Millennium Actress

Starring:Miyoko ShÃ´ji, Mami Koyama, Fumiko Orikasa, ShÃ´zÃ´ ÃŽzuka, Shouko Tsuda, Hirotaka Suzuoki, Hisako KyÃ´da, Kan Tokumaru, Tomie Kataoka, Masamichi Sato, Masaya Onosaka, Masane Tsukayama, KÃ´ichi Yamadera, Regina Reagan, TakkÃ´ Ishimori
Director: Satoshi Kon
Studio: Dreamworks Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

The second film by director Satoshi Kon and screenwriter Sadayuki Murai recalls Perfect Blue, but Millennium Actress is a more complex, subtle, and sophisticated work that evokes the history of Japanese cinema. After nearly 30 years of living in strict seclusion, the aged film star Chioyoko Fujiwara grants an interview to journalist Genya Tachibana. As their conversation begins, Kan intercuts scenes from Chioyoko's films with her memories of pursuing the mysterious artist she met as a young girl. Accompanied by his blasé cameraman, Tashibana finds himself within Chioyoko's memories and films, alternately observing and aiding the woman he adores. Kon's skillful direction and subtle use of color strengthen the intriguing story: Chioyoko's memories are rendered in shades of gray, with hints of muted color highlighting the overall composition. American viewers will find their appreciation of this shimmering, spiral narrative deepens with repeated viewings. (Rated PG: violence, mature themes) --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews:

Good intro to anime.......2007-06-02

If you are an anime fan, you will enjoy this movie, but may find it unremarkable. If you have never seen anime, or you have not found anime that you liked, this would be an excellent point of entry into the finer side.

Creative and often downright stunning in its imagery, the movie opts to take a meta-meta-meta-drama approach. Okay, I just put in an arbitrary number of "metas" but the point is that the plots of different movies are constantly being woven and blended into the flashback sequence that covers the main story. You'll realize that, yes, it's partly surreal, but at the same time it is not too difficult to pick up on "what really happened."

What it all comes down to is that it's hard to say why, but this is one of those profoundly Japanese animated films that really plays to the strengths of the medium while avoiding all the pitfalls that can turn off Westerners.

All the lives of Chiyoko-san.......2007-04-05

This is a very touching movie and an elaborate journey through time. We don't really get to see Chiyoko's inner character that much, but we still end up liking her. The ending is sad, but fits perfectly with the rest of the story. The only problem is that anime newbies might have a problem with the complicated story. But one good thing about anime is that some of it makes you really think. This is one of those anime. I usually rate Hayao Miyazaki's movies high on my favorites list, but this is up there too with the rest of them. Highly recommended!

Satoshi Kon's first animated masterpiece.......2007-02-03

One of my big resolutions for 2007 is to travel through time more. But when I rented "Millenium Actress", I had no idea that that was what I would be doing. I merely knew that I was renting a film by Satoshi Kon, and that although his first opus, "Perfect Blue", had left me rather cold, I consider his "Tokyo Godfathers" one of the best animated movies I have ever seen.

But travel through time I did. "Millenium Actress" is a biographical film about a fictitious but incredibly attractive Japanese movie star (even at 60!), who gets to be interviewed by a life-long admirer turned journalist. As the audience discovers, her life simply summarizes one century of Japanese cinema (from silents to "Godzilla"), and her movies themselves, a thousand years of Japanese history (hence the title.)

"Millenium Actress" is a film that wraps the viewer into its perfectly imagined little world from the very first image and never lets him go. In fact, I was so immediately entranced by it that I realized I wanted it to end rapidly, afraid as I was that it might fail to fulfil its promise, and utimately lose momentum. But this obvious labour of love (from all parties involved) does manage to sustain to the end that unique combination of sweet and sour nostalgia, hopeless but ever hopeful romanticism, deliberately clicheed melodrama and occasionally overblown humour.

My only regret is renting the film rather than buying it with my eyes closed. I will not make the same mistake when Paprika is released on DVD.

not worth the time.......2006-12-12

Although the animation is good, this movie had the most disappointing ending! After the reviews I read on amazon I was expecting a powerful response, but the ending was unclear and hypocritical of the entire plot. Don't waste your time with this movie.

