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Devilman (film)
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Wikipedia article
is a 2004 Japanese superhero film directed by Hiroyuki Nasu. It is based on the manga series of the same name.
Production
'Devilman' had a box office gross of 5,200 million yen, despite a production budget of 1 billion yen.
The movie was first scheduled for a May 2004 release, but was postponed due to reshoots. Special effects were produced by Toei Company's tokusatsu and anime divisions, under the joint name 'T-Visual'.
Cast
* Akira Fudo
* Ryo Asuka
* Ayana Sakai Miki Makimura
* Asuka Shibuya Miko
* Ryudo Uzaki Keisuke Makimura (Miki's father)
* Yoko Aki Emi Makimura (Miki's mother)
* Ai Tominaga Silene
* Bob Sapp World Newscaster
* Hiroyuki Matsumoto
* Hirotar Honda - Asuka
* Mark Musashi LAPD
Reception
The movie topped an annual poll by the magazine 'Eiga Hih' for the worst movie, attracting five times as many votes as the second-place film, and also got first place at the Bunshun Kiichigo Awards and Sports Hochi's Hebi-Ichigo Awards. It was voted the worst Japanese film of the 2000s in an online poll, which noted that the excitement of the manga series getting a film adaptation increased the universal disappointment with the film.
At the Sports Hochi awards ceremony Takeshi Kitano called it "one of the 4 most stupid movies ever made" and said "There is nothing better than getting drunk and watching this movie." At the same ceremony Sachiko Kobayashi said she was suddenly called to the set to appear in the movie before she even knew what it was.
The film was universally panned by national newspapers and critics, and even by fans of the original manga, citing reasons such as the CGI being hideous, and the casting of various nationally popular models and teen idols, many of whom had never acted before. In addition, reportedly, CGI was used for the fight scenes because director Hiroyuki Nasu did not know how to direct one with live actors. Due to trying to force the whole story into a short run time, the plot was criticized for making little to no sense. It was also noted that the design of Silene on the poster was completely different to her appearance in the movie. Critic Hiroshi Yamamoto created a whole separate part on his website to collect bad reviews of the movie. It links to several national newspapers that panned the movie as well as links to about 100 blog entries from various critics denouncing the movie.
The director Hiroyuki Nasu, began his directing career as pornography director for Nikkatsu Roman Porno. Sadly he died about 5 months after Devilman's release at the age of 53 due to liver cancer.
References
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