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The Sky Crawlers (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3

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The Sky Crawlers (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
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All Editions Rating: Customer Review Rated Bad 4 - 4 out of 10 (2)

YesAsia Editorial Description

In a time of peace, war is spectacle. Based on Mori Hiroshi's novel series, Ghost in the Shell auteur Oshii Mamoru's soaringly beautiful animated film The Sky Crawlers is set in an alternate world where war is perpetuated for show. Ageless pilots engage in endless dogfight combat for rival companies that keep war alive in a far corner of the world, so peace can be maintained everywhere else. Featuring a stunning mix of 3-D and 2-D animation for life in the air and on ground, The Sky Crawlers creates two distinctive worlds within the same film, situating the story's brooding existentialism and complicated themes amidst impressive aerial combat scenes. The Sky Crawlers also features voice acting by Kase Ryo, Kikuchi Rinko, and Kuriyama Chiaki.

Ace pilot Kannami Yuichi has just arrived at his new base, but he has no memories of his life before. Like all the other pilots on base, Yuichi is a Kildren, part of a group of eternally young and fair-featured pilots who know no past, only warfare. Though Yuichi is new to the site, everything and everyone seem oddly familiar, as if he's repeating a life he's already experienced before. Could mysterious base commander Kusanagi Suito and deadly rival pilot Teacher, the only adult in the skies, hold the secrets to his past?

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Technical Information

Product Title: The Sky Crawlers (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version) 青空之行者 (DVD) (香港版) 青空之行者 (DVD) (香港版) スカイ・クロラ The Sky Crawlers (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
Also known as: 空中殺手 空中杀手
Artist Name(s): Kuriyama Chiaki | Tanihara Shosuke | Kase Ryo | Kikuchi Rinko 栗山千明 | 谷原章介 | 加瀨亮 | 菊地凜子 栗山千明 | 谷原章介 | 加濑亮 | 菊地凛子 栗山千明 | 谷原章介 | 加瀬亮 | 菊地凛子 Kuriyama Chiaki | Tanihara Shosuke | 카세 료 | Kikuchi Rinko
Director: Oshii Mamoru 押井守 押井守 押井守 Oshii Mamoru
Release Date: 2009-05-05
Language: Cantonese, Japanese
Subtitles: English, Traditional Chinese
Place of Origin: Japan
Picture Format: NTSC What is it?
Aspect Ratio: 1.78 : 1
Widescreen Anamorphic: Yes
Closed Captioning: Yes
Sound Information: DTS Digital Surround, Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital EX(TM) / THX Surround EX(TM)
Disc Format(s): DVD
Region Code: 3 - South East Asia (including Hong Kong, S. Korea and Taiwan) What is it?
Duration: 121 (mins)
Publisher: Panorama (HK)
Package Weight: 120 (g)
Shipment Unit: 1 What is it?
YesAsia Catalog No.: 1020079742

Product Information

Based on a popular novel by best-selling writer, Mori Hiroshi, GHOST IN THE SHELL auteur Mamoru Oshii's soaringly beautiful animated film is set in an alternate world where global peace is finally attained yet wars prevail as a kind of spectacular show. Private war contractors enlist young fighter pilots called "Kildren" to perform their services in an endless "war as entertainment." Innocent-looking teenagers in appearance, Kildren never grow into aduthood, and live in a state of eternal adolescence until the day they drift gracefully through the endless skies. One day, pilot Yuichi Kannami arrives to his newly assigned airbase. He has only vague memory of his past. The only two things he recalls are that he is a kildren and how to operate a fighter plane. Suito Kusanagi, the base commander, is keeping an eye on Yuichi. A Kildren herself, Suito behaves as is she's been waiting to meet Yuichi for a long time. Perplexed, Yuichi is nevertheless gradually attracted by her. All pilots at th ebase have to confront the most invincible enemy ace, known as Teacher. His trademark is a black jaguar painted on the nose of his plane. It is said that if you run into him up in the sky, you don't come back to tellyour friends. Who really is the Teacher? What does Suito Know about Yuichi's past? What are the secret behind the Kildren?
Additional Information may be provided by the manufacturer, supplier, or a third party, and may be in its original language

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Awards

This film has received 2 award nomination(s). All Award-Winning Asian Films

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YumCha! Asian Entertainment Reviews and Features

Professional Review of "The Sky Crawlers (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)"

May 5, 2009

This professional review refers to The Sky Crawlers (Blu-ray) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
"Somewhere, in a country similar to ours there are children who do not become adults. They are very similar to us" goes the tagline of Mamoru Oshii's latest film. One that carried the promise (during its production cycle) of a more linear form of story telling after the convoluted Ghost in the Shell: Innocence and the strange Tachigui. I am overjoyed to report that while the story is linear, it is anything but straightforward or simple, and not the least bit diluted or dumbed down in regards to his philosophical and social musings - basically the essence of what makes Oshii stand out from his generation of masters of the Japanese animated feature. Using a pastiche of elements from contemporary science fiction (From Ender's Game to Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep) mashed up with stirring World War II aerial dogfights and a unique style of chilly melodrama, The Sky Crawlers certainly will not be for everyone. The film is a feast for the senses, not only in the gargantuan fighter plane battles, which may be safe to say are the best ever committed to celluloid (and yes, that includes Hell's Angels and the space climaxes of any of the best of the Star Wars pictures). This is true in every single detail of the film (Production I.G. have outdone themselves!) even the small moments: The cigarette smoke swirls, a Vespa engine hums as it idles, the airplane hangars and living quarters are textured, lived in, and the apple pie and coffee diners are gorgeously rendered down to the most minute detail. And the sound design (courtesy of Skywalker Sound) is among the best work they have ever done.

