Product Description

From The Director Of The Original Animated LORD OF THE RINGS And The Illustrator Of CONAN THE BARBARIAN

It began as a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration between two of the greatest icons of the fantasy genre: Controversial animator Ralph Bakshi (director of FRITZ THE CAT, WIZARDS and the original THE LORD OF THE RINGS) and legendary illustrator Frank Frazetta (creator of the iconic CONAN THE BARBARIAN, VAMPIRELLA and Edgar Rice Burroughs book covers). It became - and remains - one of the most startling animation epics of all time. Now experience a world unlike any ever seen, where savage warriors, horrific monsters and luscious maidens battle for the soul of a civilization in a time of good and evil, pleasure and pain, and FIRE & ICE

This long-unavailable cult favorite has been remastered in High Definition from the original vault materials, remixed in stunning 6.1 DTS-ES and 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround EX, and loaded with exciting Extras.

Disc 2 contains FRAZETTA: PAINTING WITH FIRE, the acclaimed 93 minute documentary that explores the remarkable life and career of the man who changed fantasy art forever.

Archer Winsten, NEW YORK POST
"Fantastic Monsters, Nightmarish Visions And Gobs Of Action!"

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8047 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-08-30
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, Original recording remastered, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 81 minutes

Amazon.com
The mighty-muscled heroes and big-bottomed babes of fantasy artist Frank Frazetta inspired animator Ralph Bakshi (Fritz the Cat, Wizards) to create the swords-and-sorcery epic Fire and Ice. Bakshi uses a technique called rotoscoping, which uses live-action film of actors as the template for animation, allowing him to put realistic action into fantastic environments. The verisimilitude of movement in a cartoon can be startling, but that's about all Fire and Ice has to offer; the wafer-thin story, overwrought characters, and clumsy dialogue are vapid cliches. Of much greater interest are the extras in this two-disc set, including a making-of feature that demonstrates the painstaking process of rotoscoping; enthusiastic commentary from Bakshi, who's a jovial, down-to-earth guy with a thick Brooklyn accent; deliriously fatuous diary notes from one of the actors; and a feature-length documentary called Frazetta: Painting with Fire, which reveals the artist to be more intriguing than any of the barbarians he's famous for. The effusive praise of other fantasy artists and "Frazetta historians" occasionally veers into Spinal Tap territory, but it's fascinating watching Frazetta turn from a 1950s James-Dean-style tough guy into the king of fantasy art. Though his work is often dismissed as adolescent kitsch, the documentary persuasively argues that Frazetta deservedly dominates his corner of the art world. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

Ralph Bakshi's second best movie now on DVD!

Set long ago after the Ice Age, in a age of barbarian, warriors, kings and sorcery abound as a diabolical tyrant named "Nekron" and his mother "Juliane" who lives at the ice region wants to conquer the region of fire ruled by King Jerol. Suddenly Jerol's beautiful daughter Teegra is kidnapped by Nekron's subhuman hechmen, a warrior named "Lar" must protect her and defeat Nekron from taking over the kingdom as well as having the help of an avenging barbarian warrior named "Darkwolf".

A nicely done animated fantasy that has a combination of live actors traced with animation ( Rotoscoping), it's Ralph Bakshi's second best movie next to "American Pop" and "Wizards" but certainly better than his version of "Lord of the Rings". The movie is also designed by famous artist Frank Farzetta ( whom did covers to Tarzan books, Conan The Barbarian and Vampirella) with some good animation & Coloring especially the impressive rotoscopic stuff and a beautiful hottie for the guys there.

This 2-disc limited edition has great picture & Sound quality, a commentary by director Ralph Bakshi, featurettes, a photo gallery, trailer and the second disc has a documentary on Frank Farzetta and his life.

Most recommended movie to anyone who enjoys fantasy, animation and even anime!

Also recommended: "Rock and Rule", "Wizards", "Starchaser: Legend of Orin", "The Dark Crystal", "Conan The Barbarian", " Army of Darkness", " Willow", " The Black Cauldron", " Lord of the Rings ( 1978)", "Lord of the Rings Trilogy", " Princess Mononoke", "The Last Unicorn", "The Secret of NIMH", " The Hobbit", "Return of the King ( Animated)", "Hercules" (Disney), " Legend", "Conquest", "Blade Master", " Ator the Invincible", "Krull", " Dragonheart", " The Sword in The Stone", " Record of Lodoss Wars", "King Arthur", "Excalibur", " The Princess Bride".

The way fantasy films (and animation DVD's) should be!
Hey folks, before I begin take a look at the front cover. See the big guy on top, big muscles, menacing grin, huge axe? His name's Dark Wolf, and he is awesome. More on him later.

"Fire and Ice" is a film by Ralph Bakshi, known for films like "Fritz the Cat," "Wizards," and other animated classics that never seem to get their worthy repute. This film came out shortly after "American Pop" and unfortunately did not make too much money at the box office. Watching the film, I really can't see why. This was one of the most enjoyable fantasy films I've seen in years. The film was a co-creation of Ralph Bakshi and Frank Frazetta, one of the most famous illustrators in the 20th century. As Bakshi says in commentaries and interviews on the DVD, making a film completely like a Frazetta painting would have been impossible, but he wanted to capture that atmosphere as best he could. In fact Frazetta fans will notice many easily recognizable homages in the film, particularly "The Death Bringer." The plot is simple enough - evil wizard Nekron (who is basically Emperor Palpatine in his teen days) is moving a mighty glacier across the land, conquering and destroying anything in his path. As he approaches Firekeep, last bastion of resistance, his mother kidnaps the Princess Tygra to give Nekron a mate and bring Firekeep to the discussion table. Mixed into this plot are Larn, lone survivor of a village destroyed by Nekron's glacier who falls for Tygra, and Dark Wolf, a mysterious figure following Parn who is after Nekron and is also awesome.