Metaphoric and Artsy.......2006-11-03

An intricate puzzle, this film reminded me of artsy films that win Emmy awards (that also bore me to death).

I found the first thirty minutes confusing and slow. I had a hard time distinguishing life-flashbacks and older movie sequences. The woodgrains in the background added subtle overtones into the emotional mixtures, but I noticed them because the story totally dragged.

According to the extras, Kon's intended the movie as a story stereogram. A stereogram is an object that resembles different objects depending on your mindset and interpretation. My opinion is the director went too far, adding non-linear elements to a point where the story itself became unclear.

If you are a sophisticated cinema lover, you'll enjoy this movie immensely. If you wanted to watch an entertaining anime after a mentally taxing day at work, look elsewhere. The mystery never wrenched me because it could also be a bedtime story. The suspense never scared me because it could also be romance. The adventure never thrilled me because it was always a flashback. My problem with the stereogrammatic approach was the opacity took away purity.

Overall I felt unmoved at the end. Reminded me of completing a crossword in the newspaper -- slight satisfaction for comprehending a self-appointed puzzle. I could appreciate the methaphors, animation sequences, and visuals, but not the story.

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence/Millennium Actress

Average customer rating:

This is not an english version
A question for those who have bought this....
Still "Faulty" after all this time...
Buy this Set
DVD may be faulty but replacement available from DreamWorks

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence/Millennium Actress
Starring: Akio Ôtsuka , Atsuko Tanaka , Kôichi Yamadera , Tamio Ôki , and Yutaka Nakano
Director: Mamoru Oshii , and Satoshi Kon
Manufacturer: Dreamworks Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Anime & Manga | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Animation | Genres | DVD | Video

Feature Films | Animation | Genres | DVD | Video

( G ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Ghost in the Shell
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, 2nd GIG, Volume 01 (Special Edition)
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, 2nd GIG, Volume 07 (Episodes 24-26)
Ghost in the Shell SAC Complete Collection Box Set
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, 2nd GIG, Volume 04 (Episodes 13-16)

ASIN: B00078807U
Release Date: 2005-04-26

Customer Reviews:

This is not an english version.......2007-01-21

The film itself is a 5 star production. If you don't mind subtitles, this movie is great. The GITS world is amazing and the visual effects are spectacular. I didn't have a problem with the subtitles because of the extra caption-like features but I did have a problem since this is not an English dubbed verson as the Product Features indicate.

A question for those who have bought this...........2006-10-27

Everyone,
Does this version of Ghost in the shell 2 have the English voices dubbed in? Or is this still the Japanese only version? I can deal with the "closed caption subtitle problem",........what I can't deal with is no English voices and having to read 100 minutes of dialogue.

Someone please let me know.....

Still "Faulty" after all this time..........2006-09-12

I just recently bought the GITS2/Millenium Actress dual pack, and it still has the Close Caption subtitle problem on the GITS2 disc. I googled for information on this and found the entire rant and links to request a replacement, but they no longer work. However, these postings were from more than a year ago. Can you still get a replacement for "faulty" GITS2 discs?

Buy this Set.......2005-06-28

These are two of the best films that have been released in the last couple of years period. Buy them! You can't beat the deal and you will not be disapointed.

DVD may be faulty but replacement available from DreamWorks.......2005-05-11

The GITS2 DVD may be faulty in having a Closed Caption subtitle (in BIG font I might add) instead of a regular subtitle. In case this GITS2/Millennium Actress 2-pack doesn't have the corrected DVD, you can have it replaced free of charge by Dreamworks by going to gofishpictures.com/GITS2 and fill in a web form to request for a mailer. Don't let this stop you from buying this 2-pack at such a good price.

Faulty DVD has the "D191757V2" encoding in the inner ring of the disc, while the corrected DVD says "D19175757V4".

DVD:

DVD List

DVD

DVD

The Human Race Club - Lean Mean Machine

Fearless Dragons : DVD

Method: Meditation Through Movement

DVD: Cheech and Chong's Still Smokin'

The Mummy's Shroud