Features: DVD, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
In the fall of 1966, tensions run high on the U.S. Air Force base in Japan on the eve of the Vietnam War. After a series of suspicious suicides in a nearby town, an additional threat has infiltrated the military compound - vampires. A covert team of government agents committed to the elimination of vampires dispatch a mysterious young woman named Saya, who in the guise of a schoolgirl, must uncover the origin of the demonic plague, eliminate the ghastly beasts and stop their reign of terror before time runs out. She is the last remaining original. Painstakingly animated by the masters of Japan's Production I.G. studios (Dead Leaves, Ghost in the Shell, Kai Doh Maru, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Kill Bill), Blood: The Last Vampire is the first fully digital work of animation ever produced. Conceived in cooperation with Mamoru Oshii (Director, Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor: The Movie, Patlabor 2), and Directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, Black Magic M-66), the film features character designs by charismatic illustrator Katsuya Terada (Mirai Ninja, Zeiram), dynamic digital sound mixed in Hollywood and the voice talents of Youki Kodoh (Snow Falling on Cedars) as Saya. The film opened in mid-November of 2000 at Cine Saison Shibuya and several other major cities throughout Japan. Blood also played a limited theatrical run in the U.S. and was one of the first- ever features to be streamed over the Internet the day of its release on DVD.
What is UMDTM?
UMD, Universal Media Disc, is a brand-new and groundbreaking optical storage medium, designed for the high speed and efficient delivery of digital entertainment content that can store up to 1.8 GB of digital data on a 60mm disc -- or an entire feature film on a single UMD video. All UMD DVDs are produced in Widescreen and encoded using advanced AVC compression. UMD for PSP will play on the new PlayStation Portable handheld entertainment system.
Specifications
Diameter: 60 mm
Maximum Capacity: 1.8GB (Single-sided, dual layer)
Laser wavelength: 660nm (Red laser)
"...one of the few treatments of the macabre in animation that is authentically unnerving..." Chuck Wilson, LA Weekly
Editor's Note
On an American military base in Japan, a new kind of vampire emerges: Teropterids. They are monstrous shape-shifting creatures that can only be killed with special swords. A mysterious girl named Saya is the last "original," the only person capable of dealing with the menace of these monsters. Posing as a student at the base's school, Saya races to hunt down the beasts before they turn an ordinary Halloween bash into a bloody massacre. Production IG, known for their pioneering digital effects, describes BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE as a full digital animation movie, which means that even though many sequences were animated using pencil and paper, the artwork was digitally scanned. Inking and coloring were completed by computer, as were several other special effects. Hiroyuki Kitakubo was chosen to direct the project because of his digital experience (he oversaw the movie sequences in the GHOST IN THE SHELL game for the Sony PlayStation.) The film is also notable for the participation of screenwriter Mamoru Oshii, who helmed GHOST IN THE SHELL and has written a novel that takes place in BLOOD's universe. Despite its resemblance to BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, BLOOD succeeds in creating its own gloomy, chiaroscuro world.
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