But wait, much of this technical praise could be said of, Katsuhiro Ôtomo's equally well crafted Steam Boy, yet that one was a failure due to overly convoluted and stilted story telling. The narrative of The Sky Crawlers may be cool and deliberately paced for a film with designs on a gigantic canvas, but that dovetails beautifully with the story Oshii is trying to tell (call it the antithesis of Hayao Miyazaki's similar setting, but radically different Porco Rosso). Make no mistake, this is social science fiction, and tonally controlled storytelling at its finest.

The world of The Sky Crawlers is a social and geographical fusion of 1950s America, Japan and Western Europe that favours propeller styled fighter planes along with satellite television, large multinational corporations and genetic science. While it is a time of apparent peace and prosperity, the large corporations conduct "real wars" (mostly over the border ocean zones), televised of course, to placate any unrest or rebellion from the masses. Contrary to Orwell's 1984, where London is a perpetual war wreck and society fragmented and controlled, Oshii (and the writer of the original novel, Mori Hiroshi) postulate that for the most part, this "perpetual war" has actually benefited society. Wars and equally importantly, all the social problems of an idyll, purposeless populace, involving real people can be avoided if they are fought in a fully manufactured way which has "real consequence" built into the equation. The fighter pilots that fight for their parent corporations are of a genetically modified race who never age, fittingly called Kildren. Set in state of perpetual adolescence, they live to fight and pilot the fighter planes, and die for the entertainment and attention of the world's citizens. The fact that this race is immortal otherwise, only ups the ante and the dramatic spectacle of flaming angels falling from the sky from the fantastic machines.

The story revolves around one of the bases of Kildren and the little ecosystem in which they inhabit. Yuichi arrives to a new posting for the Rostock Corporation. The pilots there are kept under tight wraps from their base commander Suito Kusanagi (a fellow Kildren) and the lovingly stern chief mechanic (and "adult human"), both of whom immediately have an eye on Yuichi. This sets Yuichi on edge along with the stories of the non-Kildren ace pilot, a Red Baron type named "The Teacher" who fights for the "enemy" Lautern Corporation. The first half of the film focuses on the ecology of the air-base with a few combat laden sorties to get the adrenaline flowing. The drinking and sexual exploits of Yuichi's roomate pull Yuichi into a few encounters of his own that strike odd chords of familiarity. This leads to Yuichi questioning his bosses mysterious past while the Rostock Corporation plans its biggest offensive to date. The findings of Yuichi in regards to his bosses and himself are the engine of the plot, but really not the films chief concern, and thusly the storytelling is not the least bit concerned with "twist endings" or other high-concept gimmickry so often favoured within the genre. I’m betting the early lovers of what Paul Verhoeven was doing with Starship Troopers are going to latch onto the (admittedly quite different) vibe of The Sky Crawlers.

Like Kazuo Ishiguro's wonderful novel Never Let Me Go, Oshii does not bury the mystery or secrets of the narrative so deep that a careful observer may have things figured out within the first quarter of the film. But the joy here is in how things reflect and refract current social trends, and draw commentary and observation into the forefront of the storytelling. The film is postulating some big questions in amongst the lives of pilots, war melodrama and stunning action set-pieces. It is a film concerned for the future, while not necessarily nostalgic of the past. There is a character, one that goes unnamed, in the film (in the background really) that sits alone and silent on the front steps of a diner. The Kildren all look at him, but never make any real contact. This old man weeps for the world as it is, a peace bought at a curious price of static non-progress and cyclic stagnation. A moment in the film when another adult human, the lively cook and bartender at the diner, joins the old man in his silent withdrawal. This moment resonates. At 57, Oshii is obviously concerned with the consequences of toys, distractions and general white noise of modern Japanese society, which can leave many young folks in a state of perpetual adolescence. He has constructed a curious epic that is evocative of history, while starkly original in tone and execution. A message movie that is subtle, urgent, and most certainly worthy of your time and consideration.

by Kurt Halfyard - Twitchfilm.net

This original content has been created by or licensed to YesAsia.com, and cannot be copied or republished in any medium without the express written permission of YesAsia.com.

Customer Review of "The Sky Crawlers (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)"

Average Customer Rating for All Editions of this Product: Customer Review Rated Bad 4 - 4 out of 10 (2)

kawai
See all my reviews


August 12, 2009

This customer review refers to The Sky Crawlers (Blu-ray) (English Subtitled) (US Version)
It's a very good film if you understand it. Customer Review Rated Bad 8 - 8 out of 10
This is not a straightforward movie. You will need to think during the movie.
The best part is not the action, but it is the story.
Some of the scene actually can bring the reader the feeling of fear, sad, and hopeless.
Hope eventually he(the main character) will success :)
Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This)
I Love Geniuses
See all my reviews


July 24, 2009

This customer review refers to The Sky Crawlers (Blu-ray) (English Subtitled) (US Version)
2 people found this review helpful

Boring and Random Customer Review Rated Bad 0 - 0 out of 10
I watched this whole thing from beginning to end and I don't see how anyone could possibly call this a masterpiece. The film seemed completely random with random conversations. It didn't really go anywhere. Nothing but random scenes of talking while smoking and people about to have $3x simply cause they felt like it or something like that. I normally love Oshii's work, but this was a major dissapointment for me. Not only was it a waste of Mamoru's time and money, but also to everyone else that worked on this film. I highly reccomend this film be avoided. I normally never give a flat zero on reviews, but I was just that EXTREMELY dissapointed with a man who can normally pull just about anything great from his pocket.
Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This)

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