Patrick Macnee and Appleseed (2004 film): Difference between pages

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{{Infobox Film

[[Image:AvengersBook1.jpg|thumb|Patrick Macnee and [[Diana Rigg]] on the cover of a 1994 reprint of an ''[[The Avengers (TV series)|Avengers]]'' novel co-written by Macnee.]]

| name = Appleseed

| image = Appleseed.jpg

| image_size =

| caption = Promotional poster for ''Appleseed''

| director = [[Shinji Aramaki]]

| producer = [[Fumihiko Sori]]<br/>[[Hidenori Ueki]]<br/>[[Naoko Watanabe]]

| writer = [[Haruka Handa]]<br/>[[Tsutomu Kamishiro]]

| narrator =

| starring = [[Ai Kobayashi]]<br/>[[Jurota Kosugi]]<br/>[[Yuki Matsuoka]]

| music =

| cinematography =

| editing =

| distributor =

| released = {{flagicon|Japan}} [[2004]]<br/>{{flagicon|USA}} [[January 14]], [[2005]]

| runtime = 105 min.

| country = [[Japan]]

| language =

| budget =

| gross =

| preceded_by =

| followed_by = ''[[Appleseed EX Machina]]''

| website = http://www.appleseedthemovie.com/

| amg_id = 1:316288

| imdb_id = 0401233

}}

:''For other uses, see [[Appleseed]].''

'''Patrick Macnee''', born on [[February 6]], [[1922]], in [[London, England]] as '''Daniel Patrick Macnee''', is a British-born [[actor]], probably best known for his [[television]] roles. He is not of Irish extraction despite his Gaelic sounding name. His parents divorced after his mother, Dorothea, declared her lesbianism, and had a live-in partner who helped pay for young Patrick's schooling. After nurturing his acting career in [[Canada]], Macnee became an American citizen in [[1959]].

{{nihongo|'''''Appleseed'''''|アップルシ－ド|Appurushīdo}} is an [[anime]] film, directed by [[Shinji Aramaki]] and originally released in [[Japan]] on [[May 17]], [[2004]]. It is based on the characters created by [[Masamune Shirow]] in the original ''[[Appleseed (manga)|Appleseed]]'' manga series that was published in [[1985]]. Although it shares some characters with the original series, this film's storyline is not connected to it.

== Plot outline ==

Despite numerous roles in theatre, on television and in cinema, Macnee is still best known as the inimitable secret agent [[John Steed]] in the series ''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]''. Initially a secondary character — the series was conceived as a vehicle for Ian Hendry, who played an associate of Steed's — Steed (and Macnee) became the centre of the show after Hendry's departure at the end of the first season, playing opposite a succession of female partners that included [[Honor Blackman]], [[Diana Rigg]], and, finally, the little known Canadian-born actress [[Linda Thorson]]. Steed was also the central character of a revival, ''[[The New Avengers]]'', in which he was teamed with characters Purdey played by [[Joanna Lumley]] and Mike Gambit ([[Gareth Hunt]]).

Set in 2131 AD, Deunan Knute, a young legendary female soldier is a survivor of the Third World War which has brought Earth to the brink of destruction. Alongside her former lover and comrade Briareos, who is now a cyborg, Deunan is brought to a Utopian city called Olympus, also inhabited by a genetically-engineered species called Bioroids. There, she integrates into the prestigious ESWAT organization to serve as the city's guardian. But what she discovers is not the promised land of peace, but rather a deadlier, more elusive battlefield than before.

Bioroids have a lifespan much shorter than those of humans, due to the suppression of their reproductive capabilities. When the facilities that were used in the Bioroid's life extension processes are destroyed by a secret faction of the Olympus Regular Army in a terrorist attack as part of its demonstration of fear and hatred for the Bioroids, a crisis which requires immediate resolution is formed, and the Appleseed data is revealed to still exist, even though most thought it destroyed.

During the [[1960s]], Macnee co-wrote two original novels based upon ''The Avengers'', ''Dead Duck'' and ''Deadline''. Other notable roles include his part in the [[James Bond]] movie ''[[A View to a Kill]]'', a guest role in ''[[Alias Smith and Jones]]'', and two villainous roles in ''[[Battlestar Galactica (1978)|Battlestar Galactica]]''. He also presents the American 'paranormal' series, ''Mysteries, Magic and Miracles'', as well as the ubiquitous ''[[Murder She Wrote]]'' with [[Angela Lansbury]].

Under the surface, as we can see, Olympus is plagued by conflicting factions. Some believe that Bioroids are a threat to the future advancement of mankind, whilst others believe that humans themselves are the threat. The ultimate question is over everyone's right to life, and whether or not one group deserves life more than the other. At the centre of this battle is Appleseed, the data that is able to extend Bioroid life, by restoring reproductive functions.

