Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageFist of the North Star (1990)
Director: Toyoo Ashida
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
If you thought Akira was strange, violent and hard to understand, get a load of this animated feature, based on the comic available in translation from specialist shops. Like many Japanese manga, it's set in a barren, post-apocalyptic world where only men's muscles can grow. The plot is the usual fantasy rubbish about fraternal betrayal and maiden-rescuing; but what distinguishes it is the stylised visuals, the existentialist landscapes, and the quite exceptional levels of violence perpetrated by the martial arts supermen. Heads bulge and explode, arms fall to the ground, blood gushes skywards, torsos are severed, bodies are crushed to pulp. If Sam Peckinpah had murdered Walt Disney and disembowelled Bambi, the result would have been tame in comparison.Author: DW
Cast & crew
Director: Toyoo Ashida
Cast: Wally Burr, John Vickery, Melodee Spivack, Michael McConnohie, Holly Sidell full cast
Genre(s): Action/Adventure
Duration: 112 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Review: Penélope Cruz more raunchy than ever in 'Nine'
Dave Calhoun reports on Rob Marshall's Oscar-touted musical with Daniel Day-Lewis playing a troubled director
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Jim Jarmusch on 'The Limits of Control'
Jim Jarmusch has followed ‘Broken Flowers’ with an esoteric crime mystery. Dave Calhoun speaks to him from his New York office
Richard Linklater on 'Me and Orson Welles'
Dave Calhoun meets the 49-year-old, Houston-born filmmaker Richard Linklater to discuss his new comedy
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now