Now, "Fire and Ice" was rotoscoped, and if you've seen Bakshi's "Lord of the Rings" you're probably cringing. However, do not fear - the tinted live-action orcs are long gone. This is a complete animated film, and every one is fully animated. I might also add that they are very well animated, and even though live action was used to assist in keeping things like a Frank Frazetta painting it was not relied upon. Many creatures, such as the dragons (animated by a young Peter Cheung) and the giant lizard were animated normally. Plus, looking at the real life actors can clue you in on just how many liberties the animators took in moderating character designs. You think Tygra was that well endowed in real life? Think again! And the neanderthals were in fact normal guys moving about with their characteristics added later. (remembering the cheap outfits of the orcs in "Lord of the Rings," I think we can be thankful for that) As an additional note, guess who did all the background artwork? Two young guys fresh out of college known as...James Gurney and Thomas Kinkade. That's right, the guys who went on to do "Dinotopia" and uh...lighthouses...got their start doing this film.

It's far from a completely perfect film - some of the dialogue is a tad campy. You thought those scenes between Padme and Anakin on the balcony in Episode III were bad? Take a look at the scenes between Tygra and Parn in the ruins. But listen, this is everything a fantasy film SHOULD be. Giant lizards, sword fights, buff guys, ugly guys, lesbian witches, gorgeous women in bikinis, gorgeous women in bikinis being kidnapped by ugly guys, buff guys killing ugly guys, ugly guys getting trampled by giant lizards...this film has it all. It also has a great cast, particularly Nekron and Dark Wolf. Nekron is a dirty bastard incarnate, who has unlimited powers and knows it, smugly ticking off other characters he knows he can easily beat up. For example, when haughty Prince Taro of Firekeep goes with an entourage to speak with him and get Tygra back, Nekron grins and states...

Nekron: "I must admit that at first the idea of mating with your sister filled me with revulsion. Perhaps I should reconsider...she is, after all, not entirely unattractive, as lesser beings go."

This is followed by the Prince Taro trying to kill Nekron, only to be forced by Nekron to kill his own men and then himself. Didn't I say he was evil?

But now this brings me to the absolute hands down best character of the whole film: Dark Wolf. As previously stated, Dark Wolf is awesome. Neanderthals in this movie should really be called "Dark Wolf fodder" as he takes out about half of Nekron's army during the course of the film. Lurking in the fog, tossing two rocks at once, using their own weapons against them, nothing can stop this guy. Although Larn is technically the hero, Dark Wolf is definately the true man of action, embodying the Death Dealer. He also has one of the best lines in the movie when Larn won't go after Tygra while Dark Wolf distracts the neanderthals.

Dark Wolf: "Go!"
Larn: "No!"
Dark Wolf: *menacing scowl* "THE HELL YOU WON'T!" *tosses Larn off a cliff*

The DVD itself is equally impressive. It's a two-DVD set, with the first DVD the film along with documentaries about the film, pictures of the live action sequences and animation techniques, and a commentary by Ralph Bakshi. The second DVD is an hour and a half documentary on the life of Frank Frazetta and the influence of his artwork, and is a worthy watch for any one interested in art.

This was well worth the buy. Even if you're not an avid Ralph Bakshi or Frank Frazetta fan, definately give this film a check out. Like I said, it's not an animated classic, it's just a lot of fun.

Bakshi and Frazetta --
-- it doesn't get any better.

The story is straightforward sword and sorcery, kingdom of Fire vs. the evil kingdom of Ice. As in Bakshi's other best movies, it's rotoscoped cel animation over painted backgrounds, a combination I like a lot. That gives completely natural movement to the animated figures, and great atmosphere from the backgrounds.

There were a few negatives in this DVD. First was transfer quality. There's a visible amount of "snow" in many places, enough to notice, but not enough to get in the way of the movie. Then there's the inherently loose relationship between the cel animation and the backgrounds - a few scenes seemed to have the characters skating across the surroundings. Excessive reality can also be a drawback. Teegra, the female lead, spent a lot of time running from the bad guys. Unfortunately, she tended to "run like a girl" (and I don't mean Jackie Joyner Kersee) - she rarely conveyed the athletic or panicked sense I would have expected of a woman running for her life.

The positives far outweigh the problems, though. Frazetta's characters are richly drawn: lush womanly figures, mighty males, grunting hench-beings, and the Death Dealer. The story holds together, and the rotoscoped actors did great jobs. And the DVD extras - wow. I normally ignore them. These aren't just a few stills and a trailer, there are interviews with Bakshi, diary notes from one of the actors, and a whole second disc dedicated to Frazetta and his work ("Painting with Fire"). I haven't gone through all of the extras yet, but they earned that fifth star for this set.

It's not as "adult" as Fritz the Cat and other of Bakshi's work, but it's certainly not for the kiddies, either. But then, not all animation has to be. Highly recommended.

//wiredweird