 7 remaining tracks are not listed. No worry, if you were to put your CD in your computer, you can get the remaining track titles via CDDB.
And for a major release, there's a typo on the DVD features listing.
But the one thing that made me knock the rating down to a B+ from an A was that the original 2001 DVD release of "SPRIGGAN" featured really cool animated interactive menus, video portfolios of the character designs, vehicles and equipment, key backgrounds which are now all gone in this special edition release.
Granted, for those who never purchased the 2001 release would probably never know but for those of us "SPRIGGAN" fans who do know, those special features from the original release was a major addition that really made the DVD a complete package and if included with the special edition, would have made it the ultimate.
But all-in-all, aside from that, you still get a spankin' new look at "SPRIGGAN" with that DTS soundtrack. It sounded great via digital 5.1 several years ago but sounds so awesome now.
I highly recommend checking "SPRIGGAN" out! The experience is definitely worth it!
Summary of Spriggan
Fast paced, violent, and loud, Spriggan uses a combination of drawn and computer animation to deliver the kind of slam-bang thrill ride Final Fantasy only promised. The convoluted plot, based on a manga series by Hirotsugu Kawasaki and Yasutaka Ito, mixes elements from Raiders of the Lost Ark, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Akira, and Universal Soldier. Yu Ominae (voice by Christopher Patton) is a Spriggan, a member of an elite corps of biologically engineered warriors created by the secret organization ARCAM, who finds himself involved in a baroque adventure centered on the newly discovered Ark of Noah. The Ark is actually an extraterrestrial vehicle with the power to alter the Earth's climate and spawn new animal species. A sinister cadre of rogue Pentagon generals wants it and dispatches a corps of murderous cyborgs lead by Col. MacDougall (Kevin Corn), a monstrous child who's also the product of biological experiments, to capture it. ARCAM is determined to prevent the generals from gaining control of the Ark's awesome powers. Yu battles his way to victory through car chases, sword fights, shootouts, explosions, knifings, and psychic blasts, with a little help from fellow-Spriggan Jean-Jacques Mondo (Andy McAvin). Director Hirotsugu Kawasaki handles the action sequences more effectively than the minimal character development, and Katsuhiro Otomo's screenplay doesn't always make a lot of sense. But Spriggan supplies what hard-core action fans sought in vain in many recent Hollywood blockbusters. Just don't sit too close to a speaker. MPAA rated R, under 17 not admitted (for considerable violence). --Charles SolomonAction & Adventure DVD Video
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