areaseven Posted January 30, 2004 Posted January 30, 2004 (edited) Street Fighter II: The Movie ( ストリートファイターII ) CAPCOM/Group TAC/Sony Music Entertainment, 1994 Manga Entertainment/Sony Music Video/Renegade Entertainment, 1997 (Out of print) Directed by Gisaburo Sugii (Night on the Galactic Railroad, Lupin III: Secret of the Twilight Gemini) Not Rated (Suggested 13-Up). Contains graphic martial arts violence, nudity, mature situations and strong language. Shadowlaw - an underground organization bent on world domination through drug smuggling, illegal weapons distribution and terrorism. Led by the evil M. Bison (Vega in the Japanese version), Shadowlaw hopes to increase their power by recruiting the world's greatest street fighters. Their main target: Ryu¡ªa master of Shotokan Karate who roams all over the world to test his skills against other fighters. As a means to lure the elusive Ryu, Bison abducts his best friend, former martial arts champion Ken Masters, and uses him as bait. Interpol agent Chun-Li and U.S. Air Force pilot Guile team up to get to Ryu before Bison does and continues his reign of terror. Story: B- With all of the characters in Super Street Fighter II Turbo (including Akuma, if you look closely) crammed into this movie, it's obvious that Street Fighter II is lacking in terms of plot and character development. Not that it really matters, as the game itself doesn't even have a solid plot of its own. Nevertheless, Street Fighter II is must-see material for martial arts enthusiasts with its near-flawless renditions of the characters' moves. Animation: A+ Breathtaking is an understatement. Shukou Murase's (Witch Hunter Robin, Gasaraki) character designs completely capture the essence of each and every single character. CAPCOM and Sony spared no expense in producing this movie, as it boasts some of the best animation and fight scenes in film history. Soundtrack The U.S. version, composed by Baywatch's Cory Lerios and John D'Andrea, gets an F for its horridly noisy musical score and abuse of alternative/grunge music featuring Korn, Silverchair, Alice in Chains and KMFDM. The Japanese version (which is, sadly, not available here) gets an A+. Legendary J-Pop producer Tetsuya Komuro supplies an outstanding techno musical score, along with electrifying songs such as the Ryu/Ken vs. Vega theme "Itoshisato Setsu na sato Koko tsuyosato" by Ryoko Shinohara. If you can find the soundtrack, you must buy it. Sub vs. Dub Street Fighter II features Kojiro Shimizu as Ryu, Kenji Haga as Ken, Takeshi Kusaka as Vega, Miki Fujitani (Kaoru in Rurouni Kenshin) as Chun-Li, Masatana Tsukuyama as Guile, Daisuke Gouri (Dozle in Mobile Suit Gundam, Mari in Project A-Ko) as Edmond Honda, Yoko Sasaki as Cammy, Masakatsu Funaki as Fei-Long, the late Kaneto Shiozawa (Shin in the original Area 88, Rei in Fist of the North Star) as Balrog, Jouji Nakata (Alucard in Hellsing, Jack in Yukikaze) as Mike Bison, Shigezo Sasaoka as Sagat, Yukimasa Kishino as Dhalsim, Shozo Iizuka (Benkei in Getter Robo Armageddon, Genya in Millennium Actress) as Thunder Hawk, Ginzo Matsuo (Taizo in SuperGALS!) as DeeJay, Tetsuo Kanao as Zangief, Unshou Ishizuka (Guld in Macross Plus, Jet Black in Cowboy Bebop) as Blanka, and Hiromi Tsuru (Meryl in Trigun, Bulma in Dragon Ball/DBZ/DBGT) as Eliza. The English dub by ANIMAZE (Macross Plus, Cowboy Bebop) is not that impressive. Unfortunately, if you have the U.S. version, you have no choice but to listen to the dub. DVD Extras: F Bad enough that there are no extras. Worse is that there is no DVD menu. The disc simply stops after the end of the film. The Bottom Line While Fatal Fury has a better story, Street Fighter II excels in eye-candy overdose. And it sure beats that stupid live-action movie with Jean-Claude Van Damme. But don't buy the U.S. version. Pick up the import Japanese LD instead. Reference Anime News Network Edited March 26, 2004 by areaseven Quote
Agent ONE Posted January 30, 2004 Posted January 30, 2004 So was this movie better than the live action one with Van Damme? Quote
treatment Posted January 30, 2004 Posted January 30, 2004 So was this movie better than the live action one with Van Damme? yup. Quote
