The Movie: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
For one month, The Dot and Line is publishing essays, interviews, and discussions about each episode of Cowboy Bebop, which turns 20 this April.
I received the UMD version for PlayStation Portable back in the day (Remember that, gamers?) as a Christmas present and I wore that disc OUT. This was my introduction to the Bebop crew. The movie is an excellent standalone project for casual anime fans and film enthusiasts. It perfectly captures the theme of existentialism and absurdity in Spike, Jet, Faye, and Ed’s lives. Without spoiling the film, here are some reasons to get into it, regardless of whether you’ve seen the series or not.
There was…some controversy…when it first released
In 2001, the film released in Japan several days before the September 11th attacks and the violence, terrorism, and war conspiracy themes were just bad timing. A plot involving bio-terrorism with chemical weapons did not bode well for audiences when the film was dubbed for western audiences and released in North America less than a year later. It did not get a theatrical release until 2003 and even that was limited.
Its action scenes are even more visually striking than the show’s
Dogfighting spaceships! Train shootouts! Jeet kune do fights! If only fight choreography looked this good in live-action! There is something for everyone in terms of action variety.
It’s got the same cast and crew as the anime
Shinichiro Wantanabe, director of the original Cowboy Bebop series, returns to direct this feature film. Most of the crew from the series easily crossed over to work on the film, including producer Masahiko Minami, writer Keiko Nomubuto, and animation director/character designer Toshihiro Kawamoto. Koichi Yamadera, Unsho Ishizuka, Megumi Hayashibara, and Aoi Tada reprise their roles as Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, Faye Valentine, and Edward “Ed” Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV, respectively. For the English dub, Steven Blum, Beau Billinglea, Wendee Lee, and Melissa Fahn voice Spike, Jet, Faye, and Ed, respectively. Animated versions of the English dub voice actors even make a cameo in the opening credits!
It fits into the show, but it doesn’t have to
For audiences unfamiliar with the anime, the first act serves as a great introduction to the main characters. The absurdity of the Bebop crew’s lives do not require a full viewing of the series and newcomers will feel a sense of familiarity with Spike, Jet, Faye, and Ed.
Based on the inclusion of some main characters and series elements, it makes the most sense among fans that the film takes place between Session 22, “Cowboy Funk” and Session 23, “Brain Scratch.” Watanabe paid fan service by staying as true to show’s flavor as close as possible yet still accessible to newcomers. While the series largely feels like it’s set in New York City or Hong Kong via different planets in our solar system (when our heroes aren’t on the Bebop), the film is set around the unnamed capital city of Mars, reminiscent of San Francisco or Tokyo, and includes a location similar to Morocco’s Casablanca or Rabat.
It’s got lots of Easter eggs referencing Hollywood
College film majors, now is your time to shine! There are homages made to several Hollywood films with themes similar to Cowboy Bebop. See if you can find them throughout the film.
- High Noon
- The Searchers
- The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
- The French Connection
- Dirty Harry
- Super Fly
- The Godfather
- Blade Runner
- Pulp Fiction
So how do you watch the damn thing?
The bad news: Cowboy Bebop: The Movie isn’t available on digital to download or stream yet. Right now, the only legitimate way to watch it is by purchasing it on DVD or Blu-Ray. That being said, while the Blu-Ray format is more current, skip it; it’s missing the higher-quality audio tracks and all the bonus features.
The good news: the DVD version is the way to go and it sells for less than $10 from most retailers. In addition to the film, it comes with behind-the-scenes featurettes, storyboards, Dolby 5.1 audio tracks, and more. The visual quality isn’t as sharp as the Blu-Ray’s but the extras make up for it.
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