Softwing Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Borgarkeri A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

Stephan Hammond It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Jose Cruz This is a sort of Star Wars in Japan, made for 12 year old boys, like Star Wars, but very different in many ways as well. It has some very strange stuff and the plot doesn't make any sense sometimes (note: this is different from not making sense in an art film, such as Tarvovsky's, where it is supposed to not make sense, here we have a traditional linear narrative). The is perhaps the product of the compression of a very complex story into only 128 minutes of film, which forces the movie to use many deux ex machina in several occasions.Also, there are something I find disturbing in the concept exposed in the movie of people having disposable bodies. The character designs also look a bit strange for me, who is not used to 1970's anime.Despite these flaws, however, the movie remains powerful enough to earn a 8/10, a rate score for me to give.

hellraiser7 For people like me, growing up was a gradual process which made me take my time, having all the joys as any kid would have but being aware and learn what it meant to be an adult. Sure I'm an adult now but I still feel young inside, and that's the same with a lot of us. This is one of my favorite anime movies and films in general.Based on the long running Manga series/TV series, Leiji Matsumoto always knew how to create Space Operas, the unique thing about them other than the vast fascinating universes he's created he always had human emotion attached to them.The music is just superb, my favorite song no doubt is the ending theme song which is just wonderful. The animation I think is solid, though it may look a little dated but you have to consider this was in the 1970s so you get use to it. But I feel it successful captures a epic pulp sci-fi romanticism that's reminiscent of "Flash Gordon" comics and TV shows like "Space 1999" and "Doctor Who" as we see the endless depth and wonders it has from the different worlds and their features and customs as well as a mix in genre; heroic space pirates and those wonderful ships they roam the galaxy in, a world that looks like something out of a western, locomotives that fly, and others you have to see to believe. It's true there a lot of logic is thrown out the window but the charm of all pulp sci-fi it's not concerned about logic just on creative freedom and that's not a bad thing and something I don't see often anymore.And the film is pretty dark, the fact that humans can buy themselves immortality but the price is their own bodies in exchange for mechanical ones. The mechanical bodied characters look disturbingly creepy almost reminds me those creepy silver faced robot cops from George Lucas's "THX-1138". The creepiest and saddest moment for me and to be Tesuros' journey to Pluto where he sees an ice cemetery filled mostly with human beings that traded their bodies all preserved in ice. Thsi part reminded me of one of Dante's Circles of Hell as well as demonstrates the fundamental problem with immortality.I like the characters, it has two great supporting characters that both had anime franchises of their own. Captain Harlock sort of a John Wayne/Clint Eastwood like character and Queen Emeraldas whom was one of the first femme fatales in the anime world. However two unforgettable characters are Tesuro and Matel. Both of them you feel a deep sense of pathos for, you love them but you also feel sad for what troubles them. Tesuro isn't a stereotypical all smiles kid but actually feels like any other kid his age, however he has a troubled past from the fact his mother was killed out of sick amusement by the machine antagonist Count Mecha which is a scene that's heart wrenching and put tears in my eyes, this is the subplot of the film. But Tesuro also has desires to make his dreams of journeying out among the stars come true but to do this he feels immortality is the only way. Matel is a living enigma throughout the whole film she's almost has that dream like quality of a girl we had in our dreams that feels so close but so far. She is a warm yet detached presence, sweet but you see in her eyes and from what she says and doesn't that there is a deep sadness residing in her like she knows more than Tesuo and we can imagine.I really like the chemistry between both of them, I don't really feel a mother and son dynamic from them but is sort of a Freudian coming of age love story for both of them. There are Freaudian overtones the fact Matel looks a little like his mom it pertains to the psychology that our significant others we love would remind us or even physically resemble a family member. Some pieces of conversation we see at time Tesuo desires to kiss her and even throughout the journey Tesuo become more mature and doesn't even feel like a kid anymore but a man, even Matal cares for him more than just a friend (trust me it's not so strange once you find out her secret which makes it okay).This story has sort of a Philip K Dick like philosophical meditation on life and death and the importance of being human. We see why there is a reason why people have a limited amount of time in their lives, no one can ever truly live as an immortal because then life loses all meaning as well as make the human soul lose value; it's always what we do with our limited amount of time that truly makes us live forever.Galaxy Express isn't just an anime it's an experience. A journey from Childhood's End, destiny and beyond.Rating: 4 stars

wavelength121 I was at my sister's apartment one night when I was around 14, and you know how it is when there is nothing on TV but you are bored so you keep flipping around, well this movie came on around 10 o'clock and I started watching it and although I wasn't able to follow what was going on exactly, I just could not turn it off. This movie was my first taste of Anime and it seems good Anime does that too you. I was deeply moved by Galaxy Express, to the point that I almost started crying towards the end. Quite a magical, imaginative movie. But yes, very very strange. I stayed up until two in the morning to see how it turned out.

zadkiel57 this movie is a classic of the genre. deals with innocense lost, the idolization of parental figures, the journey myth. everyone in the movie, even the secondary characters, has an agenda and a complexity lacking most american live-action movies, let alone the animated ones.one of the best things about this movie is its use of iconographic imagery, the trains, the pirate ships. in the future where bodies can be replaced by machines without trouble, why not have trains and pirate ships. their allagoric status is made more powerful by their total out-of-place-edness within an outer space environment.what's more, their importance to the characters becomes clear. in a world where the loss of body can lead to the callousness displayed by the "evil" characters, and their eventual loss of inner humanity, icons of what it means to be human become that much more important. each character in this movie is ultimately looking for that which makes them who they are. the landmarks of their collective pasts as the human race are important.the best anime, in my humble opinion, is that which asks those questions because it is in the peculiar position of being able to explore it in fantastic ways. GE999 works well along those lines.*drops $.02 in jar*