Space Firebird 2772

I first watched this film when i was about 10. I didn't really like it then though i thought it was a bit weird and even scary. I only saw it again a few days ago when i found a VHS copy on the internet,that's 14 years after i first saw it. I'll have to say it's not the best anime of all time,and it's not the place to start if you're not a fan. But i loved it all the same as it reminds me of my childhood. My memories of it were right as it was weird though not scary. The animation was OK but the problem was the direction as it was very patchy. So if you don't like anime or Tezuka then don't bother. But it is definitely worth investigating,and frankly i prefer it over the newer animes which seem to be more about the animation and the special effects than the story or characters. Another thing about this movie is that it has great music.The version i've got is the dubbed version which as usual is crap. I know that it's been released on DVD(region 4),i hope it gets a release in the UK. 10/10

Please note that I am judging from the English dub VHS, which I was lucky enough to discover in a pawn shop. Phoenix 2772 was a movie by Osamu Tezuka, inspired by his "Hi no Tori" series of comics (which were a series of short stories spanning centuries which were connected by the concept of the legendary Phoenix), which features a young man named Gadoh who, after having a run-in with the law, escapes the earth in order to capture the Phoenix, and ends up going through a trial of self-discovery.

You kind of have to understand the author and have a really open mind (and a tolerance for less-than-stellar delivery--more on that later). Osamu Tezuka was not your average manga author: He wasn't content to just tell stories of heroes and villains, but of deep characters with human personalities. His stories usually had some form of moral to them, but he didn't hamfist it or deliver it in a package, like in a Disney cartoon, but rather told sweeping, epic stories wrapped around the point he was trying to convey, but delivered in such a way where it was never shoved down your throat. Moreover, he felt stories shouldn't be limited to feel-good adventures or comedy, and thus most of his stuff had a very emotional quality to it. I personally feel Phoenix 2772 delivered on that.

Yes, the film won't immediately make sense if you go in, expecting a Disney-esquire song and dance number with a lot of feel-good moments and a "good guys always win" message. What instead needs to happen is that one needs to forget how things "should" work and instead prepare for anything. With an open mind and a little bit of thought, the story of this film makes perfect sense.

The weak point is one that's not a fault of the story or the creator, but rather of the translators: The English dub is bad. Mouths move, yet no one is talking. The voice actors sound like they're trying to sound natural, but forget that they're voice acting for an animated movie, so we have moments where mouths are moving yet no one is talking, and things like that. One flaw I particularly noticed is that the Phoenix of the title is always referred to as "272" instead of "2772," and no one could quite decide how to pronounce the main character's name (is it Godah, Gadoh, Gardoh, etc.) But... if you can overlook this and you can stand films that require you to think instead of just delivering all the answers to you on a silver platter, then this one is worth a try, even if you can only find the English dub version (which DOES seem to have been edited).

This movie is for anyone that thinks all Japanese Anime is good anime. There are parts of this 'movie' that make me think it was cut down from a series, but other parts that look like loss on the sides from the transition from widescreen. Too bad they couldn't lose the whole movie while they were at it.

It is far too convoluted, unevenly paced. characters drop dead in ways that suggest that we should care more than we do (Hence the 'cut from a series' theory) and the ending made about as much sense of the rest of the movie.

As a brief outline; The hero gets sent to space school to be a pilot. How he qualifies for this is not explained, but he musta been good, 'cos he already had a uniform on. Within 15 minutes, he attends school, gets in trouble with the law about visiting a garden, falls in love with a politician's daughter, is caught with said daughter and is sent to a labor prison. The plot picks up from there (Sort of). He then escapes and goes off into outer space to find the Firebird after stopping to pick up some really lame friends. When you're on the run, I guess you can't be too choosy.

I made a copy from a local late night tv broadcast and like to show it to my friends now and then as an example of what bad anime looks like.

Steelblade

I recently viewed animated manga feature SPACE FIREBIRD 2772 based on a series of Manga comics by Osamu Tezuka, with a dubbed English language soundtrack that sounded like it was recorded in the early eighties.

The picture flows like Disney's 'Fantasia' meets Star Wars, with the innocence of Astro Boy. There are moments of real beauty where the animation on-screen marries perfectly with the booming classical soundtrack that helps to propel the action.

Particularly enjoyable is the film's opening montage showing the lead character, Godo, growing from infant to adult in a mechanized environment that trains him to eventually become a pilot - all depicted free of dialogue. A voyage through a futuristic city via hover-car, all animated in a long, 'aerial' tracking-shot also helps to elevate SPACE FIREBIRD 2772 to a more 'cinematic' animated film.

Character design, artistic design and over-all animation is above-par for a hand-drawn Manga from 1980's. A great film for Manga purists but some of the more Japan-centric themes might be trying for less adventurous viewers.

NB: One interesting note on the English-language dubbed version viewed (Australian, region 4. Madman distribution) was the possibility that CARY GRANT may have provided one of the character voices. While not noted on the DVD credits or sleeve, a voice sounding like an older Grant (the actor would have been mid-seventies had the dubbed soundtrack been recorded shortly after the Japanese release) carries the actor's distinct vocal traits.

If you like space opera and golden age sci-fi, you should watch Firebird 2772 right now. Even if you are not a fan of anime, you should watch it at least once. I'm not a fan of anime, but I never miss a good sci-fi drama.