The creative love child of anime director Satoshi Kon and screenwriter Sadayuki Mura (PERFECT BLUE), MILLENNIUM ACTRESS recounts the legend of an actress named Chiyoko Fujiwara who... more
Millennium Actress DVD
Millennium Actress has the stylistic sophistication of Perfect Blue with the empathy ... more
warmth and truth of Spirited Away. A gorgeous theatrical animation from the makers of anime classic Perfect Blue and last years' adorable Tokyo Godfathers. Millenniu...
10 out of 10 similar offers for Millennium Actress (Animated) (DVD)
Millennium Actress
Millennium Actress has the stylistic sophistication of Perfect Blue with the empathy, ... more
warmth and truth of Spirited Away.A gorgeous, theatrical animation from the maker of anime classic Perfect Blue and last year's adorable Tokyo Godfathers. Millennium Actress begins as a TV crew track down 70-something screen goddess Chiyoko Fujiwara. Chiyoko begins to tell her life story, at which point she literally steps into the past, dragging the confused crew into her memories - one moment they're discussing dramatic art, the next dodging bullets in the midst of a movie as the boundaries between film, memory, fact and fiction become a breathless blur. Chiyoko's history is depicted as a series of screen roles in which she appears as a feudal princess one moment, a lonely astronaut the next, endlessly chasing a lost love across the millennium. This stunning plunge through the centuries is testament not just to the pleasures but also the great strengths of animation: the many ages of screen goddess Chiyoko are achieved not with dubious CGI but artfully drawn. Playing with subjective and objective realities and richly textured with swooningly beautiful imagery, the film is a mental and visual anime feast.
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 1981 - Drama - Director: Franco Zeffirelli - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Brooke Shields, Martin Hewitt, Shirley Knight, Don Murray, Richard Kiley, Penelope Milford, Beatrice Straight
Production Year: 1995 - Drama - Director: Ang Lee - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Greg Wise, Hugh Laurie, Robert Hardy
A review by DBZKing on Millennium Actress (Animated) (DVD) October 5th, 2005
Author's product rating:
Did you enjoy it?
Loved it
Story
Outstanding
Characters / Performances
Outstanding
Special Effects
Good
How does it compare to similar films?
Outstanding
Advantages:
Story | Looks | Characters
Disadvantages:
Not For Children | Story Can Be Complicated For Some
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
This is a review on a recently purchased anime film, and also recently released into the UK called Millennium Actress which was done in the year 2001 by Director Satoshi Kon whom did Perfect Blue in 1997. Satoshi Kon also wrote the story of the film also, so it is completely his film.
It starts off with a space shuttle, and a women going into it, with a man screaming 'you don't have to do this' and that type of thing, then after that the film flashes to these two director, camera people. They are in search of the most famous star from their studio as the studio is being torn down. The most famous actress they had is called Chiyoko Fujiwara who is now in her 70's, and she tells her tale of how she became the Millennium Actress.
The tale will split between many different periods of life, will go to 1930's to samurai times in Japan, and from lots of different periods of movies that she has starred in, while the Director Genya Tachibana may play a part in the tale as some of the acting, and the story mixes through these films, and quest to find the man that Chiyoko Fujiwara once bumped into and was given a key to unlock the most important thing, and a search for the safety of that person which manages to become part of all of the films and between the films.
It switches between the flashback of the tale, and to the place where Chiyoko Fujiwara is telling the story to Genya Tachibana in Chiyoko's home. The story will end up meeting each other from beginning to end so it will all make sense. Every role Chiyoko plays throughout her life is new and exciting with the mixture with Genya playing some miscellaneous roles in the story, which can lead to some laughs.
You will not want to watch this film if you are after action, major comedy or anything, you watch this film for its story, and the mild laughs make it a better film itself and make it more enjoyable to watch, but the story is the main part of this film which is the thing that makes it marvelous to watch.
I enjoyed this film a lot, the story is absorbing and keeps you hooked throughout the whole film, so you will not be bored one moment, and will want to watch the film over and over like I did. The story is very good, the story of how a young school girl that became famous by being interviewed at a young age and how her older self tells the story to you, very good.
There are very few important characters in this, but they all play a big role in this film, and very good performances and act like real people. The character Chiyoko acts very good throughout all of her different acting parts throughout the entire movie. There are no special effects in this film, as animation is already one big special effect, which makes it a good film as it is anime. But the film is based on the Manga comic, which is a good film.
The soundtrack of the film is awesome like most anime films, which soundtrack sounds really good and does set the mood of the film, which is even better. There are lots of different tunes in this film that was originally made for Millennium Actress. I don't know how this compares to other films by the same director as the only other film is Perfect Blue and I have not seen that anime just yet. I got this film for £12.99 from Play.com on the release day which was 26th of September which was the day I also got Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.