Patrick Macnee is the author of an [[autobiography]] entitled, ''Blind in One Ear''.

== Characters ==

He has been married three times, most successfully in his last marriage to '''Baba Majos de Nagyzsenye''', to whom he has been married since 1988.

===Deunan Knute===

He has two children by his first marriage. He is a cousin of the late TV [[magician]] [[David Nixon]].

The daughter of Carl and Dr. Gilliam Knute, Deunan, who is considered as a beautiful and highly skilled warrior, has spent almost her entire life fighting in a war that was, for the most part, over. It was not until she was rescued by an ES.W.A.T. (Extra Special Weapons And Tactics) team, led by Hitomi and her former lover Briareos, in the middle of a ruined city just after Deunan had a short but fierce battle with unidentified enemies, that she was finally evacuated from the Badlands. When she arrived in Olympus, the change of environment was severe, but it was a greater shock to her when she found that Briareos had lost over 75% of his original body during the last Global War and was now a cyborg.

Macnee serves as the narrator for several "behind-the-scenes" featurettes featured on the James Bond series of DVDs.

The day after she was brought to the city of Olympus, Deunan learned that over half of the population of the city was composed of artificial humans called Bioroids and that her new friend, Hitomi, was one herself. Deunan also discovers that other people are looking for her, mostly because she possesses, without knowing it, the secret of "Appleseed". That interest will become extremely important when Hitomi's life will be at risk and the "Appleseed Data" will be needed to save her and the entire Bioroid population of Olympus. But the discovery of the "Appleseed Data" could condemn the human population to extinction without Deunan knowing about this detail. But that would mean defying the powerful Olympus Regular Army (O.R.A.), composed entirely of humans and under the command of General Edward Uranus III and Colonel Hades.

==External links==

{{anime voices|Ai Kobayashi|Amanda Winn Lee}}

* [http://www.patrickmacnee.com/ Patrick Macnee official website]

* {{imdb name|id=0001495|name=Patrick Macnee}}

===Briareos Hecatonchires===

At one time, Briareos was Deunan Knute's lover, as well as a comrade-in-arms in battle. During two years of hard separation for both of them, he was severely injured on the North African front. When Hitomi and the Elders saved him, he had over seventy-five percent of his body replaced by state-of-the-art mechanical components, making him a highly advanced cyborg. During Deunan's stay in Olympus he is assigned by his ES.W.A.T. superiors to protect her and also begins to search for the "Appleseed Data." In the original story, Briareos was a black man who lived in the mediterranean who served under Colonel Carl Knute, Deunan's father. In the original manga, Briareos and Deunan are not separated, and she is well aware of his cyborg body replacement.

{{anime voices|Jūrōta Kosugi|Jamieson Price}}

===Athena Areios===

Prime Minister of Olympus, Athena Areios is a first-generation Bioroid created by Deunan's mother, Dr. Gilliam Knute, and served as her lab assistant until Dr. Knute's death. Because Athena is a first-generation Bioroid, she doesn't have the emotional limitations the second-generation has, so she has greater latitude to use "extraordinary" methods to try to find Deunan. Of course, she also runs the risk that either the Council of Elders or General Uranus would find out and take action against her, so she, along with her chief-of staff Nike, have to be very careful.

{{anime voices|Mami Koyama|Mary Elizabeth McGlynn}}

===Nike===

Nike is Athena Areios's chief-of-staff, as well as being commander-in-chief of ES.W.A.T. Although she is a second-generation Bioroid, and being such having her emotions controlled, she is fiercely loyal to Athena, not to mention the Bioroids' prime purpose: the salvation of humanity.

{{anime voices|Miho Yamada|Mimi Woods}}

===Hitomi===

A second-generation Bioroid, Hitomi is charged with recruiting new members of ES.W.A.T.. She had led the rescue mission of Deunan Knute in the Badlands, as well as aiding her getting settled in Olympus. Although her emotions are regulated, she has interest in the emotion of love, and is disturbed by hate, as expressed by the human soldiers of the O.R.A, especially towards the Bioroids.

{{anime voices|Yuki Matsuoka|Karen Strassman}}

===Yoshitsune Miyamoto===

Also a second-generation Bioroid, Yoshitsuni Miyamoto... or "Yoshi" as he is referred to, is ES.W.A.T.'s chief mechanic and Land Strider designer. He also would like to further examine Briareos' cybernetic armor more closely, if Briareos would allow it. His knowledge of mechanical workings would become useful later in the film. Yoshi seems to care for Hitomi.

