GALAXY EXPRESS

GALAXY EXPRESS 999

I rarely review anime or animated movies mainly because there's so many of them, and so many of them are the same thing over and over. I'm not a big fan of cartoons, and I will never review a CGI cartoon movie, being that I've refused to watch any of them. There are a few good exceptions though, and anything from Reiji Matsumoto or Rin Taro is greatness. Reiji or 'Leiji' Matsumoto is one of the greats of Japanese sci-fi manga or anime, the other is Ozamu Tezuka. Reiji Matsumoto's works are some of the most important science fiction ever created in history. That's a big statement, and GALAXY EXPRESS is one of the most important science fiction films one can ever watch. Its themes are universal and timeless, and no matter what age you are, it never gets old. GALAXY EXPRESS is part of a unique saga from Matsumoto, which involves a number of films and television series. You might begin with the movie or series, QUEEN MILLENNIA, which sets up the origin of the villain of GALAXY EXPRESS, but it isn't essential in order to view GALAXY EXPRESS, as each stands alone.

Our story begins with a poor fatherless child and his mother, and a group of evil cyborgs who are out 'human hunting.' In the future, the rich get to buy machine bodies, and live forever without need of food or medicine. Tetsuro Hoshino's mother is killed by human trophy hunters right in front of him. This sets Tetsuro off on an obsessive journey to obtain a mechanical body so he can kill Count Mecha, the nefarious henchman of the Millennium Queen, Queen of La Metel, the home of the Machine Empire. He first must steal a pass to board the Galaxy Express train to the stars. This flying train is both part of the surreal vision of this science fiction movie, as well as obvious metaphor. It is a movie about growing up, it is a movie about revenge, it is a movie about transhumanism, freedom, oppression, humanity and so many things, and everything in this movie works. It is a film in the category of the greatest Oscar winners, but it is animated, and Japanese. Tetsuro goes on a journey to learn about his own humanity, and the humanity of others, and it isn't always easy to grasp. His burning desire to exact revenge, and obtain a cybernetic body is heartbreaking and yet fully relatable, and he is to learn from others who have gone before him what it will mean to lose his humanity. In life, one cannot ignore the lives of others, the people you meet on the railways of life have plenty to teach, and there is much to understand. Understanding yourself and your own motivations, and how long this tragic journey has gone on, for all of us. Tetsuro meets a sympathetic woman, who appears as a kind of motherly figure to him, she gives him a pass to the Galaxy Express and together they will make the trip to the Machine World, where one can buy a Machine Body. He meets many tragic figures along the way, and sees the despair of many, he witnesses heroism and humanity from surprising souls who see themselves in him, and he learns that perhaps he might lose his humanity if he were to give in to his desires, if he were to get a machine body....

We get cameos of other important characters from this vast Matsumoto saga, like Queen Emeraldas, Captain Harlock and Tochiro Oyama... who appear in highly emotionally important scenes.

There are several versions of this movie, and one of my favorites is the much hated Roger Corman version. I grew up with this version, and it is close to my heart, but unfortunately it was only released on VHS. In the 90s, two VHS versions, 'Signature Editions' were released, one with an all new english dub, and a subtitled Japanese original language version. These also sadly have never been released on DVD. These are mighty expensive and rare. Even more expensive is the original Japanese DVD with no subtitles. However thanks to Hong Kong pirates, we have a DVD with bad english subtitles as well as an isolated music score track. It bothers me that this movie has yet to get a high quality english release since its popularity worldwide is well known. Perhaps its themes and ideas are not popular at all in the United States, and yet is the stuff Oscars are made of. I am also surprised that it has not been remade into a live action movie. (Maybe we're lucky it hasn't, God only knows how they'd butcher it to death). There couldn't be a more important and entertaining movie for me to recommend, this hits my top ten list of all-time favorite movies...of any genre. Its view of the future and cybernetics is dead-on and ultimately perhaps one of the most important movies on the subject of cybernetics and technology. It is like a battle-cry of humanity vs. inhumanity and the technology that we all now face. No matter what culture you come from, no matter what language, no matter what era you live in, this movie is one of the most universally important movies ever made.