Hinotori 2772 - L'uccello di fuoco

Apparently 2772 has suffered much the same way that Nausicaa suffered in translation, further add the dilemma of context and we have something that no doubt has justifiably earned some low scores from reviewers. I haven't seen the old dub, but now with its Region 4 reissue on DVD (and I assume an R1 to follow), what we get is something truly magnificent. Not perfect by any means, but definitely Tezuka working at the peak of his animating ability. For those who have seen his experimental short films, this film seems to be much from that same vein. Here is where context comes in, because as a stand alone film, 2772 may seem weird and hard to appreciate. Taken as a whole--with Tezuka's other work under your belt--well, then you have something truly special.

The story does not seem a direct adaptation of any of the phoenix stories, but many familiar characters (both from Phoenix and elsewhere) appear. The story line will feel familiar and at home with anyone who has read the phoenix books, but it is something new (it is sort of a new twist on the book 'future'.) The real treat here though is the animation. With what is seemingly more funds than Tezuka knew what to do with, virtually every scene is fertile with new ideas. Shots are rarely 'flat' the way they are in TV shows like Astroboy and Kimba. Instead, we have fluid perspective where not only are the characters moving, but so is the 'camera'. There are numerous multi-layered scenes using various psychedelic textures and cloud patterns. Much effort is put into making every scene feel important. When all these techniques are not enough, Tezuka resorts to what he knows best, and just starts drawing the most surreal space creatures you could imagine. For instance, on a planet that seems to be run by Mustachio, we see every possible alien design, most of which are ridiculous (reminiscient of the surreal encounters in 'Nostalgia'.) From the perspective of a fan of animation and a fan of Tezuka, Phoenix 2772 (I'm not sure why it is translated 'space fire bird') is a 10/10. This is in so many ways the culmination of Tezuka's studies in animation, a celebration of new possibilities (and also of animation in general.) The flavor of the original Phoenix stories are also captured with perfection in this film despite 2772 being a new story.

For outsiders however; those who don't know Tezuka's works and may not have interest in pre-90's anime, 2772 could be a difficult work that at times seems pointless, and with an end that makes little sense. I think the original language with subtitles should help tremendously, but the film is still quite surreal and takes some chances (that may be seen as faults by some.) With that in mind, I've given the film an 8/10 (but fans will know it deserves more.)

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 was looking forward to watching this. I was, until I first sat for Ichikawa Kon's 1978 film 'Phoenix,' which was also an adaptation of Tezuka Osamu's manga. I found the latter film to be so very inconsistent and uneven in its approach to the material that it misused its best potential and quickly lost my favor; I continued watching only out of a sense of commitment. Still, I hoped that this 1980 variation, co-written and co-directed by Tezuka himself and given a purely animated representation, might have a chance to prove me wrong. And I'll say this much, it does very rapidly prove itself to be more smartly considered than its spiritual predecessor. Don't get me wrong, even at its most violent, grim, or dark moments it maintains the feel of a light, fun genre lark, and the scene writing, storyboarding, character designs, and animation absolutely reflect that this is geared toward young audiences for whom the more foreboding concepts on hand are apt to go unnoticed. But, say of it what one will, at least 'Phoenix 2772' adopts this tenor for its entire length - instead of irregularly trying to also be more earnest and serious - and doesn't also struggle with like issues in every aspect of the production. This picture clearly benefits from a unified, uniform vision, and on that basis alone is a step up from Ichikawa's work, and is at least half decent.

In other regards I'm firmly of the mind that this shows definite shortcomings in important ways, but nevertheless it remains strong enough to still be enjoyable on its own merits. The story isn't specifically remarkable as it trades in ideas we've seen elsewhere, but the material is ripe for cinematic and animated storytelling with its futuristic setting. A dying Earth, children raised in isolation, authoritarian government, extreme class inequality, robots, forbidden love, labor camps, innocence and virtue set against cruelty and malice, a journey into space with unique creatures and races: there's much to appreciate in the narrative, and it's duly compelling of its own accord, with interesting character ideas, and varied and flavorful scene writing. It's also true that much nuance and complexity has unquestionably been cast aside in most ways, and we're getting a simplified rendition of the saga, and a truncated one. This rendition has also been sterilized, for that light, fun-loving, family-friendly tone does the feature no favors. Where notions aren't built purely for cartoonish, childish silliness, the tale still would have been far more absorbing and satisfying had it been approached more mindfully and with more mature, adult sensibilities, more akin to the anime that would follow in subsequent years - especially after 'Akira' blew the roof off the medium.

