LA PLANÈTE SAUVAGE [aka Fantastic Planet] [1973 / 2012] [Masters of Cinema] [Blu-ray + DVD] [UK Release] ‘LA PLANÈTE SAUVAGE’ still stands Out as a Unique Vision of profound Science Fiction!
René Laloux's mesmerising psychedelic sci-fi animated feature won the Grand Prix at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival and is a landmark of European animation. Based on Stefan Wul's novel “Oms en série” [Oms by the dozen]. René Laloux's breath-taking vision was released in France as ‘LA PLANÈTE SAUVAGE’ [‘The Savage Planet’]; but in the USA as ‘Fantastic Planet’ and immediately drew comparisons to Jonathan Swift's “Gulliver's Travels” and “Planet of the Apes” (Pierre Boulle's 1963 novel and the 1968 film). Today, the film ‘LA PLANÈTE SAUVAGE’ can be seen to prefigure much of the work of Hayao Miyazaki at the Studio Ghibli Film company due to its palpable political and social concerns, cultivated imagination, and memorable animation techniques.
‘LA PLANÈTE SAUVAGE’ tells the story of "Oms," human-like creatures, kept as domesticated pets by an alien race of blue giants called "Draags." The story takes place on the Draags planet Ygam, where we follow our narrator; an Om called Terr, from infancy to adulthood and manages to escape enslavement from a Draag learning device used to educate the savage Oms and begins to organise an Om revolt. The imagination invested in the surreal creatures, music and sound design, and eerie landscapes, is immense and unforgettable.
Widely regarded as an allegorical statement on the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia, ‘Fantastic Planet’ was five years in the making at Prague's Jiri Trnka Studios. The direction of René Laloux, the incredible art of Roland Topor, and Alain Goraguer's brilliant complementary film score (much sampled by the hip-hop community) all combine to make ‘LA PLANÈTE SAUVAGE’ a mind-searing experience.
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1973 Cannes Film Festival: Win: Special Award for René Laloux. Nominated: Palme d'Or for René Laloux. 1975 Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America: Nominated: Nebula Award for Best Dramatic Presentation for René Laloux and Roland Topor.
FILM FACT No.2: The ‘LA PLANÈTE SAUVAGE’ film's narrative has been considered to be an allegory about animal rights and human rights, as well as racism. Sean Axmaker of Turner Classic Movies referred to the film as "nothing if not allegorical," and writing that "it's not a stretch to see the fight against oppression reflected in the civil rights struggle in America, the French in Algeria, Apartheid in South Africa, and where injustice takes a turn to wholesale annihilation of the 'inferior' race) the Holocaust itself." Featuring a legendary soundtrack by the French jazz pianist Alain Goraguer.
Voice Cast: Jennifer Drake (Tiwa), Eric Baugin (Young Terr), Jean Topart (Master Sinh), Jean Valmont (Adult Terr / Narrator), Sylvie Lenoir (Additional Voices), Michèle Chahan (Additional Voices), Yves Barsacq (Om), Hubert de Lapparent (Additional Voices), Gérard Hernandez (Master Taj), Claude Joseph (Additional Voices), Philippe Ogouz (Additional Voices), Jacques Ruisseau (Additional Voices), Max Amyl (Additional Voices), Denis Boileau (Additional Voices), Madeleine Clervannes (Additional Voices), William Coryn (Additional Voices), Poupy de Monneron (Additional Voices), Christian de Tillière (Additional Voices), Christian Echelard (Additional Voices), Jeanine Forney (Additional Voices), Pascal Kominakis (Additional Voices), Andre Lambert (Additional Voices), Mark Lesser (Additional Voices), Serge Netter (Additional Voices), Yvette Robin (Additional Voices), André Rouyer (Additional Voices), Irina Tarason (Additional Voices), Julien Thomas (Additional Voices), Gilbert Vilhon (Additional Voices), Paul Villé (Additional Voices), Cynthia Adler (Tiwa voice) (uncredited), Barry Bostwick (Adult Terr / Narrator voice) (uncredited), Mark Gruner (Young Terr voice) (uncredited), Nora Heflin (Additional Voices) (uncredited), Marvin Miller (Great Tree Chief / Master Kon voice) (uncredited), Monika Ramirez (Additional Voices) (uncredited), Hal Smith (Master Sinh / Old Om / Sorcerer voices) (uncredited), Olan Soule (Master Taj voice) (uncredited) and Janet Waldo (Hollow Log Chief / Traag Child voices) (uncredited)
