Forum - View topicRanking the Films of Satoshi Kon
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Covnam
 Posts: 3650 |
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It'd be great if we could get a Satoshi Kon BD movie boxset one day
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Hiroki not Takuya
 Posts: 2514 |
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I'll be "that guy" by saying I'd rather not rank Kon's works as each has unique merits and I can't think of a single one that stood out as "bad" or even "just OK". His was an artistic talent that I for one greatly miss but I never tire of seeing Paprika...
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omiya
 Posts: 1825 Location: Adelaide, South Australia |
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One addition to the article would be to note that Tokyo Godfathers was based on a Western movie (as in US Wild West) - does anyone remember the title?
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MarshalBanana
 Posts: 5316 |
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One-Eye
 Posts: 2261 |
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Are you sure about that? 2 JPN versions that I am familiar with which are clones do not have Eng subs. I don't know about the the 2014 JPN version, but a casual glance at some listings doesn't seem to imply it does. There is a 2015 Australian BD that does have Eng subs and supposedly is region free. I've been meaning to import that one myself. I don't believe it ever had a dub. My ranking on Kon's works: 1. Millennium Actress 2. Perfect Blue 3. Paranoia Agent 4. Tokyo Godfathers 5. Paprika PB and PA are basically tied for me. I found Paprika to be visually wonderful, but the story felt too simple and the characters too flat. |
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MarshalBanana
Posts: 5316 |
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delariean
Posts: 55 |
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I believe it was Three godfathers. I know it stars John Wayne and it involves three outlaws finding an infant after robing a bank.... |
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omiya
Posts: 1825 Location: Adelaide, South Australia |
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Thanks! |
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Angel'sArcanum
 Posts: 303 Location: Toronto, Ontario |
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Can't say I feel as strongly about Kon as others do, considering his small body of work which isn't all great I find sadly, but alas, his life ended far too soon, so it can't be helped.
For me, it would go: 5. Paranoia Agent: Reeeeeeeally not a fan of it, there's ways of putting the mystery on the backburner and all the meat of the story only being tangentially related to it which this series opened me up to that line of thinking at first, but when it actually got down to the different vignettes and isolated stories, it felt way too confused at what it was trying to go for, and when it finally did try to focus back in on the Lil Slugger mystery, it did a poor job at it. There's a bunch of misdirections, weird tonal shifts, etc, and by the end, a lot of anti-climaxes and self-indulgent, chaos wank that I just loudly groaned at. The answer behind the Lil Slugger mystery becomes obvious by like the last third of the show, but it keeps drawing it out while barreling through all this other nonsense that was irritating to watch, I think Kon should've just kept it simpler, keep things heavily tethered to the Lil Slugger mystery and made it into a compact film, could've been quite good with a lot of reworking, but just a mess I find, I've almost completely forgotten everything about it, 4. Paprika: If Paranoia Agent is a TV series that should've been a movie, Paprika is the opposite; the structure, changes in focus/perspective and general flow feels like Kon was still stuck in TV mode and it makes the film feel sort of clunky with its story beats just kinda starting and stopping like they are meant to be broken into segments, but it isn't. I also find the surrealism and its themes on self-image, true love and all that felt broad in this smaller scope, lacking in real weight that character arcs in a TV series and such would afford. What should've been a cerebral and tender acid trip instead came off as corny maximalist confection to me sadly. 3. Tokyo Godfathers: It's nice. 2. Millennium Actress Feels a tad self-gratified with its arthouse, nostalgia/aging concept and everything, but it's one of those sweet tales about the power of storytelling that uses nice stylistic flourishes with the restraint and maturity Paprika and Paranoia Agent really needed, pretty poignant. 1. Perfect Blue I saw screencaps of Mima covered in blood in a magazine as a child with that chilling expression, and it haunted me for many years, I tried to avoid the movie for a long time because it seemed that spooky off that single image alone. Having more of a stomach for horror now, I gave the film a watch, and it did wind up being one of the creepiest films I've ever seen, and that's a very good thing. Kon's direction feels so precise with the timing, compositions, general atmosphere, the story insanity, sustaining its themes very well, it's just so perfectly chilling and memorable, it's an exceptional film, not quite a masterpiece I'd say, but pretty dang close. |
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Alestal
 Posts: 605 Location: Dallas, Texas |
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This is a really well written article! Thanks for sharing, Matthew!
My rankings are: 1. Millennium Actress 2. Paprika 3.Tokyo Godfathers 4. Paranoia Agent 5. Perfect Blue A few comments on my rankings: As most have stated, I also find it difficult to rank items 2-5 on this list as they are all so well done. However, Millennium Actress is one of my favorite films of all time. It is so unique and polished, truly a work of art. I'd love to see a "well done" (insert prayers) live-action adaption! I understand how some do not appreciate Paprika as much as I do. It does take some rather surprising turns and it can be difficult to follow. I'd recommend re-watching it after doing some research on the underlying themes and motives that are present throughout the film. Also, I choose to rank Perfect Blue last because I found it the most disturbing and horror is not my favorite genre. Although, I still love to watch it in October! 
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FLCLGainax
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I personally liked Millennium Actress and Tokyo Godfathers the best. Perfect Blue comes in third with Paprika the last.
I'm so glad GKIDS is re-issuing Perfect Blue on Blu-ray/DVD. Some company should also re-issue Millennium Actress as well and I wouldn't mind that mediocre UK dub being included! |
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Aresef
Posts: 909 Location: MD |
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Damn shame we'll never see Yume Miru Kikai
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