EXO Posted January 30, 2004 Posted January 30, 2004 So was this movie better than the live action one with Van Damme? Double Yup... though I would have liked for Ming-Na would have recreated the shower scene. It did have one of the best animation at the time though... Quote
bigkid24 Posted January 31, 2004 Posted January 31, 2004 that ain't Akuma Who is it then that sitting against the wall in India? It looks a heck of a lot like Akuma (Gouki). Hmmm...sounds like I should be glad that I never picked up this DVD. I got a fansub waaaaay back when and have been happy with it ever since. Quote
UN Spacy Posted January 31, 2004 Posted January 31, 2004 After all these years this is probably the ONLY movie I'm still looking for (on DVD - Region 2 Rip). Does ANYONE know where I can find a good subbed version? I really don't want the butchered American version. Quote
Hoptimus Posted January 31, 2004 Posted January 31, 2004 Heres the verdict. Are you an old school SF head? Like good art and story? Like really good music. Buy the Japanese release. The US one sucks. This Anime stomps the crap out of the US live action movie and the SF Alpha Anime IMO. SHO RYU KEN. Quote
Ladic Posted January 31, 2004 Posted January 31, 2004 (edited) I have the Unrated US release on DVD and VHS and I LOVE IT! Edited January 31, 2004 by Ladic Quote
ComicKaze Posted January 31, 2004 Posted January 31, 2004 I still can't find the uncensored release of this one. Manga really botched it way back when. Quote
JRock Posted January 31, 2004 Posted January 31, 2004 The so called "UNRATED" US Version is still missing some footage. I've been trying to get a true version of it on DVD for a long time. Quote
Valkyrie Posted January 31, 2004 Posted January 31, 2004 Awesome movie. I had a fansub of it back in the day, and years later, I got the japanese LD (fortunately, I've never been subjected to the dub). It never fails to impress me. The Chun-Li fight is absolutely incredible. And yes, the music rocks. I've still got an SM bootleg of the soundtrack around here somewhere Quote
Dragon Lord Posted February 1, 2004 Posted February 1, 2004 So was this movie better than the live action one with Van Damme? Double Yup... though I would have liked for Ming-Na would have recreated the shower scene. It did have one of the best animation at the time though... Most definitely yes. It's like comparing a hyundai and a porche. Joe P. Quote
Dragon Lord Posted February 1, 2004 Posted February 1, 2004 After all these years this is probably the ONLY movie I'm still looking for (on DVD - Region 2 Rip). Does ANYONE know where I can find a good subbed version? I really don't want the butchered American version. I hear ya. I'm still looking for the same thing. It's damn near impossible to find, or maybe I'm just not looking in the right places. Joe P. Quote
Bob_Coffee Posted February 1, 2004 Posted February 1, 2004 i have both versions, and yes the japanese version is pretty much goodness. for those intrested, the movie(japanese uncut) has been encoded and subbed and weighs in at a hefty 700mb. Id offer to upload it to an ftp, but im on dial up. Quote
Pat S Posted February 1, 2004 Posted February 1, 2004 I love the US version with KMFDM and the Chun Li fight was awesome! Quote
Kamui 777 Posted February 1, 2004 Posted February 1, 2004 Pat S Posted on Jan 31 2004, 10:45 PM-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I love the US version with KMFDM and the Chun Li fight was awesome! Hell yeah!! I love that song and that scene was the highlight of that movie. Quote
Pat S Posted February 1, 2004 Posted February 1, 2004 Hell yeah!! I love that song and that scene was the highlight of that movie. Hi five! Quote
UN Spacy Posted July 10, 2006 Posted July 10, 2006 Alright Street Fighter fans. After TEN long years of waiting our prayers are finally being answered. This UNCUT, UNCENSORED, and UNLEASHED version will have 5.1 English and Japanese audio tracks, Chun-Li's shower scene, and a ton of extras. You can read a review about it HERE. I'm getting my copy from Deep Discount DVD (not bad for $11.99). Quote
Fortress_Maximus Posted July 10, 2006 Posted July 10, 2006 About fragging time! Really makes you wonder why the hell they didn't do this from the beginning especially when SF2 was KING and in its prime? Dumbasses at Manga Entertainment! I hope there are some real extras this time around. Quote