Director: René Laloux
Producers: André Valio-Cavaglione, Anatole Dauman and Simon Damiani
Screenplay: René Laloux (adaptation), Roland Topor (adaptation) and Stefan Wul (novel)
Composer: Alain Goraguer
Cinematography: Boris Baromykin (Directors of Photography) and Lubomir Rejthar (Directors of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Audio: French: 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
English: 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 71 minutes
Region: Blu-ray: Region B/2 + DVD: NTSC and PAL
Number of discs: 2
Studio: Argos Films / EUREKA! Entertainment Ltd
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘LA PLANÈTE SAUVAGE’ [1973] is an animated French film, directed by René Laloux, and takes place on the planet Ygam. There, are gigantic blue aliens called Draags are the common inhabitants, and have created a technologically and spiritually advanced society. As for the humans, they are called Oms and a play on the French for human, “hommes.” They are reduced to being mere pets for the Draags.
The animated film begins with the unintentional murder of a mother Om by three Draag children. When they realise that they have indeed killed her by playing with her, they remark: “That’s a shame. We can’t play with her anymore”: right away, the viewer is aware that the film will portray humans as being treated not so differently to the way we treat insects or small animals and this is where the uncomfortableness begins.
The Draags are keen on knowledge, meditation and council meetings. Oms, on the other hand, are pests who dwell in parks or in the wild, living in organized tribes that are routinely exterminated to control the population via “de-Oming” machines. When Tiwa decides to cuddle her pet Om during knowledge sessions with her telepathic headset, a new world is opened for this little Om, unbeknownst to Tiwa. Her father protests his daughter’s seemingly trivial decision. But the Om begins to gain a sort of encyclopaedic knowledge of the world of Ygam.
After Terr learns how to use his owner’s headset on his own, he flees into the wild with it where he encounters tribes of free but savage Oms. Though they have crafty ways of survival, it’s often fraught with dangerous encounters with much of the planet’s quirks, from man-eating boxes to flying Om-eating monsters, not to mention, those efficient de-oming machines. But Terr’s knowledge allows for a path to emancipation.
‘LA PLANÈTE SAUVAGE’ atmosphere is emphasised by its fine and eerie soundtrack, by the jazz composer Alain Goraguer, who was a frequent collaborator with the French singer Serge Gainsbourg. The composed film music is quite simple and flows very nicely during the whole film, using recurring instruments and tunes. I really appreciated the beautiful colourful visuals of the animated film. They contain an interesting palette of earthy sober colours that contradict the flashy, blue colour of the Draags. The planet Ygam reminded me of surrealist paintings, especially of Max Ernst and Salvador Dali.
This co-production between France and Czechoslovakia, and became known as a parable for the oppression of Czechoslovakia under communist authoritarian rule. Thus, beyond all its weirdness, rich quirks of alien design and unsettling images. ‘LA PLANÈTE SAUVAGE’ stands as powerful allegory and its strength is a very well-made sci-fi. By embracing the wide possibilities of the genre, a science fiction film can bring to light a powerful outcry that’s true to the current state of society. Like the best art, it’s about rearranging what society takes for granted into something we can understand anew and see as vital.
The film ‘LA PLANÈTE SAUVAGE’ is a totally weird and a very peculiar universe that to some people recognise the film as a rich, strange, and totally genius, and it is a completely thought provoking science-fiction vision, ranking it alongside films such as ‘Metropolis;’ ‘2001: A Space Odyssey;’ ‘Blade Runner;’ ‘Dune;’ ‘Akira’ and ‘The Fifth Element,’ which were made many years later, and all of them were made on far greater budgets.
