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Released by: Urban Vision
Released on: 11/1/2005
Director: Osamu Dezaki
Cast: N/A
Year: 1983
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The Movie:
The world's best hitman, Duke Tolgo, a.k.a. Golgo 13, sets his sites on the son of a well to do American oil tycoon named Leonard Dawson. When his son is shot dead, his world spirals out of control and he becomes a man consumed with hatred who wants only one thing - revenge! Dawson has got money - lots of money - and the fact that he's willing to put out as much of that cash as he needs to in order to make Golgo pay makes him a dangerous opponent indeed.
Not only is Dawson rich, but he's also really well connected. He's got ties at the CIA, the FBI and in the military and he's going to use every one of those contacts to get Golgo back. While Golgo isn't working, he's usually making time with the ladies but even during these moments, he's on the watch and on the ball. Dawson and his cronies are going to find out the hard way that Duke Tolgo is not a man to be messed with…
This animated film follows the live action Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon feature film starring Sonny Chiba, and was in turn followed by another animated feature, Golgo 13: Queen Bee and to be honest, it's the best of the three films. In this movie, Golgo is a cold, calculated professional killer who owes as much to Alain Delon's performance in Le Samourai as he does to Chiba's turn in the live action version. Like Jef Costello, Golgo is a man who takes his work more seriously than his play. He's completely dedicated to his craft and every job he accepts he sees through to completion, no matter what.
There are a few interesting twists in the film to keep you guessing - the main question posed is why doesn't Dawson go after the man who hired Golgo 13 to kill his son, and what grudge exists between them for it to have happened in the first place? When this question is finally answered it's done so with some clever scripting and the story proves to be a pretty interesting one. For the most part though, this movie is all about action and suspense, and on that level, it also happens to be quite successful. Definitely not for children, the film's violence hits hard and carries a bit of impact that makes it a cut above a lot of the material out there.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Urban Vision presents Professional: Golgo 13 in a very nice 1.85.1 anamorphic wideframe transfer which is the original aspect ratio for the movie. The color reproduction is very nice, very distinct, and the black levels (of which there are an awful lot in this movie) stay deep and don't pixelate at all. There isn't any mpeg compression to complain about here and edge enhancement, while present, is kept to a bare minimum.
You can choose between a Japanese language track with optional English subtitles or a new English dubbed track, both in Dolby Digital 5.1 The quality on both mixes is quite good, with some nice directional effects in the action scenes and clear dialogue. The score and the sound effects are balanced nicely in the background and don't overpower the dialogue at all. Some more punch for the gun shots would have maybe made things a bit more intense but other than that, there's not much to complain about here.
The biggest extra feature on this release is a reasonably interesting interview with the producer of the movie, Mata Yamamoto, who speaks for a few minutes about the film and why it went over as well as it did. Rounding out the extra features are a few trailers for this and other Urban Vision releases, and a decent Golgo 13 still gallery.
The Final Word:
This is one of those rare anime features that should appeal to people whether they're into the genre or not. Professional: Golgo 13 isn't so much a good anime as it is just a good movie period. It's got action, sex, intrigue, and suspense and it's well paced just like a good action film should be. Urban Vision's DVD looks and sounds very nice, and the extras, while they could have been more plentiful, are a nice touch.