Previews of Anno Hideaki’s sumptuous “Strings”
Posted on Thursday, 19 April 2007 at 11:36 pm
Ever since I saw the trailer for Anno Hideaki’s stunning marionette opus “Strings” (previously covered here) on TV several weeks ago I’ve been waiting patiently for it to appear on the film’s official homepage so I could introduce it to you, and now you can see it for yourself here in WMV format. The size doesn’t do justice to the exquisite visuals - click on the Gallery section of the HP to see what I’m talking about, or this shorter but slightly larger version - but it’s still a potent appetite wetter for the film’s release starting from April 28th. Check it out.
[Update: I seem to have been labouring under the mistaken impression that this is Anno's remake of the original Danish film, when instead it just seems to be a rescripted dubbed version (see comments). Sorry for the confusion. Thanks coyoteblue]
comment by don
posted on Thursday, April 19 2007 at 11:36 pm
Now that you mention it, the stills for the original Danish version on this homepage (http://www.fame.uk.com/Films-Completed/Strings/) are apparently identical to the Japanese ones, so it would seem that Anno has just ‘localised’ the film rather than remaking it from scratch (which was what I had thought he was doing). Thanks for pointing that out.
comment by jasong
posted on Thursday, April 19 2007 at 11:36 pm
So…Anno was basically hired to oversee the localised version and that’s it? Was there any recutting or changes to the original footage involved?
Some decent actors doing the voiceover but I think I’ll stick to the original (if for no other reason than to avoid the J-pop soundtrack).
Mentioning the “hop, skip and jump” release pattern as part of the roadshow info is the most interesting aspect — haven’t seen that before.
Anyway, welcome back!
comment by don
posted on Thursday, April 19 2007 at 11:36 pm
I’d presume it has been re-edited because of Nagatsuka Keishi’s re-jigging of the script, but I’m not aware as to what degree. My initial excitement at the idea of Anno directing an all-marionette movie prevented me from looking behind the spin, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the local audience mistake it for a Japanese film too. Damn racially ambiguous puppets.
comment by coyoteblue
posted on Thursday, April 19 2007 at 11:36 pm
It looks like he’s taking the original movie (which I’ve seen) and is slapping his own story on top of it. Or am I misunderstanding and he’s actually re-filmed the whole thing?