Blu-ray Image Quality – ‘LA PLANÈTE SAUVAGE’ is presented with a very excellent 1080p image and we get to experience very detailed contrast levels, with equally dramatic colours of blues, yellows, greens, browns and blacks look fresh and is very stable. But now and again in certain scenes in the film where some extremely minor colour pulsations are quite noticeable, but not enough to spoil your viewing enjoyment. Occasionally, we get some white light speckle noise that is easy to spot, but luckily again it will not spoil your enjoyment. Overall, the image quality is very strong and very pleasing, and I feel very comfortable in stating that the animated film ‘LA PLANÈTE SAUVAGE’ has never looked this good or better, so enjoy. Unfortunately, the English subtitles do not match the French dialogue and the other negative aspect of the English Subtitles, half the wording disappears below the 1.66:1 aspect ratio, so to my mind, it is best to stick to the English dubbed audio sountrack. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – ‘LA PLANÈTE SAUVAGE’ brings for you via EUREKA! Entertainment Ltd, two audio tracks that consist of French: 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio and English: 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio experience. You will hear very dynamic ambient sounds that are really excellent, that goes so well with the very unique animated film that adds to the atmosphere of what you are viewing with the help of Alain Goraguer's psychedelic soundtrack. Both the French and English dialogue is really excellent, and is also very crisp, clean, stable and very easy to follow. So all in all, this is a very well presented audio soundtrack.
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: René Laloux’s five short films: Here you get to enjoy and view five unique films by director René Laloux and they are as follows:
‘Les Dents Du Singe’ [aka ‘Monkey's Teeth’] [1960] [480i] [1.37:1] [13:51] This is a very curious piece of animation. René Laloux asked patients from the insane asylum Chateau la Borde, to come up with ideas to scenes and stories for a short animated film. The animated film’s storyline was created by patients in a French mental health clinic. A dentist steals the teeth of poorer patients for rich clientele until a monkey magician elicits revenge on the dentist. This has English Subtitles.
‘Les Temps Morts’ [aka ‘Dead Times’] [1964] [480i] [1.37:1] [9:47] What is man? Man makes war, man kills man, man hunts, and man is executed. A montage mixing original drawings by Roland Topor, and original shots and stock shots that ironically analyse what man is. This is an early René Laloux film.
‘Les Escargots’ [aka ‘The Snails’] [1965] [1080p] [1.66:1] [11:15] In a distant planetoid, an industrious but hapless old farmer strives to make his vegetables flourish, however, to no avail. It is only when he cries that his tears finally water the field and the salads growing huge. The incredible size attracts a multitude of snails that quickly becomes gigantic, causing disasters and panic in the nearby city. The short film received several awards and included Mamaia Animation Festival Grand Prize, the Prades Film Meetings Grand Prize, the Krakow Festival Special Jury Prize and the Special Trieste Sci-Fi Jury Prize.
‘Comment Wang-Fo Fut Sauvé’ [aka ‘How Wang-Fo Was Saved’] [1987] [1080p] [1.37:1] [14:00] Among the aged master painter Wang-Fo's impeccable paintings, exists a mediocre and unflattering portrait of the pale Celestial Emperor that has merited him execution, nevertheless, how is this possible? A day comes when he thinks he has achieved it. But his genius arouses both the curiosity and the jealousy of the Emperor. Wang-Fo will be able to escape the Emperor's vindictiveness only by only by going to the limit of his talents. This has English Subtitles.
‘La Prisonnière’ [aka ‘Woman in Chains’] [1968] [1080p] [1.78:1] [15:00] This French film was written and directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot and was released in 1968. It is about an attractive young woman Josée who is the wife of an artist living with an avant-garde artist who falls disastrously for the voyeuristic owner of the gallery which shows her husband's work. Henri-Georges Clouzot's only film completed in colour, it was the last of his career. This has English Subtitles.
