SPRIGGAN
August 21st 2009 00:23
Category: Videos, Television
Based on the original comic by; Hiroshi Takashige & Ryoji Minagawa
Director: Hirotsugu Kawasaki
Screenplay by: Hirotsugu Kawasaki & Yasutaka Ito
Producers: Ayao Ueda, Kazuhiko Ikeguchi, Kazuya Hamana, Haruo Sai & Eiko Tanaka
Starring: Christopher Patton (Yu Ominae), Andy McAvin (Jean), Ted Pfister (Dr Meisel), Kelly Manison (Margaret), Kevin Corn (Colonel MacDougall), Mike Kleinhenz (Fattman), Spike Spencer (Little Boy), John Paul Shephard (Yamamoto), John Swasey (Mr Smith) & John Gremillion (Intelligence Officer)
Produced by: Shokukan, Bandai Visual, TBS, Toho/Studio 4C Production
English Language Version by: ADV Films
Released by: Madman Entertainment
Running Time: 91 minutes Rating: MA 15
There are some things that man was not meant to know, it’s not a bad premise on which to base either a comic or an anime feature based on a comic. Of course this is assuming that you can pull it off with a story that is convincing and not clichéd and hackneyed, as so many other features that have run with the things that man should know kind of trope have done in the past. Fortunately in this case of Spriggan though they do not fall into any pitfalls running with this kind of leitmotiv, in fact it works quite nicely with the drama and tension that unfolds. If you wanted to have this feature described in a simple sentence or two you could quite easily say that Spriggan is a movie about a mountain climbing expedition that goes wrong and everything falls in heap from that point onwards. Rather obtuse I know but it is a rather apt short description.
Within the world of Spriggan their exists an organisation known as ARCAM, this organisation exists solely to protect the world from the artefacts of an ancient and long forgotten civilization, the technology which this society had created was far too powerful for it to be left in the hands of those who would follow on from them. An ARCAM knows this only too well. In order to carry out its mandate of protecting humanity and the world from the potential dangers and hazards of such powerful relics ARCAM has a cadre of elite warriors to carry out this duty, warriors who are called Spriggan, hence the title of the film. Of course it goes without saying that there is obviously a need for such individuals and there are obviously those who believe that such technology and relics are theirs for the taking should they so desire it. It seems that there are certain arms within the US, in particular shadowy groups operating in the Pentagon, who do desire the secrets that ARCAM seeks to keep hidden and locked away.
One such secret is the legendary artefact known as Noah’s Ark, in some ways there is a resemblance to the ark of the Old Testament but this ark is something of a whole different order than the vessel that Noah was commanded to build by the Lord. For starters this particular vessel is definitely otherworldly in its shape, form and possibly origin and it certainly has far greater capabilities than the Biblical Noah built into his ark. Events open with the discovery of the ark on a remote mountain deep in the heart of Turkey on Mt Ararat, the location often ascribed to where the ark finally came to rest when the flood waters finally receded. The team who makes this find are actually from ARCAM and even though they do find it nestled away amongst the rocks and ice it revelation suddenly has catastrophic consequences for the team, the surrounding countryside and a satellite in orbit over that site.
Enter Yu Ominae, a young Japanese guy who on the surface looks like an ordinary high school student, lagging a bit behind with his studies but just your average Joe. In reality Yu is a Spriggan, one of ARCAMs Japanese divisions finest to be precise. When we first see him he is having something of a flashback to a previous time when he was on a recent mission for ARCAM, it’s an incident that causes him to momentarily freak out in class prompting the maths teacher to adjourn the class. Off course suffering from flashbacks isn’t the only thing Yu has to worry about; it seems someone is intent on killing his friends in a suitably gruesome manner and leaving little messages such as “Noah will be your grave”.
Not being the kind of guy who lets someone kill his friends without him doing something about Yu springs into action to find out just what is at the bottom of all this. And this leads him too…Noah’s Ark and the investigation being carried out by ARCAM at the Mt Ararat site. Of course there has been a systematic program by the Machine Corp, the sinister US organisation keen on uncovering the various relics, to eliminate the bulk of ARCAM, its forces and its elite warriors, the Spriggans. Naturally in such a situation there is going to be some serious carnage dished out and this movie has it by the truck load. In fact it has to be said the carnage unleashed in this film reaches the global level, forget massive shootouts this movies takes things right up to the level of completely changing the worlds ecosphere and twisting it beyond all recognition. Such is the power of Noah’s Ark.
Now the first time I actually saw this was when it was screened on SBS television a while back, and it has screened on their several times previously. Since then I have managed to get a DVD version of the feature and thus been able to take my time watching it and appreciating it. When I did first see I noticed that there was a marked similarity between its style of animation and that of Akira, that seminal anime feature that for the west began the fascination with all things anime. There is a reason for that, Katsuhiro Otomo, the man behind the Akira film was involved in the production of this feature as a general supervisor and involved in the screen story structure, so it seems that the makers have taken onboard certain features of his style and techniques. If you are not familiar with the works of this gentleman then I suggest you get yourself to your local video store or library and get a hold of Akira.
