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Review : Interstella 5555 on DVD
I want to make it perfectly clear that I have been a long time listener of Techno since the early 90s. When my friends were ingesting a steady diet of Grunge and Metal I was also enjoying some MIDI made electronic anthems. I also loved Anime long before it became cool or respected. Right now you can walk into any major DVD store and have a selection of hundreds of Japanese animation titles. It was not always like this.
So when I first caught glimpse of Anime legend Leiji Matsumoto's collaboration with techno Gods Daft Punk I knew that one day it would be mine. Leji Matsumoto has decades of accomplishments but the work that he is most known for in the US is Battleship Yamato or Star Blazers as it is known here.
Interstella 5555 is a full anime movie set to the album Discovery by Daft Punk. It was made to be videos for the band and then released as a direct to video Anime. Direct to video Anime productions are a big part of the Japanese animation industry and there is no social sigmas associated with it. It was made to a TV ratio and there is no wide screen formatting. There is almost no lyrics to the album and it is a flowing emotional masterpiece with each song representing particular emotions from the human experience. There are almost no text, no sound effects that are not part of the original music but there is a story and plot.
It is a fantasy about a planet of blue humanoids who are invaded and their beloved musical stars are abducted and taken to earth. There they are scanned and altered and their memories are erased and altered. Then they are signed by a major record label and corporate rock turns them into the biggest stars on earth all while they are kept brainwashed and docile with mind control devices in their glasses. But when they were captured there was a lone giant guitar shaped star fighter followed them to earth and rescued them from their captures. It ends up the manager was part of an interstellar cult who has plans to dominate the universe to be powered by gold records. Sure it is not Shakespeare but it is a damn cool video experience to watch and hear.
If I had to give this a MPAA rating it would probably be PG. There is no real sex but the story is not with out sacrifice and loss. I think that this DVD would be perfect for kids, teenagers, people who like anime and techno. I was shocked that I only found one copy at one music store but I think that this movie deserves a much wider release. Daft Punk's music is a brilliant mixture of funk, rock and techno and is easily enjoyed by those who are put off by harder techno beats. The animation is an artistic accomplishment of traditional 2D animation.
I was reminded of the fusion of music and animation in Fantasia and Heavy Metal. Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, cats and kittens this is one cool DVD that deserves much more chance for people to enjoy it. But thanks to the internet all of you cool people reading this can order your own copy and check it out.
Update: There are video clips from this film here
Jake at January 13, 2004 
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Comments
Jake, I just want to say thanks for pointing this out to me. I've long been a fan of both Daft Punk and Leiji Matsumoto. When I first saw the video for "One More Time" I nearly wet my pants in excitement. I was somewhat disappointed when they stopped releasing the videos after "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger", but the appearance of this DVD now makes my life complete.
Oh, and you should fix your links to amazon. It appears you switched the two links.
Posted by: Bob at January 13, 2004 4:37 AM
Fixed the links. Yeah they did the entire album from start to finish without editing. It is quite a trip
Posted by: Jake at January 13, 2004 9:41 AM
AHHHHHH!!!!! AHHHHHHH!!!! THERE'S AN END TO THE DISCOVERY MUSIC VID SAGA!?!?!? I had no idea that they made the anime the entire length of Discovery. I thought they were going to continue the saga with the next CD. I HAVE TO GET IT!!!! Thanks for the info, Jake!
Posted by: Slippy Douglas at January 13, 2004 3:38 PM
Damn! Cool, thanks for the info. This dropped under my radar. I've never heard of it and it's right up my alley. I want to check this out.
Posted by: ZYirAH at January 14, 2004 11:57 PM
Yeah, Daft Punk & Leiji Matsumoto's collaboration is very great!! I've been listening to Daft Punk since there first single "ONE MORE TIME" when it is released on 1997. After seeing there video for "ONE MORE TIME" I been wanting to have a copy of it, I hope it is available here in the Philippines..
Posted by: antipatiko at February 13, 2004 1:59 AM
Thank the powers that be for daft punk and leiji matsumoto. i have to have this dvd. i first saw the videos for "one more time" and "digital love" about three years ago and my heart was captured. plz send me any info about interstellar 5555. anything at all.
Posted by: traceyelyce at May 2, 2004 12:41 AM
i love interstella 5555 ; daft punk and lidji matsumuto !!!!
Posted by: stella at November 28, 2005 12:11 PM
I love Matsumoto san works since CAPTAIN HARLOCK MY YOUTH IN THE ARCADIA ohh my good Daft Punk and Matsumoto made an excellent work GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Erendira at December 8, 2006 11:04 PM
How old are you? Have you seen other videos from daft punk? I haven't really dove into the techno music yet and I know very few techno bands but I think it's pretty cool. I found a mario remix that was tecno. I probably only insult country music which is usually about someone getting drunk and acting stupid or someone dies or something like that. I've loved anime since I was about 10. I used to watch all the Sailor Moon cartoons and DBZ. I grew out of it and currently I'm hooked on Fushigi Yuugi and Fruits Basket. I also love Dot.hack (I wish they'd make a 3-d gaming device similar to theirs so I could play something like that) Chobits, Kenshin and some other ones. I don't know if I want to list them all. Sorry.
Posted by: Thursday at January 5, 2007 7:08 PM
