Rock & Rule

Finally, I got it today, and I was not disappointed. This movie is vivid, with amazing musical talent, a great and simple story, and most importantly, it all works together.

It's a great movie, and the special features on this 2-disc set make it worthwhile for any fan of the movie, early 1980's punk rock, or animation in general.

This is an unique movie, geared for a more mature crowd, but still not 'adult' in the general sense of the phrase (at least how it's used today).

I recommend this DVD, because it's got everything anyone could want on a DVD for this movie. The behind the scenes featurette is kinda cool too, seeing how early on computers were used in animation was a surprise to me.

Bottom line: worth it.

My first experience with Rock & Rule was seeing parts of it featuring the music on one of the late night music video shows that were around in the early '80's, and I was blow away then by the bright, colorful animation along with the great music. I finally saw the movie one late night on CBC (the Canadian Broadcasting Company) and the movie, music and images have stuck with me ever since! Sadly the movie never got a proper release, and I had thought I'd never see it again till one day when I was thinking about the movie and did a Google search for it. What came up was Unearthed Films, and the news that they were restoring and releasing it on DVD!

Now I must admit I had doubts, was it going to be as good as I remembered? Would it seem dated after 22 years or so since I last saw it? Let me say this movie was even better than I remembered, and the job Unearthed Films have done with this release is nothing short of superb! Everything from the animated DVD menus, to the cover art and packaging is top notch, and the remastered 5.1 soundtrack and restored film make this movie look and sound even better then when it was first shown.

I'll try not to spoil too much, but the story is about an aging super-rocker named Mok, who is trying to use a concert to summon a demon to give him ultimate power. What he needs to complete his evil plot is a special voice, one that can make the right harmonic notes to open the gate and summon the demon. Mok finds that voice in the beautiful Angel, singing with her band in a run down bar in Ohm Town.

Mok then goes about trying to break up the band and eventually kidnaps Angel, taking her to Nuke York, and the rest of the band gives chase, leading to the final concert and battle of good and evil.

This movie is a product of early '80's animation, very similar in style to the far more widely known Heavy Metal, but in my opinion this movie is much better. I find the single story works better then Heavy Metal's random story segments, and the animation is a lot smoother, brighter and very well done with that special organic feel that comes from hand-drawn animation, not like the modern computer generated movies of today. Plus the characters are all very well done, with Angel being totally gorgeous, the stuff young guys fall in love with, and Mok being a cross between David Bowie and Mick Jagger, with the looks and voice to match, just great stuff here.

And unlike Heavy Metal, the songs here were made special for this movie, as the characters are actually singing them, not just playing rock music in the background like most soundtracks. While all of them are really great, Cheap Trick and Debbie Harry did an awesome job especially, and the ending duet with her and Robin Zander from Cheap Trick is one of the most moving songs I can remember. And it all sounds great with the new 5.1 treatment!

I can't say enough about the job Unearthed Films did restoring this film, the picture quality is outstanding, the sound is great, everything about this DVD just says it is a labor of love, with a list of extras that put most current DVD releases to shame! And for a movie that got no recognition at it's release, for them to find all that they did and pack both DVD's full of extras is just amazing. Great stuff in the double DVD set for fans of the movie like character sketches, the alternate Canadian version, the making of the film documentary, the excellent directors commentary, original film workprints, full script and more.

If you are a fan of animation or great '80's rock, or both, then you really must check this movie out. Simply a lost treasure that finally has been Unearthed (pun intended) and made available once again for those who fondly remember the movie along with the time it was released, as well as a great movie to introduce younger people to what music and animation used to be about, you just can't go wrong with this one!