Spriggan is an entertaining film to watch, it has all the intensity you’d expect of an action anime filled with its moments of humour and brevity that keeps things form descending into a mire of senseless violence. Of course the whole take on the Noah’s Ark angle is very interesting indeed – very Erich von Daniken meets Al Gore meets Howards Phillip Lovecraft in that regard. If you have an hour and a half to kill at some stage during your busy schedule or on a weekend then I recommend watching Spriggan, enjoy the action, savour the drama and shudder as the tidal waves wash towards the huddled masses. I’d be interested in finding out what the original manga was like, something to track down just for curiosities sake.
Director: Hirotsugu Kawasaki
Screenplay by: Hirotsugu Kawasaki & Yasutaka Ito
Producers: Ayao Ueda, Kazuhiko Ikeguchi, Kazuya Hamana, Haruo Sai & Eiko Tanaka
Starring: Christopher Patton (Yu Ominae), Andy McAvin (Jean), Ted Pfister (Dr Meisel), Kelly Manison (Margaret), Kevin Corn (Colonel MacDougall), Mike Kleinhenz (Fattman), Spike Spencer (Little Boy), John Paul Shephard (Yamamoto), John Swasey (Mr Smith) & John Gremillion (Intelligence Officer)
Produced by: Shokukan, Bandai Visual, TBS, Toho/Studio 4C Production
Released by: Madman Entertainment
Running Time: 91 minutes Rating: MA 15
There are some things that man was not meant to know, it’s not a bad premise on which to base either a comic or an anime feature based on a comic. Of course this is assuming that you can pull it off with a story that is convincing and not clichéd and hackneyed, as so many other features that have run with the things that man should know kind of trope have done in the past. Fortunately in this case of Spriggan though they do not fall into any pitfalls running with this kind of leitmotiv, in fact it works quite nicely with the drama and tension that unfolds. If you wanted to have this feature described in a simple sentence or two you could quite easily say that Spriggan is a movie about a mountain climbing expedition that goes wrong and everything falls in heap from that point onwards. Rather obtuse I know but it is a rather apt short description.
Within the world of Spriggan their exists an organisation known as ARCAM, this organisation exists solely to protect the world from the artefacts of an ancient and long forgotten civilization, the technology which this society had created was far too powerful for it to be left in the hands of those who would follow on from them. An ARCAM knows this only too well. In order to carry out its mandate of protecting humanity and the world from the potential dangers and hazards of such powerful relics ARCAM has a cadre of elite warriors to carry out this duty, warriors who are called Spriggan, hence the title of the film. Of course it goes without saying that there is obviously a need for such individuals and there are obviously those who believe that such technology and relics are theirs for the taking should they so desire it. It seems that there are certain arms within the US, in particular shadowy groups operating in the Pentagon, who do desire the secrets that ARCAM seeks to keep hidden and locked away.
Enter Yu Ominae, a young Japanese guy who on the surface looks like an ordinary high school student, lagging a bit behind with his studies but just your average Joe. In reality Yu is a Spriggan, one of ARCAMs Japanese divisions finest to be precise. When we first see him he is having something of a flashback to a previous time when he was on a recent mission for ARCAM, it’s an incident that causes him to momentarily freak out in class prompting the maths teacher to adjourn the class. Off course suffering from flashbacks isn’t the only thing Yu has to worry about; it seems someone is intent on killing his friends in a suitably gruesome manner and leaving little messages such as “Noah will be your grave”.
Not being the kind of guy who lets someone kill his friends without him doing something about Yu springs into action to find out just what is at the bottom of all this. And this leads him too…Noah’s Ark and the investigation being carried out by ARCAM at the Mt Ararat site. Of course there has been a systematic program by the Machine Corp, the sinister US organisation keen on uncovering the various relics, to eliminate the bulk of ARCAM, its forces and its elite warriors, the Spriggans. Naturally in such a situation there is going to be some serious carnage dished out and this movie has it by the truck load. In fact it has to be said the carnage unleashed in this film reaches the global level, forget massive shootouts this movies takes things right up to the level of completely changing the worlds ecosphere and twisting it beyond all recognition. Such is the power of Noah’s Ark.
Now the first time I actually saw this was when it was screened on SBS television a while back, and it has screened on their several times previously. Since then I have managed to get a DVD version of the feature and thus been able to take my time watching it and appreciating it. When I did first see I noticed that there was a marked similarity between its style of animation and that of Akira, that seminal anime feature that for the west began the fascination with all things anime. There is a reason for that, Katsuhiro Otomo, the man behind the Akira film was involved in the production of this feature as a general supervisor and involved in the screen story structure, so it seems that the makers have taken onboard certain features of his style and techniques. If you are not familiar with the works of this gentleman then I suggest you get yourself to your local video store or library and get a hold of Akira.
Spriggan is an entertaining film to watch, it has all the intensity you’d expect of an action anime filled with its moments of humour and brevity that keeps things form descending into a mire of senseless violence. Of course the whole take on the Noah’s Ark angle is very interesting indeed – very Erich von Daniken meets Al Gore meets Howards Phillip Lovecraft in that regard. If you have an hour and a half to kill at some stage during your busy schedule or on a weekend then I recommend watching Spriggan, enjoy the action, savour the drama and shudder as the tidal waves wash towards the huddled masses. I’d be interested in finding out what the original manga was like, something to track down just for curiosities sake.
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