Meanwhile, the animation of Tezuka Productions of course follows from the screenplay with which Tezuka adapts his manga alongside Sugiyama Taku. Even recognizing that some bits and bobs are just as cartoonish, childish, and silly as the writing that informs them, more than not the artists turned in fantastic work. For the most part the static backgrounds and environments are gorgeous; the more imagination that a setting required, whether a changed Earth, an extraterrestrial planet, or a spaceship, the richer they are. Many character designs are also superb, not to mention the designs for creatures and other active elements, and any effects that are employed. The question is how much detail and texture went into such facets, because there is a grand canyon of a discrepancy between the visuals that obviously received the most attention and care, and those that received the least. For as great as some parts look, other inclusions inspire a skeptical "really??" Accentuating the point, the more that any shot or scene depends on movement, the worse it looks. Uncharacteristic of the anime we know and love, including preceding examples and particularly any of years to come, there is often rough, jerky, unnatural, or even incomplete movement seen in a character speaking, walking, jumping, or climbing a ladder; a spaceship in flight, or Olga transforming; action sequences; and so on. Much of the animation really is excellent - some odds and ends are just brilliant - but the variance in quality is unfortunate.

In fairness, as the plot develops, events take a more serious turn in a natural progression. It seems evident enough where the most creative energy was devoted in 'Phoenix 2772,' and in the latter half both the storytelling and the animation are more consistent and praiseworthy as Godo ventures into space and pursues the firebird. I still hold that a treatment geared toward older audiences would have found more lasting success, and the movie would have benefited from the more advanced techniques and technology of the industry seen even just eight to ten years later. All the same, this is honestly quite entertaining, and it holds up reasonably well all things considered. Even with its weaknesses I had a good time watching, and for an earlier and less polished era of anime, there's more value in this than one may assume from the outside or at first blush. There's certainly no need to go out of your way for this, but if you do have the opportunity to watch and don't mind the inchoate and middling treatment, 'Phoenix 2772' deserves a look on a quiet day as something passively worthwhile.

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.

This film can be summed up in one word: Retro. Ah the late 70s/early 80s when voice acting was bad and dubbing worse. Because of the age of this film, a subbed version is difficult to find and it isn't available at all on DVD. If you snoop about the online market places, however, you can usually find an old video rental copy of the horrendous English dub on VHS for around $10-$8.00. The painful English voice acting aside, and the rather groovy character design (bell-bottoms, big shoes and bad hair- hey it was 1979, NOBODY had good hair) the movie is actually quite enjoyable. Be aware that this film definitely falls under the category of "experimental film". It employs some unusual animation techniques for the time. Anyone familiar with Osamu Tezuka's "star system" will be amused to see whom he casts in what part. Kenichi and Sapphire take starring roles as Godo and Lena and Rock- as per usual- plays himself as the villainous but not necessarily evil minister of science. The movie centers primarily around two intertwining plot lines: the love triangle between Godo, his robot nursemaid Olga, and Rock's fiancé Lena as well as the more obvious contention between Rock and Godo over the fate of their home planet (which is rapidly deteriorating) and who will win Lena's affections. It's a long movie, a solid two hours, and begins to drag a bit right around the part where Godo and Co. must battle the Phoenix. However things get interesting again and Tezuka takes an extra 20min or so to wrap up the film with his usual "harm not the earth" message. All in all, the voice acting is forgivable due to the trippy animation, weird storyline, and back-handed Star Wars references. I give it an 8 out of 10. I'd probably like the subbed version even more.