Product Details

• Actors: Daniel Craig, Patrick Floersheim, Catherine McCormack, Laura Blanc, Romola Garai
• Format: NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005JP9U
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #327,857 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Renaissance" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Style trumps substance in Renaissance, a 2006 French film whose breathtaking visuals largely overcome its shortcomings in the areas of story and character development. Detailed in a lengthy and absorbing "making of" featurette, the film's look is a combination of CG animation, motion capture, and a palette consisting solely of black & white (there are a few splashes of color late in the proceedings, but no gray whatsoever). And while it has a few obvious antecedents (the filmmakers readily acknowledge the influence of Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, not to mention the much earlier, Expressionist work of Fritz Lang and Orson Welles), Renaissance, with its commingling of heavily processed live action and graphic novel sensibilities, looks very little like anything you've ever seen before. The setting is Paris in the year 2054, and it is here that director Christian Volckman and his crew do their best work. The French capital is certainly recognizable (the Eiffel Tower and Montmartre's Sacre Coeur are two familiar landmarks), but its classic architecture is glazed with all manner of futuristic touches, from vast glass penthouses to layers of transparent walkways outside Notre Dame Cathedral; and with the preponderance of the action taking place at night, frequently in the rain, the City of Light more often suggests a very literal representation of film noir. As for the story, it's nothing special. Hard-nosed police Captain Barthélémy Karas (voiced in this English version by Daniel Craig) is searching for a female scientist who works for Avalon, one of those sinister mega-corporations that seem to run everything in movies like this; seems the woman, who has been kidnapped, possesses what's referred to as "the protocol for immortality," and Avalon, which promises good health, beauty, and long life for all, desperately wants her back. The characters are a bit stiff (physically and otherwise), the dialogue is occasion! ally stilted, and the film is sometimes so dark that it's hard! to tell what's going on. But most of Renaissance looks so amazing that such deficiencies can easily be ignored, at least the first time through. --Sam Graham

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Visually stunning... so where's the extras?, July 23, 2007

By 

Cubist (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Renaissance (DVD)

Renaissance is an animated film made in the tradition of Sin City and A Scanner Darkly. Like the former film, it was initially shot with live actors on a green-screen soundstage and then this footage was animated like the latter film. The result is a striking-looking futuristic world in the Cyberpunk mould.

The look of Renaissance is classic Cyberpunk: a fusion of high-technology and the grimy, run-down look of the mean city streets - a mix of Mickey Spillane and science fiction. This is one of those rare animated films made for adults with a style that is reminiscent of Frank Miller's Sin City graphic novels and also looks like it leapt right from the pages of Heavy Metal magazine. The stark use of black and white with no shadings of gray creates a very distinctive look. The attention to detail is also incredible - a vivid, atmospheric world that instantly envelopes you.

Much like the society depicted in Blade Runner, the higher up one goes - both literally and financially - the look becomes cleaner and more futuristic, reflecting the money being spent and the power being wielded, and this is epitomized by sleek, ultra-modern look of Avalon. As Renaissance unspools, the viewer is bombarded with one evocative image after another. For example, a gun battle takes place in a small forest encased in glass on top of a building.

The lone extra is "The Making of Renaissance" examines this French production whose origins lie in a short film made in 1997 that fused animation with live-action footage. The filmmakers picked Paris because so many SF films they admired were set either in New York City or Tokyo and wanted to try something different. This featurette traces the film's development from the screenwriting stage to post-production. Not surprisingly, they cite Blade Runner and the crime novels of James Ellroy as the primary influences.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Truly Difficult Film To Judge, July 24, 2007

By 

W. Scott Heitman (Gainesville, Fl United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Renaissance (DVD)

Renaissance is one of a very short list of non-japanese adult-oriented (computer) animated films. As such, it wins point from me just for being daring. In our western culture, animation is supposed to be for children.

Add to that the artful restriction of the color palette to just the strictest hues of black and white. Throughout the course of the entire movie, what the audience sees consists entirely of shadows. Combine that with the visual style of a neo-noir future, and you have a stunning film to watch.

On top of beautiful visuals, the film sports a haunting score. Each cue seemed to suggest that yet another mystery would surface around the next corner.

The problem is this: If the film had been shot as a live-action movie, there would be nothing remarkable about it. Daniel Craig feels slightly miscast here, and you've seen the plot a million times. Worse, some of the writing is so bad that it breaks the spell that the visuals are attempting to weave.

I could have given Renaissance three stars to compromise between the beautiful visuals and the mediocre story/writing, but I think that would give the wrong impression. Ultimately, there's some real visual poetry here, and I intend to buy the dvd. Just don't expect a great story to boot.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW! engaging and deliberate film., April 12, 2007

By 

Zebrashoji (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews

I thoroughly enjoyed this engaging and deliberate film. (I am not a fan of comic books, manga, anime or art films) I saw the film on a small screen - only approx. 30 feet and with all of the absolutely stunning set designs I think a bigger screen is a must. The futuristic city of Paris blends the old elaborate architecture we all admire with fantastically ultra modern additions that echo Blade Runner, The Fifth Element and The Jetsons.
I dreaded having to watch a feature length film in 3D black and white - but it totally worked for me. I had to focus a little more than usual as the lack of color and comic book appearance challenged my normal perception of action and life on film. The film is literally black and white with very little grayscale. (I recall one scene where I actually noticed a girl's left eye had a hint of grey!)
The 3-D characters are more comic book style and I found them a lot less distracting than the real-life-like characters in Final Fantasy. The lip synch was fine and the original language is English (not French).
The story moved at a moderate pace which I appreciated as it was not easy to digest two toned action. It was an interesting experience to realize that I can watch faster in color or B/W with grey scale! The dialogue was tight and well written (and delivered with panache by the whole cast including the very sexy voice of Daniel Craig) and none of the lame commentary that Hollywood movies often excel in. The last line of the movie spoken by a girl in a TV ad was an excellent finish and the best movie ending I have seen for years - not just what she said but how she said it (sorry - no spoilers here).
The script had no gratuitous sex, violence or bad language. Every expletive was well earned, every breast had its pert place and the violence was impactful, graceful at times and fleeting - as in not so graphic that it stays with you in nightmares.
The story unfolds as an interesting enough tough guy helps girl find kidnapped sister. The unique visual, sci-fi elements (ubiquitous transparent data screens that flip out from a smaller than palm sized gadget) and way cool set designs (transparent floors spanning huge pedestrian areas) help differentiate the common action plot - then the story develops into an intrigue surrounding Avalon - an evil and powerful corporation preaching beauty and youth that will do anything to get their hands on ... a sudden twist in the plot ... and it is only at the end of the movie where you are confronted with life or death. The issue of immortality will stick with you.
This is not only an excellent film but a unique experience so I can highly recommend this movie on the big screen in a theatre with no distractions - and to view it in one sitting. It is so visually unique that to take even a small break in viewing will shatter the atmosphere and interrupt your momentum of perception in a black and white world (and ruin the impact of the splash of color that appears momentarily in the middle of the film).
The director Christian Volckman was brilliant - not pretentious or arty but constantly cool, creative and engaging and never distracting. The action scenes were riveting and edgy. I will absolutely buy the DVD.