Strong and Moving!

Good concept, poorly executed.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Despite it's obvious flaws, this movie accomplishes what it was meant to. The movie is built around the metaphor of Phoenix, the bird that rises again from its own ashes. The hero Godoh is trained from his childhood as a pilot and ends up on a mission searching for a mysterious space monster who can destroy any battle ship sent after him. The hero is helped under way by his surrogate mother, a female robot guardian and the friends he acquires on his previous adventures. As the action of the movie unfolds, the meaning of the metaphor becomes clearer. The Phoenix is actually God himself who gives life to those who love and death to those who hate.While I didn't particularly care for animation or fight sequences and the fire bird really looks dated I liked a lot the mythological quality of the movie. Compared to that, all its failings seem minor.

I recently viewed animated manga feature SPACE FIREBIRD 2772 based on a series of Manga comics by Osamu Tezuka, with a dubbed English language soundtrack that sounded like it was recorded in the early eighties.The picture flows like Disney's 'Fantasia' meets Star Wars, with the innocence of Astro Boy. There are moments of real beauty where the animation on-screen marries perfectly with the booming classical soundtrack that helps to propel the action.Particularly enjoyable is the film's opening montage showing the lead character, Godo, growing from infant to adult in a mechanized environment that trains him to eventually become a pilot - all depicted free of dialogue. A voyage through a futuristic city via hover-car, all animated in a long, 'aerial' tracking-shot also helps to elevate SPACE FIREBIRD 2772 to a more 'cinematic' animated film.Character design, artistic design and over-all animation is above-par for a hand-drawn Manga from 1980's. A great film for Manga purists but some of the more Japan-centric themes might be trying for less adventurous viewers.NB: One interesting note on the English-language dubbed version viewed (Australian, region 4. Madman distribution) was the possibility that CARY GRANT may have provided one of the character voices. While not noted on the DVD credits or sleeve, a voice sounding like an older Grant (the actor would have been mid-seventies had the dubbed soundtrack been recorded shortly after the Japanese release) carries the actor's distinct vocal traits.

Apparently 2772 has suffered much the same way that Nausicaa suffered in translation, further add the dilemma of context and we have something that no doubt has justifiably earned some low scores from reviewers. I haven't seen the old dub, but now with its Region 4 reissue on DVD (and I assume an R1 to follow), what we get is something truly magnificent. Not perfect by any means, but definitely Tezuka working at the peak of his animating ability. For those who have seen his experimental short films, this film seems to be much from that same vein. Here is where context comes in, because as a stand alone film, 2772 may seem weird and hard to appreciate. Taken as a whole--with Tezuka's other work under your belt--well, then you have something truly special.The story does not seem a direct adaptation of any of the phoenix stories, but many familiar characters (both from Phoenix and elsewhere) appear. The story line will feel familiar and at home with anyone who has read the phoenix books, but it is something new (it is sort of a new twist on the book 'future'.) The real treat here though is the animation. With what is seemingly more funds than Tezuka knew what to do with, virtually every scene is fertile with new ideas. Shots are rarely 'flat' the way they are in TV shows like Astroboy and Kimba. Instead, we have fluid perspective where not only are the characters moving, but so is the 'camera'. There are numerous multi-layered scenes using various psychedelic textures and cloud patterns. Much effort is put into making every scene feel important. When all these techniques are not enough, Tezuka resorts to what he knows best, and just starts drawing the most surreal space creatures you could imagine. For instance, on a planet that seems to be run by Mustachio, we see every possible alien design, most of which are ridiculous (reminiscient of the surreal encounters in 'Nostalgia'.) From the perspective of a fan of animation and a fan of Tezuka, Phoenix 2772 (I'm not sure why it is translated 'space fire bird') is a 10/10. This is in so many ways the culmination of Tezuka's studies in animation, a celebration of new possibilities (and also of animation in general.) The flavor of the original Phoenix stories are also captured with perfection in this film despite 2772 being a new story.For outsiders however; those who don't know Tezuka's works and may not have interest in pre-90's anime, 2772 could be a difficult work that at times seems pointless, and with an end that makes little sense. I think the original language with subtitles should help tremendously, but the film is still quite surreal and takes some chances (that may be seen as faults by some.) With that in mind, I've given the film an 8/10 (but fans will know it deserves more.)

I first watched this film when i was about 10. I didn't really like it then though i thought it was a bit weird and even scary. I only saw it again a few days ago when i found a VHS copy on the internet,that's 14 years after i first saw it. I'll have to say it's not the best anime of all time,and it's not the place to start if you're not a fan. But i loved it all the same as it reminds me of my childhood. My memories of it were right as it was weird though not scary. The animation was OK but the problem was the direction as it was very patchy. So if you don't like anime or Tezuka then don't bother. But it is definitely worth investigating,and frankly i prefer it over the newer animes which seem to be more about the animation and the special effects than the story or characters. Another thing about this movie is that it has great music.The version i've got is the dubbed version which as usual is crap. I know that it's been released on DVD(region 4),i hope it gets a release in the UK. 10/10