REDLINE Blu-ray Review (US)

This is the third review for Redline on Blu-ray at ScreenAnarchy. We've tackled the UK disc and the AUS disc so far, and now it's time to hit up the US version. It's awesome. Redline brags about being a completely hand drawn, if digitally composited, film the likes of which we aren't likely to see for many more years.  If this is any indication of what we'll eventually be missing, it's time to cry. Manga entertainment is releasing Redline on Blu-ray through Anchor Bay in the US, and if the partnership results is discs like this, you can sign me up for everything they've got coming down the pike. Redline rules.

"Redline" is about the biggest and most deadly racing tournament in the universe. Only held once every five years, everyone wants to stake their claim to fame, including JP, a reckless dare-devil driver oblivious to speed limits with his ultra-customized car - all the while, organized crime and militaristic governments want to leverage the race to their own ends. Amongst the other elite rival drivers in the tournament, JP falls for the alluring Sonoshee - but will she prove his undoing, or can a high speed romance survive a mass destruction race?

I don't think that there's anything I can say about this film that hasn't been said before me and more eloquently on these pages, so I'm going to cheat and rely on my colleagues to provide quotes for how awesome this film is:

Start your engines ladies and gentlemen, for a truly out of this world experience! The visual and auditory treat of a lifetime, indulge in the sight and sound enhanced on the incredulously over the top, no holds barred, white knuckle, conventional but exciting words here, insanity that is Redline!

-Kwenton Bellette

If the devil is in the details Lucifer is very present here: while the general story could hardly have been simpler the execution is a marvelous thing to behold. Many may find it too hyper for its own good but "Redline" is fun from start to finish, a collection of wicked sight-gags wrapped around a 'rah-rah' feeling of righteousness. And the intricate drawings have to be seen to be believed.

-Ard Vijn

Redline is a daft science fiction cartoon about racing cars very fast, but it treats every aspect of this with so much love, craftsmanship and passion it ends up every bit as fantastically cinematic (arguably more so) than films from Ghibli, Pixar et al with far more polish or budget. Far and away one of the most exciting animated movies of the decade at the very least and a blast of joyful pop-art adrenaline with a heart, Redline comes unhesitatingly recommended.

-Eight Rooks

Director Takeshi Koike, who did the animation for FUNKY FOREST and Ishii's THE TASTE OF TEA, as well as NINJA SCROLL, brings Ishii's vision to life. It feels like every centimeter of every frame is filled with some kind of kinetic color or action or bit of business, making it an experience that is sure to overload the senses. REDLINE feels like it's feeding adrenalized candy to your nervous system for the entire length of its running time.

-Peter Martin

The Disc:

If you didn't have an anime disc to push your home system's capacity to the limit, you will once you get Redline. Right from the get go, the image quality is absolutely jaw dropping. This is modern stuff, so there is no grain at all, unlike older films which are typically transferred from film prints, Redline was transferred directly from the DI, which means perfect image quality. The colors and shapes leap off the screen as the cars race across it. This is candy colored mayhem at it's finest. An anime counterpart to Speed Racer in terms of it's outlandish color scheme, and character design that rivals good ol' Heavy Metal make this one hard to miss.

The sound, how do I describe the all encompassing audio tracks on this disc. Mind-blowing. You'll feel every vibration of every souped up mean machine on the screen. There are gun battles, explosions, and giant monsters, just in case the race wasn't enough. This one will test your speakers, there is no doubt about that.

The extras on this disc mirror those on Manga UK's edition. There is the 67 minute Perfect Guide to Redline which features a long conversation between writer Katsuhito Ishii and director Takeshi Koike interspersed with animatics and storyboard comparisons. This is the major bonus on the disc, and it is quite enlightening. Following that is the Quick Guide to Redline, which is a more EPK styled 20+ minute fluff piece on the film. The final extra was very interesting to watch, it is the 2006 Redline trailer. This piece is a 5 minute promo trailer featuring many of the characters in the film and their vehicles, but animated much more roughly than the finished product. None of the footage in this sales trailer made it into the film, but the ideas and concept are very clear.

This movie and disc are top notch stuff. If I'd seen this in 2011, it probably would have made my top ten. Order this one and you'll be glad you did.