6.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A 'movie' version of several Gatchaman episodes.
Starring: Katsuji Mori, Isao Sasaki, Tesshô GendaForeign | 100% |
Anime | 86% |
Action | 24% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.34:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
There’s a certain degree of prescience in the description of Gatchaman: The Movie included by Sentai Filmworks on the back cover of this new Blu-ray release, one which emphasizes the peril of a planet under attack by terrorists (this review is being written in the wake of the horrifying attack on Paris, though of course that's just the latest "skirmish" in this ongoing battle). But even that seeming precognition isn’t the sum total of how forward thinking at least some elements of the Gatchaman franchise in general and this film in particular were. As was discussed in our Gatchaman: Complete Collection + OVAs Blu-ray review, the original series’ emphasis on ecological issues and environmental protection was part of the then nascent movement in the 1970s which also gave birth to such phenomena as Earth Day. But with “climate change” or “global warming” or whatever you want to call it (if indeed you want to call it anything) regularly making daily headlines and coming up in various talking points among the bevy of candidates currently running for the American presidency, Gatchaman seems positively psychic and perhaps more “relevant” than ever, if, that is, one can accept its inherent Good versus Evil simple mindedness and a certain clunkiness in exposition and even animation style. Gatchaman: The Movie was (kind of like the original series itself) initially called Science Ninja Team Gatchaman: The Movie, a perhaps incremental difference that at least tends to highlight the series’ emphasis on technological gizmos aiding in that eternal fight against villainy, whether that be the typical refuge of a bad guy (i.e., world domination) or more supposedly ephemeral aspects like whether the polar ice caps are melting leading to a global “sink or swim” moment.
Gatchaman: The Movie is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Sentai Filmworks with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.34:1. My comments in the original Gatchaman: Complete Collection + OVAs Blu-ray review hold largely true here, with a couple of exceptions. The palette is still at least relatively healthy, and in fact perhaps a bit more consistently saturated with more solid densities than were on display in the television version. On the flip side, alignment issues still offer blurry moments, probably more so than in the series if only because the film is shorter and so these moments tend to seem more numerous when they do crop up (see screenshot 7 for one example). The film has a healthy looking if somewhat variable grain field, and the presentation looks very organic, if fairly soft quite a bit of the time.
Unlike the original series' mono soundtracks, Gatchaman: The Movie provides robust DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mixes in both English and Japanese. The mixes sound largely if not completely identical save for the voice work, and surround activity is quite consistent and well done in the many action sequences. Dialogue is also rendered very cleanly and is generally well prioritized, though occasionally some lines or portions of lines can get slightly buried in noisier moments. Fidelity is excellent and there are no problems of any kind to warrant concern.
Aside from trailers for other Sentai Filmworks releases, there are no supplements included on this Blu-ray disc.
My hunch is fans of the original Gatchaman series may want to pass this film version by, for it offers less rather than more as it attempts to digest a rather large number of episodes down into a manageable feature film format. What's here is enjoyable enough, but there's a certain something missing from this iteration. The series may in fact feel padded a lot of the time (a proclivity it shares with a number of other vintage anime), but the feature film may have jettisoned a bit too much information. Newcomers on the other hand may find this a perfect, relatively brief, introduction to the series, and as such (and for this group), Gatchaman: The Movie comes Recommended.
1994-1995
1972-1974
1983
The Complete Series
1998
X/1999
1996
SD on Blu-ray
1999
2003
1993
2010
Limited Edition
2014
2010-2011
2006
餓狼伝説 -THE MOTION PICTURE-
1994
機動警察パトレイバー / The Television Series
1989-1990
2019
2008
1989
レドライン
2009
2017
Essentials
1987