areaseven Posted July 10, 2006 Author Posted July 10, 2006 About time Manga released SF2 in its entirety. That saves me the trouble of hunting down the original Japanese laserdisc or R2 DVD. Too bad their cover art sucks. Quote
sabretooth Posted July 11, 2006 Posted July 11, 2006 now if i could just get a copy of the american soundtrack........ i have been hunting for that bastard since '95...... with no success if anybody got it let me know but i am sooooo getting this Quote
Seven Posted July 11, 2006 Posted July 11, 2006 I can't believe there are actually people that liked the dub version and soundtrack. I watched the original way back in the day and when I watched the Manga dub, I was sick to my stomach. They had ripped out the dramatic soundtrack and replaced it with some rock soundtrack that I felt didn't ring true to the scenes especially during the Ryu vs. Ken scenes at the end. It would have been similar to reediting the scene in Return of the Jedi with Vader vs. Luke with some emo punk crap. Quote
kyatsu Posted July 11, 2006 Posted July 11, 2006 if you go to bestbuy and pre-order it, you can save even more buddy, kyatsu Quote
Skullsixx Posted July 11, 2006 Posted July 11, 2006 (edited) So was this movie better than the live action one with Van Damme? 90069[/snapback] It definitely makes the live action film look like the POS that it is!!! Edited July 11, 2006 by Skullsixx Quote
Apollo Leader Posted July 11, 2006 Posted July 11, 2006 All I can say is WOW!!!! It was back in July of 1995 when a guy I knew from one of the local video game stores burned me a VHS copy off of his Japanese LD; this included all the trailers, Capcom videogame commercials, etc. This was my very first exposure to anime in Japanese with a J-Pop soundtrack. I was totally blown away. I must have watched that taped many of dozens of times. After the disappointment of the Van Damme live action movie, this refired my interest in the Street Fighter series, but it also launched my anime fandom which continues to this day (though my main interest is classic mecha titles like Gundam and Macross). I never got around to it, but I had always planned on getting the Japanese LD someday because I thought the chances of a proper US release were next to zero. But it looks like I can wait a while longer. Quote
1/1 LowViz Lurker Posted July 11, 2006 Posted July 11, 2006 (edited) I loved this when I first saw it. Just pure fight scene after another with very little story. Sort of like the van damm movie Bloodsport only with anime videogame characters with special moves. Chun li shower scene was great too. That is the definative version of chun li that I imagine. And the brutal cammy attempted assasination scene is great. Ouch. I can totally see now why capcom borrowed a few of the elements from the animated movie when they went into making the alpha series of SF games. I think the movie captured the feel of what one on one fighting (no official rules) should be like if it were animated and you put those videogame characters in a story setting. (Ryu isn't so much as touring the world looking for strong fighters as just roaming around. And ken's giving up of the red headband to treat a cut on ryu's head makes so much sense) If you are a fan of fighting games or street fighter in general, and haven't seen the animated movie yet, do it! You won't regret it. The fighting is well animated and fights take place in a natural way. (not like in say dragon ball z where you have lots of talking and taunting before doing anything) eg -Vega confronts chun li with the intention to kill as an assasin (not a cage match or part of a tournament) -Zangief wrestles blanka as part of a show for all the crime bosses -Guile is merely out to kick bison's ass for revenge (you can't say they were being unfaithful to the game ) -chunli isn't really interested in the fighting so much as catching bison (much more about her doing her duty. Maybe she could team up with Jackie Chan in a police story movie) -Cammy, like vega, is used as some assasin (clearly in the game we are not aware of the loss of memory being due to mind control) -Bison of course is just perfect as the head of an evil organisation but in the movie it seems the