Broken Saints

I had to buy this set when I saw it, but I found it to be very different than the original version of the movie. Broken Saints began as a video made on Flash software for the internet and was intricately drawn and illustrated by an amazing team of editors. It was groundbreaking and stunning and reminded me of an even more innovative version of the illustrations in the original Watership Down. The redo of the movie is still interesting to watch but falls more in line with its contemporaries as far as illustration. The original also didn't have voiceovers, but I was surprised to find that this remake's acting was above average. The story is surreal and unique and is long enough to be satisfying during the long runtime of the movie.

This is the question posed by Brooke Burgess and his band of artistic miscreants from the shores of Vancouver, British Columbia. The truth, it seems, is mired in a web of lies, half truths, deceit and revelations, as 4 complete strangers from the far reaches of the globe are drawn together to seek the truth; about the world, themselves and each other. Things are lost, things are found, souls are destroyed and healed. There are new beginnings and finalities.

Sound like a live action Hollywood blockbuster? Guess again... It's Broken Saints. Now a critically acclaimed epic that started online and has grown to the offered DVD, the history of the project alone is enough to make the casual observer curious. Nevermind the fact that it was originally offered for free (and still is) in Macromedia Flash, and that the creator and his followers went without often to offer it to the world... the question most often raised is "Well, what is it?" The real question is, what *isn't* it? It's anime meeting graphic novel, meeting technology, meeting soul seeking, meeting the questioning of self and motives and the world we reside in today. It's timely, it's epic. It's presented in Dolby 5.1 Surround. It's a labour of true love.

Broken Saints (or, "BS") began as a vision and a journey. 3 long, hard years have seen fruition of this. This is not some "direct to video" work where the producer puts the product out and hopes for the best, this is a work wherein the creator monitors and assesses each and every turn of his endeavor.... And not for the money. It's a testament to see who's "getting it". Who can absorb the creator's vision and understand it. Who responds and if they respond in a forward thinking and positive way.

The DVD 4-disc set was put together with haste, but it doesn't show. You would think that better part of just over a year was invested to bring this vision from the "small screen" of the computer to the small screen of the living room. The voice actors were chosen on merit and what they could bring to the project. The music, done by Tobias Tinker, Burgess' cousin, is haunting, uplifting and right on target for each scene. The art was reworked for the first parts of the storyline by Andrew West, illustrator extrodinaire, to bring it up to par with the later segments.

If you want to know the truth. If you are tired of seeing Hollywood schlock foisted at every turn, touting itself to be the "next big thing", If you want to support small scale, homegrown, quality endeavors and you think that the people who sweat, toil, worry and bleed over their projects and worry more about the message than their bank accounts. if you want to experience a rich story tapestry that often leaves you wondering what happens next; what twist is around the corner, and doesn't use Hollywood "formula" to insult your intelligence and become another predictable travesty, I urge you to check out Broken Saints.

What can I first say? It's fantastic? It's amazing? It is the one of the most spectacular stories I have ever seen? This would all be suitable, except seeing is always better than hearing the gossip. I have not said enough about how truly great Broken Saints is. True, I could be making it sound greater than it really is, but that is different for each person. Some people may think I'm full of crap, some people may completely agree, and hopefully some think I bought the DVD, and anyone who enjoys comics, epics, anime,or just plain good story telling ... this is definitely a keeper in your DVD collection. Broken Saints has got it all: A genuinely new style, an epic storyline, good memorable quotes and scenes, one of the best scores to a film I have ever heard, great artwork and technical direction, great writing, good moral to the story, and great characters.

Also when watching Broken Saints it will just give you goosebumps all over. You get that deep awesome (awesome as in awe inspiring, not simply meaning cool) feeling when watching the "freak out" scenes. "Freak out" moments, as I call them, is when one of the characters starts seeing weird and bizarre things. Wheather they are hallucinating or dreaming or just being attacked by someone (that happens a couple of times).

Broken Saints is also good for its creator. Brooke Burgess, writer and director of Broken Saints, is a definitely a good role model. He made the site completely free for anyone to watch, he did not resort to using advertisers and pop-ups to get money for his site (since it would ruin the mood that Broken Saints conveys). After Broken Saints was made big by many awards and made for DVD Brooke had many offers from Warner Bros., Universal, and Fox to convert Broken Saints into a feature film, but one of his characters would have to be changed. An Iraqi mercenary, who is very Muslim and hates Americans. This of course, many big American producers will not like, but they have a load of money. Still, their bribes could not break Brooke's integrity. Also I have e-mailed Brooke once, giving him my thanks and appreciation (since, you can already tell, I am a huge Broken Saints fan). He replied to the email personally a couple of days later and was really nice. Now come on, is there anything wrong here? NO!

Broken Saints: A great story, with a creator who is not an a-hole! Hurray! So go to

Go to BrokenSaints.com ... so weep and bare witness, for the end is nigh!

it made every word sound like it meant something and you understood it. one of the most amazing arts iv ever seen and i think that every person on the planet should see the future of what this is. as i was doing my best not to get distracted when i watched it its not that hard to take every thing as you do because you want to no whats going and you don't wont to miss a frame. i think that it gives a big twist on life and will make you think differently on every thing. when you watch it you will have your own theory but you also agree with every one els's. the art work is amazing and how the hole thing is set out they've done thing that have never been done before. in my case I'm so glad that it wasn't band because i could see on haw it could be.

Quintessentially brilliant. Broken Saints is a profoundly thought provoking work of art, a rarity in recent times, yet this more than compensates for the lack of intellectually challenging, mind moulding and deep philosophical moments in the medium world of film. Utterly encapsulating.

Merging styles from varying art forms, notably Japanese anime and fusing it with a free-flowing comic book/graphic novel style it is utterly unique. Not all may appreciate its subtle movements and intense patient build up, in fact some may find it devastatingly annoying, but then, these are the people that would be missing out. Yet it's format is the least of things that make this series so undeniably fascinating.

The plot and storyline drive this series, for in a ten hour plus epic, whereby there isn't an overly active presence on the screen, the narrative is paramount, and it certainly is. Building slowly over the first handful of episodes (disc 1 for those with the DVD set) we are introduced to our Saints, as slowly their plight is introduced to us. I think most people developed a natural affinity with Raimi, straight off the bat, yet as each characters story develops we ingratiate ourselves with them in ways that at first seemed implausible, and this is the brilliance of the series. It challenges us in ways we never thought possible. It tackles misconceptions, stereotypes and ignorant views, it liberates your mind in a manner of The Matrixs first installment to the nth degree, and I always enjoy and wait with anticipation to see what quotational gem appears at the beginning and end of each episode, really driving home its philosophical impact and connotations.

There's so much to go into with this series, but be patient with it. Once it gets going it truly is impossible to stop selecting "next episode", you must put your judgemental attitude to one side not only when it comes to content, but to style as well. For those that do, it's just what you've been waiting for. I would wish to say "I hope you enjoy it", but that would be detrimental to a series which is impossible not to get sucked into. Watch with the Lights Out, Your Jaw Locked And Prepare To Know The Truth.