PERFECT BLUE (MA) 1997
SYNOPSIS:
May contain
spoilers...
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Synopsis from Madman.com.au:
Pop singer Mima Kirigoe looks forward to a bright new
career when she quits her chart-topping trio to become an
actress. When she lands a role in a sexually charged
murder mystery, Mima's life begins to fall apart. Reality
and hallucinations merge into a terrifying netherworld
where innocence is lost and dreams become nightmares.
Anime directed by Satashi Kon.
Running Time: 80 minutes.
Rated MA 15+.
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DVD $34.95 - Multilingual (English/Japanese, Dolby 5.1)
Extras: interview with director Satashi Kon, interviews
with voice actors,
photo montage, behind the scenes performances, bonus music
Region 1 / 2 / 4
Video - $29.95 ( English language)
Available in Australia from Madman.
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WEBSITE:
www.perfectblue.com/synopsis.html
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HEROIC-CINEMA'S REVIEW:
A hallucinogenic animated thriller about a pop idol
who is changes careers to acting. She goes from tiny roles to
demeaning roles, and then things get stranger.
The film explores the whole idol phenomenon - who are you, a person or the public's idea of a person? What happens when you want to become your real self?
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The plot is intricately enmeshed with that of the soap opera being
filmed within the film. Throw in a few layered dream sequences and
soon enough like the lead character you won't know what you are or
who you are, only that you have to keep your eyes open and your
breath held until you get to the end of watching
Perfect Blue.
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The fact that the film is animated gives director Satashi Kon 100%
control over his camera. The result is picture perfect thriller -
exactly the right angle, reflection and effect for maximum impact to
every scene. It's violent, uncanny, unsettling, upsetting and utter
genius.
Rating: 9 psychotic anime popstar alter egos out of 10.
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DVD EXTRAS:
The DVD transfer is sharp and clean, with yellow
subtitles (in a very attractive font, I must say!). The disc has
Japanese and English tracks. I originally saw the film in English,
and the performances are pretty good - some time and care was taken
with the dubbing. The menus are suitably unsettling, striking the
Perfect Blue tone ("Excuse me, who are you?") from the
moment you pop the disc in. (Note to self: must buy soundtrack.)
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The extras are included in a section called "Mima's Room"
which is done up to look like the homepage in the movie. It's
effective and kinda creepy, although the illusion is slightly broken
by the humdrum inclusion of promos for other releases.
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The core of the extras are interviews with the voice cast and the
director. It's fascinating to compare the attitude of English Mima
(who talks about her role) and Japanese Mima (who talks about
herself) - in fact, given the themes of the film, she unwittingly
becomes a meta-Mima. (When was the last time you saw someone close
an interview with "Thank you for supporting my career"?).
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Satashi Kon is also interviewed about the film and, as you could
guess, is pretty intense about it. There's some delightful video
footage of the three singers recording the Cham song in Japanese -
they are refreshingly normal! Finally there is a photo montage of
high res stills which is kind of interesting but goes on a bit long.
All in all, I spent a pleasant half hour meandering through this
stuff, and picked up a little more about the film-maker's intent.
But main reason to pick up the DVD remains the perfect picture and
Japanese language option.
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Reviewed by Mark Morrison
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