Future War 198X (1982) User Reviews

Future war 198x out of VHS in Australia

[tetsuo · 8/10 · 4 March 2006]

This anime is ahead of its time.

It was cutting edge animation and controversial when it first came out in 1982.

The anime is inspired by General Hackett's book The Third World War and its depiction of war is as realistic as anime can get.

(note: for war enthusiasts, the huge tank battles on the North German plains are shown here and are quite good).

Anyways, it came out from Wizard Video in Australia in the 80s(its in PAL) and its in English albeit not a full translation but an English narration.

They also cut several scenes from it(I saw the original Japanese version) but its still quite good.

Forgot to add:

The original Japanese version is 125 minutes long

The German version is 115 minutes long

The English version(from Wizard video, narration instead of dialogue, added soundtrack from Tangerine Dream, Asia(Only Time Will Tell & Wildest Dreams) & Rush(Witch Hunt). The added soundtrack worked quite well with the Witch Hunt music really complementing the massive tank battle on the North German Plain and the ending music of Only Time Will Tell(which made me get more Asia music btw)) is 90 minutes long.

Heartrending war melodrama

[rf3059 · 8/10 · 6 October 2010]

It's a shame this movie is so hard to come by. I only managed to get a hold on it through the Internet.

This story tells of WWIII and was written during the Cold War. From the beginning, it shows the war through many sets of eyes: civilians', the engineers', the world powers, and the soldiers'. Probably the most realistic portrayal of war in a cartoon.

It's extremely somber and depressing, which is the right tone for it. That is, until the end. I felt the ending of it really reversed all of the buildup and drama the movie had going for it.

But even though it's heartbreaking, it ends on a note of hope. There's something to be learned from that.

The Japanese music is better in my opinion. Not too much that is important was cut, though, just a scene showing Japan's involvement and some of the gorier details (for instance the shot of a bloody stump of a soldier's arm is cut). Laura is also implied to be in a relationship with the character who was her brother in the original.

Either way, it is wonderfully animated and a real gem, making it a shame that it's so obscure.