DVD cover

An animated post-apocalyptic Science Fiction/Fantasy epic movie written, produced and directed by Ralph Bakshi in 1977. Image File history File links Wizards (1977 animated film) DVD cover. ... Image File history File links Wizards (1977 animated film) DVD cover. ... Animation is the technique in which each frame of a film or movie is produced individually, whether generated as a computer graphic, or by photographing a drawn image, or by repeatedly making small changes to a model unit (see claymation and stop motion), and then photographing the result with a... Apocalyptic science fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that is concerned with the end of the world or civilization, through nuclear war, plague, or some other general disaster. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... For other definitions of fantasy, see fantasy (psychology). ... EPIC might be an acronym or abbreviation for: Electronic Privacy Information Center Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computing Enhanced Programmable ircII Client El Paso Intelligence Center End Poverty In California European Privatisation and Investment Corporation Sometimes it is also used to refer to Epic Games game development company. ... Film refers to the celluloid media on which movies are printed Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general. ... Ralph Bakshi (born October 29, 1938, in Haifa, Israel) is a director of animation and occasionally live-action films. ... 1977 was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1977 calendar). ...

Overview

This epic tale follows the adventure of Avatar, a kindly, old, mildly cantankerous wizard and ruler of Montegar (a utopian land of elves and faeries set in a post-apocalyptic era on Earth). Utopia, in its most common and general meaning, refers to an imaginary perfect society, that does not (yet) exist, or that can never exist because people are unable to reach perfection or endure tyranny forever. ... A small forest elf (älva) rescuing an egg, from Solägget (1932), by Elsa Beskow An elf is a mythical creature of Germanic mythology which survived in northern European folklore. ... In mythology and in fiction, Faerie (also Faery) is an otherworldly realm, home to the Fae or fairies. ... Earth, also known as the Earth, Terra, and (mostly in the 19th century) Tellus, is the third most distant planet from the Sun. ...

Avatar engages in a struggle against his evil twin brother, Blackwolf, who rules Scortch (a desolate wasteland) and has unearthed destructive holocaust technologies to use in his campaign to conquer the lands of the faery. Avatar is drawn into this conflict by an attempt to assassinate him. He subdues the assassin and dubs him Peace. Then Avatar, his faery princess, an elf warrior, and Peace undertake their trek to Scortch. Concentration camp inmates during the Holocaust The Holocaust was Nazi Germanys systematic genocide (ethnic cleansing) of various ethnic, religious, national, and secular groups during World War II. Early elements include the Kristallnacht pogrom and the T-4 Euthanasia Program established by Hitler that killed some 200,000 people. ...

Cast

Features the voices of Mark Hamill, Peter Hobbs, Bob Holt, Barbara Sloane and many others. Narrated by Susan Tyrrell. Also includes the voice of Adolf Hitler from historical archive footage of Nazi propaganda. Mark Hamill Mark Hamill (born 25 September 1951 in Oakland, California) is an American actor and voice actor, best known for his portrayal of farmboy-turned-Jedi knight Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars films. ... Peter Hobbs is the author of The Short Day Dying and is also published in New Writing 13, an annual anthology of new work. ... Susan Tyrrell (born March 18, 1945 in San Francisco, California, USA) is an American actress. ...   Adolf Hitler? (April 20, 1889–April 30, 1945) was the Chancellor of Germany from 1933, and Führer und Reichskanzler (Leader and Chancellor) of Germany from 1934, to his death. ... Look up Nazi in Wiktionary, the free dictionary The term Nazi typically refers to someone who affiliates oneself with or is percieved to be affiliated with the ideology of the former National Socialist German Workers Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, commonly called NSDAP or the Nazi Party). ... North Korean propaganda showing a soldier destroying the United States Capitol building. ...

Commentary

Wizards is an allegorical comment on the neutrality of technology and the potential destructive powers of propaganda. Blackwolf's secret weapon is propaganda, used to incite and motivate his legions and terrorize the good faerie folk. However, in the end it is Avatar's willingness to use a technological tool (a handgun pulled from "up his sleeve") which saves them all. An allegory (from Greek αλλος, allos, other, and αγορευειν, agoreuein, to speak in public) is a figurative mode of representation conveying a meaning other than and in addition to the literal. ...

The film's visual designs are heavily influenced by Vaughn Bode's Cheech Wizard comics, to the point where some people have accused the film of plagiarism. In actuality, Vaughn was a friend of Ralph's, and had tried to persuade Bakshi to direct a screenplay he had written. Vaughn Bodé (July 22, 1941 - July 18, 1975), was an influential artist involved in and inspirational to underground comics, graphic design, and graffiti. ... Plagiarism refers to the use of anothers implementation of ideas, information, language, or writing, when done without proper acknowledgment of the original source. ...

There is some irony in the effort of this movie to warn of the dangers of propaganda while, at the same time, using propaganda techniques to promote responsible use of technology. // Defining irony Irony is a form of speech in which the real meaning is concealed or contradicted by the words used. ...

The references to Hitler and the Nazi war machine are poignant, though somewhat unsubtle.

Although the animation is crude, a variety of inconsistent artistic styles are used throughout, and the production relies heavily on extensive narration, it is an compelling story with enough levity and humor to amuse and even captivate a wide range of viewers. Some have criticized Bakshi's use (or over-use) of rotoscoping in this and his other films. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Film refers to the celluloid media on which movies are printed Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general. ...

The low-budget production values are considered campy and charming by some viewers, especially in the demographic Bakshi seems to have targeted in his marketing. A demographic or demographic profile is a term used in marketing and broadcasting, to describe a demographic grouping or a market segment. ...

Although it was written and produced in the mid-seventies, considerable hippy influence from the sixties is evident throughout the story. The faeries are depicted as peace-loving Luddites. Hippies (singular hippie or sometimes hippy) were members of the 1960s counterculture movement who adopted a communal or nomadic lifestyle, renounced corporate nationalism and the Vietnam War, embraced aspects of Buddhism, Hinduism, and/or Native American religious culture, and were otherwise at odds with traditional middle class Western values. ... Woodstock: the iconic Sixties event The Sixties in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969 (see: 1960s), but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past 20 years. ... This article is on the historical luddites. ...

Artists

Notable artists involved in the production of Wizards include Ian Miller, who produced the gloomy backgrounds of Scortch, and Mike Ploog, who contributed likewise for the more arcadian lanscapes of Montegar.

External links

• IMDB: Wizards
• IMDB: Ralph Bakshi
• Rotten Tomatoes Reviews
• David Brin on Wizards (search for Bakshi)

(IMDB is the Internet Movie Database)