focus isn't just on fighting skill but an ability to mind control and levitate, using people as mind controlled puppets. Much more menacing in the movie imo. In the later Alpha series of games they even gave him a teleport move, possibly an influence from all his powers in the movie) -Dhalsim totally fits his game character by relying on powers and ranged attacks, which is funny to watch as he frustrates honda with all kinds of magic. I think in general the fighting scenes all fit well together. It is exactly what the game is about but puts each character in the situation where you would naturally see them up against each other - not of them entering a tournament and forced to fight but just them crossing paths. (although I found it hard to believe T.Hawk would go to so much trouble to seek out ken just for Glory and Honor of defeating him. Seemed kinda silly. But when ryu encounters fei long it isn't as if ryu was picking fights with the intention to seek tough people to beat up kind of thing, it just happened they meet) What would be good is if they made an anime sequel to SFII Animated movie and told us what happened after the events of Shadowlaw organisation being destroyed. Like a SFIII animated movie or something. I find that the story in Street Fighter Alpha games was good in that it fleshed out the characters more. That's what I would like to see in follow up animated movie version. (some of the more interesting characters like Gen and Akuma would make for a great story - in the alpha games they pretty much rivals, although Akuma looks to have the edge) I saw the SF Alpha animated movie and didn't think it was as good as the original SFII animated movie. As for the hollywood live action version: ahaha I would watch that just to laugh at it. Kylie Minogue looks good as cammy though! Edited July 11, 2006 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker Quote
kensei Posted July 11, 2006 Posted July 11, 2006 Isn't the Chun Li shower scene like only ten seconds? Or was there more to see in the uncut scene? Quote
1/1 LowViz Lurker Posted July 11, 2006 Posted July 11, 2006 (edited) I think the version this uncut one is, is the one where you get everything. Someone correct me if I am wrong, there are like 3 versions right? -pg13. I think they cut the chun li shower scene out completely. I think this was the one they gave away as a free bonus on the Xbox "Street fighter Anniversary" collection, which are a set of SFIII games and Super SF series) -m. I saw this one on vhs all those years ago. Shows chun li's tits and ass and it is well animated how they kinda jiggle off her chest -the uncut one the japanese got (have not seen this so I can't comment on it) I will probably get this because I have never heard the japanese audio before. (this has both so I will feel complete) I agree with the guy who said they should have done this from the beginning. It couldn't have come sooner. Edited July 11, 2006 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker Quote
Hoptimus Posted July 11, 2006 Posted July 11, 2006 Well I might have to pick this up today. I have been waiting 10 years for a proper release of this in the States. Quote
Dangaioh Posted July 12, 2006 Posted July 12, 2006 ...-chunli isn't really interested in the fighting so much as catching bison (much more about her doing her duty. Maybe she could team up with Jackie Chan in a police story movie)... 415167[/snapback] About that... Um, Jackie Chan dressed as Chun Li in City Hunter when he was doing his Street Fighter skit. Everyone in that particular scene for that movie played their part as one of several Street Fighter characters, with included voice, sound fx and music. Quote
Warmaker Posted July 12, 2006 Posted July 12, 2006 I'll probably snag one up. I was such a fan of the game back then. Quote
Apollo Leader Posted July 17, 2006 Posted July 17, 2006 SFII was being advertised in Best Buy's Sunday add for $12.99. Quote
Hoptimus Posted July 19, 2006 Posted July 19, 2006 SFII was being advertised in Best Buy's Sunday add for $12.99. 416861[/snapback] Picked it up there today. Its about time. I can finally watch it like my old Japanese LD copy but with good Eng Subs. 5.1 is kickass too! Quote
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