Interstella 5555: the 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem

Director
Leiji Matsumoto
Country of origin
Japan
Format
OVA
Running time
70 mins
Year
2003

Interstella 5555: the 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem

By Lyndonimus
19th May 04

Four musicians from another galaxy are kidnapped by an evil music manager who wants to create the greatest band on Earth. The success of the band is instant but the stars are robbed of their souls and must fight for their freedom.

Well, what can I say, being a fan of Daft Punk I've been waiting for this DVD for quite some time and I can honestly say that I was not dissapointed! It's a moving tale that may seem quite silly at times (a manager! Huge musical cult? Axl Rose et al aliens?! hehe) but it carries itself well throughout with great direction and animation that is way above par. It remains completely dialogue free with a few sound effects and is indeed the 'Animated House musical' as described.

It weighs in at a hefty 70 odd minutes which is quite a stretch to do with no dialogue, in fact having watched it a few time you tend to close your eyes over your least favourite songs and pay attention to the ones you like. Sometimes you feel the dance music is wrong for certain sadder scenes, but somehow Daft Punk manage to pull it of with some really moving set pieces, it is truely moving.

However I am overly enthusiatic as I like the music. So I only reccomend this title to fans of Daft Punk, I can't imagine watching a Korn anime musical... However it's worth a rent to see the outstanding designs by the man Leiji Matsumoto.

As a testimony to their constant need to push the boundaries, it was Daft Punk (DISCOVERY, HOMEWORK) who approached Leiji Matsumoto, one of the living gods of Japanese animation, to collaborate on INTERSTELLAR 5555; the result is an audacious, dizzying animated musical the likes of which you've never seen before. Completed after 28 months of intensive work, the film (from a script by Daft Punk and their friend and collaborator Cedric Hervet) mixes music and science fiction with the decadent world of showbusiness and limousines with spaceships. Described by the band as a communication between cultures, it represents for them 'one of our childhood dreams, which has now become a reality'. - Taken form inner sleeve.

8/10

R2 DVD Notes

Notes: Working development of some of the songs. You get to see storyboards and how they were implemented to the final cut. Some hidden extras and the other usual stuff, fairly standard.

-- Lyndonimus 19th May 04

Interstella 5555: the 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem Images