The Good
I can say unequivocally that I have never seen a movie that looks like this.
The Bad
No extras for a movie that seems to demand them.
Casshern is a worldly and other worldly tale about Earth in the later part of the 21st Century. With human beings at risk for extinction, a “Neo-Cell” is found that is believed to be able to save the species. However, due to corporate greed and the way funding is acquired, rather than be used for good the Neo-Cell is appropriated so that a special group of “mutants” can be engineered to dispel the planet of humanity. Don’t think that the human race is going to go down without a fight, however.
Enter… Casshern.
It is up to this warrior to fight against the mutants and save the human race from certain distraction. What ensues is an epic battle between man and a manmade creation. It is a fierce, at times hard to follow encounter that has been shot and presented to us in a way that I have never before seen. Imagine anime brought to life with human beings.
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Everything about Casshern feels like a epic film. From it’s overly stylized look, to its battle scenes, to its overt use of CGI to create a world that might never exist except in the mind.
Features
No Extras came with this release.
Video
Widescreen Version Enhanced for 16:9 TVs. The look of Casshern is without a doubt the most interesting thing about this film, in my opinion. I have never seen elements of a live action movie blended with anime in such a creative way. There were times when the actors looked stiff because they were obviously trying to be natural acting in front of a green screen. Overall though, I think that this movie blurs the line between the two mediums of film and anime to a create a truly unique viewing experience.
Audio
Dolby Digital: Japanese 5.1 Surround. Japanese 2.0 Surround. Subtitles: English. The audio on this movie was a bit tricky for me to appreciate. I say that because this movie is such a visual experience it was really hard to try and read the subtitles and watch what was happening on screen at the same time. Also, the soundtrack was big and pounding, just like I expected it to be, but at the same time I really didn’t pay too much attention it. In fact, I wouldn’t mind rescreening this film just to see what element the audio adds to this experience.
Package
This stylized front cover features two images of our main character against very detailed and grand scale backgrounds. The back of this release gives us more images from the film, a brief description of what this movie is about (which is all it really needs considering that there’s more spectacle than there is substance), a credits list and technical specs.
Final Word
I have to admit that had I never been given Casshern to review, I most likely would never have watched it. Movies of this ilk just don’t appeal to me and chances are a trailer for this movie wouldn’t have done anything to make me reevaluate my thoughts. All told Casshern presents an interesting story even if it is one that we have seen many times over. Also, I am always skeptical about box art that uses quotes like this one does. Paul Ross from News of the World states that this film is “Better than both Matrix sequels put together - a truly stunning sci-fi masterpiece.” Well if something is better than something else, doesn’t that mean that the supposedly better movie was trying to be somewhat like the aforementioned films? Therefore, why would it matter if it was better than them if those other films weren’t as good?
All in all, I have a feeling that the audience for Casshern is going to be very excited to own this release on DVD.
Casshern was released April 24, 2004.
