Avalon (2001)

In a dystopian world, a woman spends her time playing an illegal and dangerous game, hoping to find meaning in her world.

Director:

Mamoru Oshii

Writer:

Kazunori Itô (screenplay)

Stars:

Malgorzata Foremniak, Wladyslaw Kowalski, Jerzy Gudejko

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Malgorzata Foremniak	...	Ash
Wladyslaw Kowalski	...	Game Master
Jerzy Gudejko	...	Murphy
Dariusz Biskupski	...	Bishop
Bartlomiej Swiderski	...	Stunner (as Bartek Swiderski)
Katarzyna Bargielowska	...	Receptionist
Alicja Sapryk	...	Gill
Michal Breitenwald	...	Murphy of Nine Sisters
Zuzanna Kasz	...	Ghost
Adam Szyszkowski	...	Player A
Krzysztof Plewako-Szczerbinski	...	Player B (as Krszysztof Szczerbinski)
Marek Stawinski	...	Player C
Jaroslaw Budnik	...	Cooper (voice)
Andrzej Debski	...	Cusinart (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Elzbieta Towarnicka	...	Soloist at Philharmonic

Storyline

In a future world, young people are increasingly becoming addicted to an illegal (and potentially deadly) battle simulation game called Avalon. When Ash, a star player, hears of rumors that a more advanced level of the game exists somewhere, she gives up her loner ways and joins a gang of explorers. Even if she finds the gateway to the next level, will she ever be able to come back to reality?

---

Plot Keywords:

japanese | poland | woman with gun | woman with glasses | helicopter gunship | 

---

Taglines:

Dare to enter a world of future videogames

---

Genres:

Action | Drama | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Japan Poland

Language:

Polish

Release Date:

20 January 2001 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Авалон

Filming Locations:

Filharmonia Narodowa, Jasna, Sródmiescie, Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Deiz Production, Bandai Visual Company, Media Factory

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color Black and White (Sepiatone)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bishop is played by Dariusz Biskupski. 'Biskup' is Polish for bishop.

---

Goofs

When Ash starts searching for The Nine Sisters, she enters some keywords and the results show up on the monitor of her computer. However, the reflection on her glasses doesn't match what happens on her screen.

---

Quotes

Ash: You're not ready yet for class A, you still have a lot of work to do in class C and B.

---

Alternate Versions

North American (Region 1) DVD release in 2003 features additional narration by the lead character "Ash" in the English dubbed version -- most notably after the pre-credits battle scene, and at the end of the film, the latter of which initially played out without any dialog. As a result of the added narration, the enigmatic ending becomes easier to understand for North American viewers. The added narration actually creates a very large problem with the 'Polish with English subtitles' option on the Region 1 DVD, since the 'traslantion' subtitles are actually dub-titles (they simply transcribed the Enlgish dub as the Polish dialog). This results in innumerable inaccuracies in the script (almost all mention of the connections to the King Arthur myth are lost on any language of the Region 1 version), and the subtitles also show up during the sequences where the English version has narration, meaning that in the middle of a dialog-less scene, the subtitles will show up anyway. Miramax has not recalled or corrected the DVD, but an uncut anamorphic version with proper subtitles is available from UK company Blue Light.

---

Connections

Referenced in Best of the Worst: Ghetto Blaster, Terror in Beverly Hills, and Killing American Style (2014)

User Reviews

A brilliant masterpiece

I recently saw the UK Premiere of this movie at the London Sci-Fi Festival and I was blown away. It was fantastic. A lonely woman is driven to seeking more danger and greater challenges but looses herself so much in the game that everyone plays, named 'Avalon' that she seems to loose track of herself. A Secret area, 'Special A' is where she goes to seek a man she knows, whose mind was lost in Avalon, leaving his body in the 'real' world, a vegetable. The ending leaves nothing clear, but bring audiences to consider what truly is reality.