I did enjoy this film, the story was really good and did enjoy the characters performances and how the story goes, I give this film 5 star * * * * *, because I though it was magnificent, it is for people that watch films for the story and not for action or anything like that, the story is the thing that makes this film good.
RATED - PG DIRECTOR - Satoshi Kon LENGTH - 83 Minutes PRICE - £12.99
THIS FILM CONTAINS
Some scenes that may be unsuitable for children
THIS FILM IS
Complicated Very Good Good For More The One Viewing
THIS FILM IS NOT
Boring Long Rubbish
Thanks For Reading, I hope that this review is useful to you and if I have missed anything or something that would make this review more useful then please let me know, I will be looking forward to reading any comments and thank you for the ratings. Thanks!
Advantages: A clever idea packaged in a breathtakingly beautiful manner Disadvantages: The music will date quickly
...Naruto Cosplay Event, I’m guessing Millennium Actress’s sales weren’t quite what they were hoped to be. Indeed, it got nothing near the amount of hype Kon Satoshi’s last film, Perfect Blue, managed to receive. And this is a shame, because Millennium Actress is not only an excellent and rather clever little film, but is in fact one of the best animated movies I have ever seen – and I’ve seen a fair few in my time.
A documentary filmmaker and his ... ...by the goofy cameraman.
Millennium Actress is a film-lover’s film, and to really enjoy it, it helps to be familiar with the kind of films that are popular enough in Japan for their settings to have seeped into public consciousness, the kinds that are always returned to for historical dramas, though a pretty general knowledge is enough – one doesn’t need to be able to spot Shinsengumi coats to understand a general time period. Animation fans also ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Plot: The creative love child of anime director Satoshi Kon and screenwriter Sadayuki Mura (PERFECT BLUE), MILLENNIUM ACTRESS recounts the legend of an actress named Chiyoko Fujiwara who mysteriously disappeared during her greatest moment of fame. Via a sweeping backdrop of historical and fictional events that breathlessly span time, Chiyoko relates her saga to a documentary filmmaker named Genya who has tracked the actress down to her remote hideaway. As the story unfolds, Chiyoko's personal history becomes inextricably intertwined with the characters she plays in the movies throughout her long career, all in pursuit of her first love, a political activist painter who left her only with a mysterious key that sets the whole story in motion. Along the way Chiyoko's quest is hampered by an older actress and a mysterious scarfaced man. Luckily, Genya and his sardonic cameraman find themselves swept up in the story also, and come to her rescue several times. It all may sound a little odd, and western audiences not used to anime's occasionally static style may take a few minutes to adjust, but once they do, countless rewards await: brilliant animation, a treasure trove of insight into Japan's history and film industry, and for anyone who's ever loved and lost, an almost assured shedding of many heartfelt tears.
Release details
DVD Region: DVD
Studio(s): MANGA ENTERTAINMENT; PINNACLE VISION
Release date: 26/09/2005
No of Discs: 2
Catalogue No: MANG 2038
Barcode: 5022366203845
Screenwriter: Sadayuki Murai, Satoshi Kon
Technical information
Animated: Animated
DVD Description
The creative love child of anime director Satoshi Kon and screenwriter Sadayuki Mura (PERFECT BLUE), MILLENNIUM ACTRESS recounts the legend of an actress named Chiyoko Fujiwara who mysteriously disappeared during her greatest moment of fame. Via a sweeping backdrop of historical and fictional events that breathlessly span time, Chiyoko relates her saga to a documentary filmmaker named Genya who has tracked the actress down to her remote hideaway. As the story unfolds, Chiyoko's personal history becomes inextricably intertwined with the characters she plays in the movies throughout her long career, all in pursuit of her first love, a political activist painter who left her only with a mysterious key that sets the whole story in motion. Along the way Chiyoko's quest is hampered by an older actress and a mysterious scarfaced man. Luckily, Genya and his sardonic cameraman find themselves swept up in the story also, and come to her rescue several times. It all may sound a little odd, and western audiences not used to anime's occasionally static style may take a few minutes to adjust, but once they do, countless rewards await: brilliant animation, a treasure trove of insight into Japan's history and film industry, and for anyone who's ever loved and lost, an almost assured shedding of many heartfelt tears.
Professional reviews
Review: To watch Millenium Actress is to witness one cinematic medium celebrating another, an expression of movie love that is wonderfully eccentric and deeply affecting. (New York Times, )
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Listed on Ciao since : 05/10/2005
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