Tech News
Reviewed by Chris McEneany, 16th August 2010.
Eureka pull out all the stops with a terrific presentation of this unlikely but highly acclaimed SF offering. The animation is sublime and hypnotic, the story as fascinating for the things it doesn't reveal as for the things it does. Overflowing with ideas both thematic and visual, Fantastic Planet taps into humanity's ceaseless obsession with intolerance, slavery and genocide, gives the heady stew a surrealist stir and then serves it all up with those quintessential spices of the devoutly fantastique. Cute without being saccharine, violent with being shocking, Laloux's film is a spellbinding exercise in the otherworldly. His love of psychedelia and schizophrenic narrative structure is prevalent and forms a winning combination. Dream up any of those fabulous SF book jackets or illustrations from Weird or Astounding Tales and ramp up their mesmerising invention tenfold and you begin approach the splendour of Fantastic Planet.
A great transfer is complemented with a fine set of extras that dive into the mind of the film's creator and show us some other examples of his eclectic oeuvre. A comprehensive booklet rounds out an enthralling package.
Part Pierre Boulle, part Terry Gilliam, Fantastic Planet is a rare sensory and cerebral treat in an age when spectacle often comes at the expense of originality and intelligence. Fantastic by name and certainly fantastic by nature, Eureka's new hi-def release comes very highly recommended.
Read the full review...
Eureka pull out all the stops with a terrific presentation of this unlikely but highly acclaimed SF offering. The animation is sublime and hypnotic, the story as fascinating for the things it doesn't reveal as for the things it does. Overflowing with ideas both thematic and visual, Fantastic Planet taps into humanity's ceaseless obsession with intolerance, slavery and genocide, gives the heady stew a surrealist stir and then serves it all up with those quintessential spices of the devoutly fantastique. Cute without being saccharine, violent with being shocking, Laloux's film is a spellbinding exercise in the otherworldly. His love of psychedelia and schizophrenic narrative structure is prevalent and forms a winning combination. Dream up any of those fabulous SF book jackets or illustrations from Weird or Astounding Tales and ramp up their mesmerising invention tenfold and you begin approach the splendour of Fantastic Planet.
A great transfer is complemented with a fine set of extras that dive into the mind of the film's creator and show us some other examples of his eclectic oeuvre. A comprehensive booklet rounds out an enthralling package.
Part Pierre Boulle, part Terry Gilliam, Fantastic Planet is a rare sensory and cerebral treat in an age when spectacle often comes at the expense of originality and intelligence. Fantastic by name and certainly fantastic by nature, Eureka's new hi-def release comes very highly recommended.
Read the full review...