Revenge of the Humanoids, an animated film released in 1983, is back in theaters in a restored 4K version!
Children of the 1980s and 1990s will remember cartoons around the concept Once upon a time, including life, space or the discoverers. This family and educational program was created by the director Albert Barillewho died in 2009 at the age of 88.
If these different series rocked the childhood of many viewers, they may not know that the filmmaker made a film of them in 1983: Revenge of the Humanoids. The latter comes out on October 12 in a restored 4K version.
The story takes us to the confines of space. On the way back from a routine mission, Pierrot, Psi and their robot Metro witness a strange phenomenon in space: gigantic ships assemble to perform shooting exercises.
The power deployed is gigantic! But when our heroes decide to report it to the Omega Confederation, their ship is caught in a turbulence. They then end up on a hostile planet. Psi is captured by humanoids while Pierrot is saved by a group of men who secretly live in the mountains.
Based on episodes of the cult series Once Upon a Time in Space, Revenge of the Humanoids is the first and only feature film to be directed by creator Albert Barillé. A pioneer of youth programs in France with the animated series Once Upon a Time, the director made the heyday of French television during the 1980s and 1990s.
ANTICIPATION STORY
At the time, Grendizer, Captain Harlock Where Star Wars are a hit, giving Barillé the idea of creating his own French-style “space opera”, using his overflowing imagination to gratify us with an ambitious, captivating and educational film.
His collaborators and longtime friends, Jean Barbaud and Philippe Bouchet alias Manchu, helped him in this enterprise. Obviously, Albert Barillé relies on humor and action to develop the adventures of Pierrot, Psi and Métro, but also has an eye on the genre of anticipation, already alerting to the dangers that threaten our planet.
“The film is different from the series, in the sense that there were some additive shots and a particular editing, because we tightened the action a little bit. We arrive at a whole that holds together. The characters are aiming at a whole host of harmful undertakings from forces of which they are unaware.
Albert Barille
They will therefore get to know each other more and more in the feature film. The action will become clearer and we will understand what is at stake. The main characters have not stopped evolving. We feel the need to update them, to modernize them a little, and to make them less elementary”confided the director in excerpts from the audio commentary of the DVD edition of the film (IDP Home Video, 2000).
With this feature film, the director notably advocates openness to others and the rejection of violence. For Barillé, the solution lies in accepting difference.
A MUSICIAN OF GENIUS
Finally, note that the music of the film is signed Michael Legrandrenowned composer who won 3 Oscars.
“With Michel Legrand, we collaborated in an absolutely fraternal climate. I give it the musical color that I want; Michel does a certain number of themes, and I choose the one that seems most appropriate to me.
We record at the time of the orchestrations and we can modify, speed up… Usually, we are satisfied with a synth, but we had 80 musicians in the studio for this film. Beautiful music gives soul to a production”explained Albert Barillé.
On the voice casting side, we find Roger Carel, Alain Dorval, Annie Balestra, Claude Chantal, Vincent Ropion and Yves Marie Maurin.
The Revenge of the Humanoids is a monument of French animation to be found for the first time on October 12 in a restored 4K version!