{{anime voices|Toshiyuki Morikawa|Dave Wittenberg}}

===Edward Uranus III===

Supreme commander of the O.R.A., General Edward Uranus III has a great distrust of the Bioroids, and wishes to either control them or totally eliminate them. But unlike his subordinate Hades, he is not given to irrationality. A friend of the Knute family, Uranus deeply regrets the death of Dr. Gilliam Knute and wants to persuade Deunan to help him in his quest.

However, when General Uranus was made aware about about the Council of Elder's plans to replace humans with Bioroids, then sterilize the humans using the "D-tank", he voluntarily surrendered, rather than be used as a pawn in the Council's plans.

{{anime voices|Yuzuru Fujimoto|Michael McConnohie}}

===Hades===

Colonel Hades is Gen. Uranus's subordinate. Like Uranus, he has a great distrust of the Bioroids. However, his distrust has evolved into an irrational, all-consuming hatred, and wishes to see the Bioroids destroyed.

Originally, Hades served under Carl Knute, Deunan's father, in Los Angeles' S.W.A.T., but was thrown out by Carl because of his extreme methods. He held a grudge with Carl, and is furious that Carl's D.N.A. is in all the Bioroids.

In the end, he is killed by Deuan's pistol, which was her father's.

{{anime voices|Takehito Koyasu|Jack Aubree}}

===Kudoh===

Kudoh is one of the top members of ES.W.A.T. He participates in some training sessions with Deunan and eventually earns her respect. When she and Briareos head to Dr. Gilliam Knute's old lab, Kudoh comes along. After they are betrayed by a fellow ES.W.A.T. member who is sympathetic towards the O.R.A., Kudoh stays behind, keeping his gun trained on Hades so that Deunan and Briareos can escape.

Shortly after this, Kudoh is gunned down by numerous O.R.A. soldiers and collapses dead against the wall of a hallway. Deunan expresses great distress over his death, but Briareos drags her away reluctantly, the O.R.A. hot on their trail.

{{anime voices|Tadahisa Saizen|Jack Aubree}}

===Dr. Gilliam Knute===

Dr. Gilliam Knute was the scientist that created the Bioroids, as well as the "D-tank" virus, which is capable to redering normal humans sterile. It was during the creation of the first generation that she realized that the Council of Elders wanted to use the Bioroids to replace normal humanity altogether. Therefore, she arranged that the Bioroids would not be able to reproduce but kept the formula to activate their reproductive systems - codenamed "Appleseed" - in a pendant, which after she had her assistant Athena evacuated, she had given to her young daughter Deunan, with the promise to give it to Athena if she asked. Dr. Knute was later captured by the military - and mistakenly killed by a soldier in front of Deunan.

{{anime voices|Emi Shinohara|Mia Bradly}}

==Music==

The original soundtrack and music to the series features an [[electronic music|electronic]], [[techno music|techno]] and [[trance music|trance]] theme, with the likes of [[Paul Oakenfold]], [[Basement Jaxx]], [[Boom Boom Satellites]], [[Akufen]], [[Carl Craig]], [[T. Raumschmiere]] and [[Ryuichi Sakamoto]] handling the music.

==Sequel==

Director [[Shinji Aramaki]] will also be directing the sequel to the 2004 movie, titled [[Appleseed EX Machina]], which is set to be released in fall 2007 in Japan. The movie will once again feature animated [[computer-generated imagery]] and [[John Woo]] is fully involved in the production.

==References==

*[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0401233/ IMDB's Appleseed article]

==External links==

*[http://www.appleseedthemovie.com/ Official ''Appleseed'' (2004) movie website]

* ''[http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/appleseed Appleseed]'' at [[MetaCritic]]

*[http://imdb.com/title/tt0401233/ Details of the 2004 anime] at the [[Internet Movie Database]]

{{Appleseed}}

[[Category:1922 births|Macnee, Patrick]]

[[Category:Living people|Macnee, Patrick]]

[[Category:English actors|Macnee, Patrick]]

[[Category:Film actors|Macnee, Patrick]]

[[Category:James Bond actors|Macnee, Patrick]]

[[Category:Television actors|Macnee, Patrick]]

[[Category:Avengers actors|Macnee, Patrick]]

[[Category:Londoners|Macnee, Patrick]]

[[Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States|Macnee, Patrick]]

[[Category:2004 films]]

{{UK-actor-stub}}

[[Category:Appleseed]]

[[Category:Films broadcast by Animax]]

[[Category:Anime of the 2000s]]

[[Category:Computer-animated films]]

[[Category:Anime films]]

[[Category:Science fiction action films]]

[[Category:Action thriller films]]

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