Directed by: Shinchiro Watanabe, Tensai Okamura, Yoshiyuki Takei, Hiroyuki Okiura
Written by: Hajime Yatate, Keiko Nobumoto, Marc Handler
Starring: Steve Blum, Beau Billingslea, Wendee, Lee (all English Dub)
Cowboy Bebop is a series that has had more of an effect on me personally than almost any other. It's one that I keep coming back to, one that I can't stop watching; the animation is gorgeous, the music I can say confidently is some of the best you'll ever hear from a television show, the characters are vibrant, each holding their own personal philosophies and growing in complexity over the course of the series, the stories offer consistent and poignant themes, and the world is one that Joss Whedon totally ripped off for Firefly. The movie, released years after the series' completion, fits snugly in the overall narrative, at the height of the development of the characters, but before the emotional finale. It's the movie I choose to review today because I'm currently once again at the point of re-watching the movie as a part of the series.
Knockin' on Heaven's Door is quintessential Bebop; we're offered a lot of the same issues that the series focuses on, such as 'life as a dream', and 'carrying the weight of your experiences'. The film's antagonist Vincent is much like one of the many from the show, only more fleshed out with a near-2-hour run time as opposed to 20-odd minutes. He's a man haunted by his past, driven insane by the experiments conducted on him the same experiment that killed his entire squad, now incapable of telling his dreams from reality, and hellbent on afflicting everyone with the same experience, to find out if how he sees life is real, or kill everyone in the process. Vincent is a sick man rather than a truly evil one, and in many ways reflects the protagonist Spike Spiegel (Blum, in his usual sardonic tone), who has lived his life throughout the series with the same attitude towards existence, choosing to find out if his experience is real by living dangerously rather than bringing danger to others. Both characters are defined by their pasts, Spike running from it, Vincent chasing after it trying to confront it head on.
The film works similarly to the show, using the antagonist as the subject that tries to enact change for the protagonist to witness, and the same is true for the film's animation and music.
Bebop has always had awesome musical numbers, showcasing different varieties of jazz from episode to episode and even stepping outside jazz for a little heavy metal or bluegrass. Knockin' on Heaven's Door sees the return of the same artist Yoko Kanno and her band The Seatbelts, and her expertise in giving the show added weight and changing the tone or mood of a scene with a key or timing alteration are heard here just as precisely; just listen to the song from the film's opening credits as an example. The music is crafted specifically for each scene and moment of the film, and it plays perfectly.
As for the animation, I was surprised to hear it wasn't rotoscoped. I imagine if you have no context for the show your could still be impressed by the work in this area, because it's unbelievably fluid for something drawn entirely by hand, comparable to the best work from Studio Ghibli. character movements are as you would expect people to move, they don't move like cartoons or anime characters, and it's a piece of both the show and this film that helps to ground the series in realism despite its sci-fi context. The fight here shows off the gritty but smooth style, the casual violence mixed with vibrant colours, all fantastic, not done with any cartoonish or melodramatic flair, the film's animation attempts and I believe succeeds in achieving realism despite its medium.
The Verdict: Knockin' on Heaven's Door is a great film contribution to a fantastic TV series. If you watch it after seeing the series, it's a reminder of why you fell in love with the show in the first place. If you watch it as a part of the series, it's one more step towards the climactic finale, hammering home the series' philosophy and themes with the same style as the series as a whole. If you go in cold and watch this on its own, you won't get the same experience out of it as I have, but even forgetting the story and character elements, the film has truly incredible animation and music to behold.
Rating: The rating here could be just about anything depending on a person's knowledge and viewing of the TV show; because I've watched the show a half dozen times and at this point deem it one of the greatest series to grace the small screen, I could easily give this a 10/10 and call it a day. At the same time, I know that this film only works as well as it does because of its contribution to the overall series, and that if viewed on its own many plot points may feel forced or out of place, as the film's world is predicated on the idea that you're already familiar with it's more mystical and philosophical elements from the show. It also seems unfair to give this film a 10/10 just because the overall series is worth that much; it's not a rating I hand out lightly, only going to the films that offer the best filmmaking I've ever witnessed (Apocalypse Now), or some obvious and incredible influence on filmmaking as a whole (Citizen Kane), combined with the film's ability to resonate with me personally despite how distant the film's experience may be from that of my own life (2001, or more recently, Moonlight). In the end, as great as Knockin' on Heaven's Door may be, it's a stepping stone in a near-perfect show, and as well-made it may be, it doesn't stand without the audience's relationship to the characters. With this in mind, it's hard to settle on a defined number, but the technical and musical artistry at work here is worth at least an 8/10.
Published March 13th, 2017
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