Special Feature: Laloux Sauvage [Wild Laloux] [2010] [1080p] [1.37:1] [26:17] Here we get presented with an in-depth interview with legendary René Laloux featuring an interview from 2001 and onwards and talks about his various films and his friendship with Roland Topor. René Laloux also outlines how he made the move from psychiatric worker at the Clinique psychiatrique de La Borde in Cour-Cheverny where he stayed for four years. We also get to view some of René Laloux painting, which are as follows: Espace pliable [1990], Traces ou pistes? [1974], Le colporteur [1990], L’homme de Prague [1990] and Dolmens poilu [1990]. René Laloux eventually became a film animator and also informs us the troubled production of ‘LA PLANÈTE SAUVAGE’ is covered in great detail, while his later films are sadly given little more than a passing mention. By the way, René Laloux himself is an intriguing interviewee, and he also reveals that the small film ‘Les dents du singe’ [aka ‘Monkey's Teeth’] [1961] was the work that gave him the most pleasure, and that he prefers the art of suggestion to the art of revelation, and that he regards modern films as the work of paranoid dictators. We also get clips from his early films and contributions from producer André Valio-Cavaglione. René Laloux died of a heart attack on the 14th March, 2004 in Angoulême, Charente, Poitou-Charentes, France. This has English Subtitles.
Special Feature: The complete Alain Goraguer soundtrack for ‘LA PLANÈTE SAUVAGE’ that consists of 25 tracks by the legendary jazz pianist Alain Goraguer and they are as follows: Déshominisation (II) [0:57]; Déshominisation (I) [3:50]; Générique [0:44]; Le Bracelet [1:27]; Ten Et Tiwa [1:46]; Maquillage De Tiwa [1:17]; Course De Ten [0:53]; Ten Et Medor [1:47]; Ten Et Tiwa Dorment [0:49]; Ten Est Assomé [0:46]; Abite [0:53]; Conseil Des Draags [0:56]; Les Hommes - La Grande Co-Existence [1:15]; La Femme [2:12]; Mira Et Ten [0:44]; Mort De Draag [0:51]; L'oiseau [2:28]; La Cité Des Hommes Libres [0:49]; Attaque Des Robots [2:05]; La Longue Marche - Valse Des Statues [2:15]; Les Fusées [2:20]; Générique (I) [2:06]; Strip Tease [2:24]; Méditation Des Enfants [1:33] and La Vieille Meurt [0:49].
PLUS: Amazing double sided printed Blu-ray Cover.
BONUS: EUREKA! Entertainment Ltd presents us with a beautiful 56-page colour booklet featuring a new 2006 essay by Craig Keller entitled THE SCHIZOPHRENIC CINEMA OF RENÉ LALOUX; INTERVIEW WITH RENÉ LALOUX; LES DENTS DU SINGLE; ROLAND TOPOR; LA PLANÈTE SAUVAGE. A page entitled Ome én serie, where you can order the book FANTASTC PLANET by author Stefan Wul. Plus NOTES ON VIEWING and BLU-RAY & DVD CREDITS. We also get featured rare amazing production sketches.
Finally, ‘LA PLANÈTE SAUVAGE’ is to some a very weird animated film and one that some cannot seem to comprehend or understand and is not even in a Terry Gilliam scenario genre, which he usually makes films that are quirky and funny in a very eccentric way. Rather, the film ‘LA PLANÈTE SAUVAGE’ tends to be in a much more subtle way in the direction of a David Lynch type of film genre. ‘LA PLANÈTE SAUVAGE’ will to some people be found very disturbing and at the same time very weird and will leave the viewer slightly uncomfortable at times. It has be reported that because the film is more aimed at adult oriented viewing, it was reported that people who saw it too young, were haunted by its images throughout their lives, and yet still love it now as adults. The beauty and bewitching power of the film’s animation has often underscored the political power of the film, especially drawing on the from disparate influences from psychedelia and surrealism, and that animated film evokes a sense of awe, especially as you scrutinise all the scenes and shots that are framed so beautifully. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
