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Jin-Roh - The Wolf Brigade Director: Hiroyuki Okiura Number of Items: 1 Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen Format: Animated, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Running Time: 102 minutes Studio: Bandai Entertainment Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Region Code: 1 Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2002-03-05 Buy from Amazon |
 "Philosophical and Enthralling"Jin-Roh encapsulates the key components of a quality film by successfully incorporating philosophical and psychological to enrich content and character. Albeit, Jin-Roh may be slow in terms of action sequences, the main point of the film is not shells, artillery, and gore, but rather it's about the more poignant and serious facets of life such as betrayal, duty, deception, and sacrifice. Very few anime that I have seen are able to weave such a well presented package without becoming too "deep" or confusing. If you are looking for a more mature piece of anime minus the outlandish eye candy, which is proliferate in this genre, Jin-Roh will make a terrific addition to your library.  "Very different than usual."This movie was very good. It's about a different Tokyo. The situations between the many levels of the Police System are very difficult to understand. Basically There's this special unit that does all the dirty work and they don't get any appreciation. After an incident the Police Brass want to get rid of this special unit by developing a conspiracy. In my opinion, this movie was written very well. I thought it needed some more emotion and dialog. The characters have these "unemotional" eyes. It's not what I'm used to. If they eyes were less "cold", then I would've rated it much better. Overall it's a good movie.  "Beautiful movie - pitiful DVD quality.".... The film can be considered a political drama of sorts, but to perceive it as only (or even primarily) that, does run you the risk of failing to engage in it's real emotional power - the story of the relationships between the main protagonists, which many might argue is the real point of the film. The story is beautifully told and carries a subtlety & sub-text that would most likely be lost on a younger audience, dealing with the nature of people & their ability or willingness to change their own function in life. This whole journey is explored through the relationship/s & (rather incredibly) compared to the story of Little Red Riding-Hood amidst the backdrop of the alternate reality of a dystopian Japan where the outcome of WWII was somewhat different ... There are many, many layers to this film - and while it might not be a film you could watch over & over, it has depth enough to keep you discovering new facets to the world, story & people involved that you are never at a loss to make new discoveries. At it's simplest (or perhaps most complex), it's a love story. So why have I only given this product 3 stars ..? Because clearly, when it came to transferring this film to DVD, Bandai Entertainment thought it prudent to deprive a village somewhere of [a not too bright person]before appointing him chief of staff at the quality control centre. I purchased this DVD under the impression that it would be of a suitably high production standard that a film of this quality deserved - but was shocked ... when I actually started to watch it. ...- the colours on this transfer are HIGHLY washed-out & on many occasions the scenes are FAR too dark to see what's going on & even to the extent that much detail has been lost - regardless of how you manipulate your colour & contrast controls (and considering how many of this films scenes are set in dark & gloomy places, this is completely unacceptable & utterly distracting). And as if to intentionally pour salt into the wound, the accompanying documentary with this 'Special Edition' DVD (they got THAT right) shows footage of the film that is of SUPERIOR quality to the actual film on the main feature disc. The film is not unwatchable, by any means - especially if you are watching the film on a PC where you can adjust the contrast and lighting settings relatively easily in order to achieve reasonable picture quality (Of course, if you haven't seen the film before, you are less likely to be quite as horribly dissatisfied as I was). As far as I know, both of the U.S. Bandai Entertainment DVD releases of Jin-Roh contain the same video quality, although the audio of the special edition is possibly the best of any version out there. For all the added bonuses, the soundtrack CD & superior sound quality, you really should ask yourself if it's worth paying for this version when perhaps the most important thing - the video quality of the film itself is so noticeable flawed... If this DVD presents you with the only opportunity you'll have to see the movie, then buy it anyway - but bear in mind that you won't be seeing it as it deserves to be seen. ... At this time, I'm still looking for a DVD that does this film justice (and contains English subtitles - as I speak no Japanese or French). ... I hope this review of the Bandai DVD won't prevent any of you from seeing this remarkable film. "A quality animation in the lines of Ghost in the Shell"Jin-Roh is written by Mamoru Oshii, the director of the famed Ghost in the Shell, who also did the Patlabor TV series, feature films, and recently released Ureusei Yatsura series. Most of the crews also in this film worked with Mamoru in GitS, and other animations. The director himself was the character designer for GitS, and did some key animations. On the quick glance, it is easy to mistake this film as Mamoru's because of those reasons. Jin-Roh has one of the best atmosphere's that can be found in anime, or even in feature films. The design of the weapons and its mechas are just amazing, and the character development is fabulous. I've seen this film several times, and it just works in a very different way from the typical animes- it works more in a film-esqu manner, and not surprisingly, Mamoru recently directed a live-action film called Avalon. To people who saw Ghost, and liked it, this film with definitely appeal to you as well. The reason it is four stars, instead of five, is the slow pacing of the film, which can lose its audience at some point. I've seen some of my friends lose the film after 30-40 minutes into it. Other than that, it has amazing animation from Production I.G., the studio that is working on the GitS TV show in Japan and the O-Ren Ishii sequence in the latest Quentin Tarantino flick Kill Bill. "A wolf in sheep's clothing"Jin-Roh is a tale of two lovers who never really like each other. They stay togather merely because, in their own eyes, the other is exactly want they want from life. For Kei, it is to be remembered. To know that she shall not fade away, and cease to exist. For what is the point of existing at all if no one can remember who you are or what you did after you are gone? But, in Fuse's eyes, Kei is another chance. Perhaps an option he knows that he can never choose. The life of a human, the love of a woman, who he himself killed. He never truly see's Kei as herself, but more as Nanami, her supossed sister, whom he watched blow herself up during the first half hour of the movie. No one can just see this movie once, and suddenly have a solid knowledge of what it is about, and how it is proceeding. Every detail is important, every moment, every second, every scene. People fail to realize that. The background characters are not merely a side population, they are part of the cast and crew. Without them, gaps of the entire story would be left missing. As the movie poster so imfamously says, A wolf in sheep's clothing is still a wolf. Consider this as you see every character interact, for it is not only those amongst the Wolf Brigade that bare fangs. |
