Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis [Blu-ray]

This movie is a work of art. The animation is just fantastic and incredibly smooth. Don't let the art style fool you into thinking this is a children's movie, it is certainly not. This is not like a Disney film, Metropolis features a dark and violent story, which I think adults and teens will both enjoy.For those video nerds, the transfer may not be to your liking. The picture quality, which is perfectly watchable, includes a lot of the original film grains and imperfections. Some may feel this adds a more authentic and original feel while others might find it to be a lazy attempt at upscaling. I am perfectly happy with it, though I am hardly a snob about audio/video quality. Just wanted to make potential buyers aware.The steelbook is quite pretty, not the best I have seen, but will still stand out next to others on a shelf. I really do recommend checking this one out even if you are not generally an anime fan, as I am pretty sure you will enjoy it.

As an owner of both this Mill Creek release, and the Eureka! Blu-ray copy of this movie, I'd like to provide a comparison between them; not just in their packaging, but with disc content too. If you don't know, the UK Blu-ray runs perfectly fine on Region A players, despite the packaging stating it's locked to Region B. As a result, I've had that release of the film for quite some time now.UK Packaging:This was put out by Eureka! in the UK about a year or so ago. I have the Steelbook edition, which is half plain black on the outside (elegant, but a little boring). The inside uses a screenshot from the movie. The disc artwork uses images taken from promotional posters, which is fine.Mill Creek Steelbook:Oh boy, the packaging on this one is just straight-up sexy. A beautiful Steelbook with unique artwork (not just old promo artwork), and the entire design is based around a red color palette like it's on fire. The front of the case also has the title debossed (set inward) into the Steelbook, and the case itself actually has no lettering on it besides that. There's a clear slipcase that slides over the Steelbook with screenshots and a blurb on the back with specs and movie info. The discs stay in line with the red color palette, actually changing some of the promo art to match. The inside of the case has two shots of Tima's head facing different directions. Normal on one side, robotic and corroded on the other. Beautiful, and a step up from the Eureka! edition.Disc Content:Mill Creek's Blu-ray has no disc recognition, unlike Eureka's, which shows that the movie is Metropolis in my PS4 before starting it. The Eureka Blu-ray also has the decency of including the bonus features on the Blu-ray disc itself, rather than making you put the DVD in like Mill Creek's. Also, Eureka's Blu-ray features seamless menus, while MC's makes you wait through a loading screen, which is annoying. That being said, Eureka's BD menu is just a still image of Tima with no music. MC's shows several standout pieces of animation with a jazzy tune in the background. In terms of the movie itself, I noticed a bit of ghosting on each disc in certain spots. Nothing major though, and only during areas where the movie was pretty dark. I think Eureka's video quality is slightly grainier, which makes me prefer MC's, which looks a little bit cleaner in my opinion, and it's easier on the eyes; I think the color palette is slightly darker and richer here also. Sound is fine in both, but Eureka's Blu-ray gives 5.1 and 2.0 audio options for both dubs. MC's only gives the 5.1 English and 2.0 Japanese. MC's release has 16 chapter stops for the movie, vs. Eureka's 12, so I think MC's are spaced out better, making it easier to find scenes. However, and this surprised me, NEITHER of the Blu-rays offer any kind of chapter select on the main menu! At the very least, both Blu-rays thankfully include the post-credits image that gives final closure on the story. I still can't believe that was left out of the original Region 1 DVD release. What were they thinking?!Overall, I'm giving the win to Mill Creek here. The video quality is a little better IMO, and that packaging... It's gorgeous. However, I am knocking off a star for lacking disc recognition, seamless menus, and for not putting the bonuses on the Blu-ray, even if they are only in SD quality. Recommended to any Metropolis fanatics or anime fans who plan on viewing this wonderful movie for the first time. Enjoy!

Pretty cool movie, they don’t make them like they used to.

This is such an amazing movie from my childhood. When I saw it was on Amazon I just had to buy it. It came very well packaged and is accurate to the product description.

The over all movie and story are fantastic! My brother's and I loved it! Have to say Rock is the best character or rather most enjoyable to watch! The music I understand is the choice for the time period they I believe were going for. Animation is gorgeous.

My 3-Star rating regards the Blu-Ray disc release, not the movie itself (which is fantastic). When I opened the Amazon package, I was afraid they’d sent me a bootleg. The case insert is poorly printed and appears to be a color laser job. “Columbia Pictures” is prominently featured on the spine and back cover as if they released this to the American market (they didn’t). The Blu-ray disc itself is golden, which typically indicates MOD on a burner. Then the disc took several minutes to load in my Panasonic player, and just as I grabbed my phone to file a complaint with Amazon, the movie finally played. But there are no chapter selections, no Top Menu, and no studio card or other indication that this is an official release. The movie looked like a decent DVD transfer, not a Blu-ray release, and I might still contact Amazon. Everything about this packaging and presentation feels like it’s a bootleg.

La película llegó a tiempo y en buen estado. Está película es ya un clásico de la animación, su historia es genial, un gran homenaje a la película original. Viene hablada con inglés y subtítulos en inglés.

最初にこの作品を観たのは2002年だったかの海外のアニメフェスでだった。今でこそハイパー少女ヒロインのストーリーの陳腐さがとやかく言われがちだが、当時アニメとCGの融合という、実にさじ加減の難しいテーマを良くこなしていて素晴らしい映像美で喝采を受けていた。ヒロインかつアンドロイドのティマ。ふと翼を休めたハトを肩に乗せてスラム街の薄暗い小屋根から覗いた虚ろな空を見上げる、その瞬間風に躍る髪に陽光を浴びた眩さと瞬きはアニメ史上の一シーンとして特筆に値すると思う。彼女の平和と愛を願う気持ちと、それを「創造者」として立ち憚り踏み躙む人間の欲望に翻弄されるロボット達の悲劇と葛藤が美しく描かれている。手塚原作のオリジナルの焼直し、更には Fritz Lang の古典 “Metropolis” のリサイクルと揶揄されがちだが、そっちに行っちゃうとこのアートワークの素晴らしさは味わえないだろう。割と過小評価されがちな貴重な作品。

Esta película es una hermosa pieza de animación del legendeario Osamu Tesuka que debe pertenecer a la colección de cualquier amante de la animación y el arte del steelbook es precioso que es complementado con su envoltura de celofan.En adición con contener ambas versiones de DVD y Blu-rayLo único que le faltó para ser perfecta fué que tuviese más contenido y un menú con más opciones, pero al final creo que quien quiera esta pieza, la querrá por el steelbook

原作 手塚治虫、脚本 大友克洋、監督 りんたろう。20年前のアニメで、原作にリスペクトした古典スタイル。CGのレベルなど最新の作品との比較は禁物です。せめて原作かどんなものか知った上で購入した方がいいでしょう。商品名にもしっかりリージョンが｢B｣と表記されています。商品パッケージにも。ですが、私の国産ブルーレイプレイヤー（SONY製）で再生できました。おそらくリージョン・フリーです。参考画像を貼っておきます。（映像特典、音声、字幕の各メニュー画面）ただし、画質はDVDレベル。本編の鑑賞が目的ならオススメはできません。

Esta reimaginacion del clásico de Fritz Lang por Osamu Tezuka es maravillosa, la música y la animación es espectacular, además de la combinación con elementos digitales para la época y una historia si bien predecible no deja de ser hermosa, esta edición en steelbook es la reedicion que se merecía