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• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000EDH80I
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #186,664 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

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Video: NTSC Audio: Dolby Digital Region: All Region Dialogue: Japanese Subtitles: Japanese, English Number of Disc(s): 1 Runtime: 114 min. Description: An alternate world with an alternate history. The entire planet was divided between two opposing alliances. After fifty years of bitter warfare, the Greater Eastern Federation triumphs over the forces of Europa and gains dominion over the Eurasian continent. However, this is an empty victory. Years of chemical, biological and nuclear war have poisoned the land and left an exhausted population at the mercy of every pestilence and newly-mutated disease. It seems that there's little hope for humanity's future. Debate rages over the chances of finding some way to stave off the seemingly-inevitable decline of civilization. One man comes forward with a possible solution. Dr. Azuma is a geneticist who proposes a "neo-cell" treatment that can rejuvenate the body and regenerate humankind. He's driven in his studies by a desire to save his beloved wife, Midori, from the ravages of pollution-related disease. He appeals for funding to the government but the politicians in the Health Ministry turn him down, fearing that the new technology will threaten their entrenched powers. However, a sinister faction in the powerful military makes a secret offer to provide the support he needs to further his research. When an incident occurs in the lab that sends the Professor's "neo-cell" cloning experiment haywire, a race of mutant human beings (Shinzo Ningen) is unleashed upon the world. Instead of being the savior of mankind, the Professor's miraculous technology looks set to threaten its very existence...

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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spectacular, complex, and not American, July 22, 2007

By 

Timothy Perper (Philadelphia PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Casshern (DVD) (DVD)

"Casshern" is a long, live-action Japanese special effects ("tokusatsu") film with some spectacular CGI. It's also a difficult film because it's based on 20th century history - World War II and its atrocities - set into layers of visual metaphor that can bewilder an American viewer. It's set in the near future, as an endless war between Europe and Asia has nearly wound down, with Asia victorious in a world polluted beyond redemption by industrial waste, military destruction, genocide, ethnic cleansing, and political corruption without parallel. Mutations and disease are out of control, though the seemingly saintly Dr. Azuma is trying to discover a cure, based on cells cultured from a primitive ethnic group that might serve to rejuvenate and heal people's physical wounds. Dr. Azuma's wife, a classically beautiful Japanese woman, is going blind, and Dr. Azuma is hoping to find a cure for her when he is recruited by the military to work for them. At the same time, his son joins the Imperial Army to prove to himself that he is not a coward, and abandons his fiancée for war.

The long story that builds from these complex and contradictory motivations leads through disasters and destruction involving all Asia and Europe. Historical depth is developed in prolonged steampunk images and anachronisms (Imperial Army officers use samurai swords; aircraft are sculpted to carry the Leader's face on the forward fuselage; robots make war against dirty and tired foot soldiers). Dr. Azuma is culturing human body parts - legs, arms - in old fashioned vats, but by an unexplained error, these body pieces come together and coalesce into a new, synthetic species, the Neoroids, who escape amidst carnage and machine gun fire. Dr. Azuma's son is killed at the front and returned for a hero's burial, but Dr. Azuma brings him to the rejuvenation vat and the son is reborn as Casshern, the potentially immortal savior of the world.

I mention these details because they are so misleading. For Americans familiar with the tropes of films like Star Wars, it's old hat or so jumbled that it makes no sense. But that's not what "Casshern" is about. From the outset, the viewer must understand - and I suspect that Japanese viewers understand it from the very first scene - that there are no good guys in this movie: none at all. None of the plot details, stunningly recreated in CGI, signals any victory: "Casshern" is an imagined *documentary* of the collapse of the world, the corrupt and chaotic death of all ideals in mud, filth, criminal stupidity, greed, and war. The body parts, including a vat filled with eyeballs being stirred by an old woman, have been removed from corpses killed by the Army to feed the need for rejuvenated soldiers. The son himself is one such killer, and his rebirth as Casshern signals not the birth of a hero, but the immortal and karmic continuation of his own inescapable crimes. The Neoroids' escape signals not their rebirth in purity, but revenge and hatred, and they become killers as evil as the humans who killed them in the first place and who now hunt them.

So beware of this film: it is not a geek-out festival of disconnected but spectacular CGI images, but instead is a deeply layered morality play about evil and the inescapable retaliation that evil generates. It is very Japanese indeed, and anyone expecting "Star Wars," with its black-and-white morality of Good Guys versus the Evil Empire, will be bewildered and upset. "Casshern" is hard to forget, especially the ending. Just don't think that it's mindless entertainment or eye candy. It isn't. Highly recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous, Ambitious, Epic. . .and Flawed Art house Sci-Fi, July 18, 2008

By 

Garvinstomp (Chicago or LA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Casshern (DVD) (DVD)

Casshern is a tough movie to review. It's a big movie. A VERY big movie. To start, let's get into some of the tech specs on the DVD itself.

There's several versions out there floating around. The US 'Never Before Seen' Version is not good. It's 20 minutes shorter than the original and has some serious issues with the subtitles not even appearing on the screen, let alone being accurate when they do. It's listed as Uncut or The Director's Cut in some places. But it is neither.

The best region 1 version I've found is the Thai version. It has a great picture transfer, true surround, accurate and well-paced English subtitles, and lots of extras. Now, for the movie itself. . .

The first thing you'll notice is that Casshern is a lot of fun to look at-as long as CGI doesn't bother you. The environments are well-designed and the CGI look is much better than I would have expected on a budget much smaller than what US films get to play with. As well as CGI environments, there are portions of the film that are animated as well as stop-motion, or claymation, animation. But let me offer a warning: Those that have seen the trailer or are expecting a full-on action movie will be sorely disappointed.

The 'mano a mano' fight sequences are few and far between, and when they do pop up they aren't mind-blowing, wire-fu fests a la 'The Matrix'. They are actually slowly paced and play out more like something you'd see at a stage play. Most of the action is of the CGI variety, and the final battle is truly epic. But much of the film revolves around the morality tale on the nature of existence and other such philosophical tenets. The main characters struggle to find their place in the world and strive to make their relationships with those around them work.

The story takes place after a great war in a Japan that resembles a kind of neo-fascist, Final Fantasy-esque, overly industrialized society. Science is God, but politics stand in the way of progress. As is the tendency with asian films, plot details aren't spoon-fed to the audience. Character relationships and motivations often-times have to be ascertained by observing, even if it does tend to get a little frustrating at times.

While the story can get a bit stretched at times, it is enjoyable-and ultimately beautiful. The visuals are quite a treat. My biggest complaint is that it feels if the director may have bitten off more than he could chew. Sometimes it feels like the movie got away from him or that he tried to go a little bigger than budgets or technical constraints would allow.

That aside, this is definitely sci-fi art, not sci-fi action. Those looking for some live-action anime that is more story and character driven should enjoy this flick. Same goes for those that like their sci-fi not wrapped in fast-food tie-ins or toy sales. But if it's the next "Matrix" you're looking for (even if some reviewer says it's better than both Matrix sequels combined) you'd be better off skipping this one.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Casshern - The film you've been missing., May 1, 2006

By 

Film Noir Fedora - See all my reviews

This review is from: Casshern (DVD) (DVD)

An Epic Masterpiece. Full of comic-book color and wonderfully vivid fight scenes. This movie screams originality and even has the feel of Final Fanstasy seven. The only thing that may slow your feelings down is the fact that this movie is rather long. But, at the end, it's really worth watching.